Aggression at the workplace, Social Psychology Research Project
MK22
CW2-Self-esteem.pdf
Coursework 2 - Assessment 3:
Brief Literature Review
Self-esteem
Course: Social Psychology of Hospitality - PSY350
Group: Zoey (737292), Hubert (739905),
Liz (740115), Dinah (735517), Kevin (739498)
Word count: 4999
Submitted on: 8th of March 2021
Submitted to: Dr. Evelina Gillard
Table of content
Introduction 2
Factors influencing self-esteem 2
Benefits of high self-esteem 5
Limits of high self-esteem 7
Benefits and limits of low self-esteem 9
Self-esteem affect on quality of life 10
Conclusion 13
References 15
1
Introduction
Self-esteem has been studied and examined throughout history, but why is it important to know
about self-esteem and how it affects us? In many aspects, self-esteem can define lives. Whether
you have high or low self-esteem, it can determine your chances of establishing a network,
function in relationships, employment and quality in life. Therefore, this literature review
emphasizes the importance of the topic self-esteem, because of the impact it has on individuals.
It is one of the most important aspects of shaping one’s personality and how a team can work
together. This literature review will target self-esteem from different perspectives by using four
different sources as a base. Aspects such as what factors influence self-esteem, what the result of
those factors can be, what high and low self-esteem is, the consequences for each of them
respectively and why an accurate self-evaluation and self-assessment is crucial in order to have a
balanced and stable self-esteem. This paper also looks into the common outcomes in the matter
of how self-esteem is affecting quality of life in the sense of motivation, performance and
general positive or negative feelings. Altogether, the findings in all sources emphasize the
necessity of analysing oneself correctly in order to be able to respond and act in circumstances
that arise. Failing to correctly assess yourself can result in failed relationships, lacking
motivation, underperformance at work and in private life and also a general dissatisfaction with
the current state of being (Strangor, 2014).
Factors influencing self-esteem
Self esteem has been believed to be able to boost one’s performance. The self-esteem itself is
defined as the way a person sees one’s personal worth or value (Strangor, 2014). According to
Dr. Charles Strangor, self esteem can be affected by many factors. This part of the paper will
discuss more about the factors which influence one’s self esteem specifically from two different
journals. Firstly, all of the factors from the chapter “The Self” by Dr. Strangor (2014) will be
reviewed, then the factors from two different journals by Salice (2020) and Rusu (2019) will be
elaborated based on the book chapter. The first source which is written by Salice will elaborate
on the different factors that affect two forms of self esteem which are enduring state and episodic
self esteem (Salice, 2020). In addition, Salice also mentioned pride and self esteem being
different because different factors or circumstances will trigger either pride or self esteem
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(Salice, 2020). Therefore, it is important to review which factors influence self esteem and which
factors influence pride, so there will be no misconceptions. The second source will be specified
to the part where it specifically discusses self esteem from the Abraham Maslow theory (Rusu,
2019). The one other journal can not be analysed in this topic because the journal mainly talks
about self awareness towards the team function along with the performance (Dierdorff, Fisher
and Rubin, 2018). In addition, it does not mention any factors which affect self-esteem.
Therefore the journal by Dierdorff et al. (2018) will not be relevant with this topic.
To begin with, the broad factors which influence one’s self-esteem are the person oneself and
external factors such as other people and one’s environment (Strangor, 2014). The way a person
could influence one’s own self-esteem is by knowing one’s actions and characters well.
Meanwhile, the external factors could also affect it over the relationship and various kinds of
events one experienced. However, it does not stop there. According to the findings that Dr.
Strangor (2014) identified from several sources, there are still several detailed factors which
could also influence one’s self-esteem such as culture, gender, and age difference. First, the
cultural factor was found by Cai and his colleagues where there are differences between the
explicit self-esteem of Chinese and American participants through the cultural diversity in
modesty (Cai et al., 2007, as cited by Strangor, 2014). Moving forth, Dr. Strangor argues that
men have higher self-esteem than women as concluded and supported from an additional study
(Sprecher, Brooks, & Avogo, 2013, as cited by Strangor, 2014). Lastly, Robins and friends
reported that the self-esteem of a child tends to decrease until they become early adolescence,
and start to grow steadily until their sixty before declining again (Robins, Trzesniewski, Tracy,
Gosling, & Potter, 2002, as cited by Strangor, 2014). Therefore, it can be said that one’s level of
self-esteem will vary depending on one’s age.
In “Self-Esteem, Social Esteem, and Pride”, Salice explained that the enduring state is defined on
how an individual conceives one's own self worth which will affect one’s mood and decision
(Salice, 2020). On the other hand, the episodic self esteem is not as constant as the enduring state
because this self esteem is affected by any recent event occurred or how others feel toward the
individual. This means that if the individual knows about oneself and one’s own self worth, one
will acknowledge one’s own capabilities and one’s self esteem will remain constant according to
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the enduring state. However, the episodic self esteem will tend to fluctuate as it is affected by
other people or circumstances which can not be controlled by the person itself. As an example to
make it clearer, a child who did not get accepted to the basketball team will have a constant self
esteem from the enduring state perspective because one knows one’s own capabilities and
realizes that one’s skills are not yet enough. However, from the episodic self esteem perspective,
the child will have low esteem because the decision one received makes one feel less worthy.
Through this, the factors from this journal and the book chapter are correlated. The enduring
state is identical with how the individual knows oneself and it is a part of a trait which is stable
over time (Strangor, 2014). Meanwhile, the episodic self esteem is identical with a state which is
mentioned in Strangor’s book chapter (2014) where it varies over the time due to external factors
like other people or events.
Still in the same journal, there are different factors which affect the production of self esteem and
pride. The first point will be that self esteem is affected by the esteem that others have expressed
to us (Salice, 2020). For instance, when a person unexpectedly got invited to a conference that
only a few people got invited, it has proved that the inviter holds one in high esteem. This shows
that the person got recognized and considered as worthy from the inviter’s point of view. As a
result, a positive self esteem will be formed inside the person. This point is correlated with the
book chapter as it is written when we feel accepted and valued by others, positive thoughts will
fill our self-concept and respectively we will have high self esteem (Strangor, 2014). On the
other hand, the factors that will produce pride will be the time when a goal is achieved in an
excellent way (Salice, 2020). As an example, when a person succeeds in solving a puzzle by
oneself, it will attest to one that one is worthy. Correspondingly, pride will be formed inside
oneself. In short, high or positive self esteem will be formed when other people notice and
consider us as worthy and afterward, we will feel good and valuable. Meanwhile, if we feel
worthy after we achieve something, this will be called pride (Salice, 2020).
Lastly, the Abraham Maslow pyramid of needs with five sections also has an impact on one’s
perception about their own self. A brief description about it, the first section is about
physiological needs, second is about safety needs, third is about belongingness and love needs,
fourth is about the esteem needs, and last is about self-actualization (Maslow, 1993). In general
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the pyramid or the hierarchy is divided into two categories where the first and the second section
is about the material needs while the third, fourth, and fifth section is categorized as the
psychological or spiritual needs. As the discussion is about the factors which influence
self-esteem, it will be focused on the fourth section of the pyramid which is the esteem needs. As
the journal mentioned, the factors which affect the esteem needs will be confidence, self-belief,
respect from others, and personal and social acceptance (Rusu, 2019). From these factors, it can
be seen that there are similarities between the journal and the book chapter. Once again, the book
chapter mentioned that our awareness towards our own performance and appearance will affect
our self-esteem (Strangor, 2014). This is correlated with the factors from Maslow's esteem need
which are the confidence, self-belief, and personal acceptance. Meanwhile, the respect from
others and social acceptance is corresponded with the part of the relationship with others, also
affects our self-esteem (Strangor, 2014). Overall, the factors which affect self-esteem that are
mentioned in both journals correspond to the theory in the book chapter.
Benefits of high self-esteem
After understanding about factors affecting self-esteem, two levels of self-esteem are going to be
reviewed. First, high self-esteem and its outcomes will be analyzed. The chapter “The Feeling
Self: Self-Esteem” by Strangor (2014), in the book “Principles of Social Psychology - 1st
International Edition” shows that there are definitely advantages to having high self-esteem
(positive self-esteem) in general, even though the self-esteem level varies based on age, culture,
and gender. Having high self-esteem means that people believe in their abilities and that they are
valued by others, which lead to many positive outcomes (Strangor, 2014). In this book chapter,
the author referred to a study, which proved that individuals with positive self-esteem are more
likely to perform better academically, while facing less stress and anxiety (Baumeister et al.,
2003). Also, their live expectancy may be longer than people with negative self-esteem. The
author also found that people who consider themselves more positively may have a more active
life, they will be more likely to initiate a new relationship and to protect others from bullies by
speaking up in public. With the belief that they can do well, high self-esteem individuals also
rebounce faster and work harder after failure, and they are more flexible to switch to another
action plan, if the current one does not ensure future success (Strangor, 2014). Therefore, in
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short, individuals with positive self-esteem seem to be happier and braver, they may have better
relationships, more active and dynamic life.
The mentioned positive outcomes of having high self-esteem are also justified in Rusu’s paper
published in 2019, which is named “The Process of Self-Realization—From the Humanist
Psychology Perspective”. In this paper, the author referred to Maslow's hierarchy of needs,
which states that people have the needs to gain self-esteem and respect - one of the most
complex needs on top of the pyramid (Maslow, 1970). Once these needs are satisfied, they will
gain self-confidence, and become happier because they believe that they are worthy, strong,
adequate and necessary in the society (Rusu, 2019). Also, in this same paper, the author
acknowledged Carl Rogers Humanistic Psychology, which claims that us humans have the
natural tendency towards achieving self-actualization (Rogers, 2008). Self-actualization is highly
correlated with high self-esteem, self-actualized people also have positive self-esteem,
functioned in three areas according to Rogers’s theory. First, these people will be more open to
diverse experiences; second, they will live their lives without any preconceptions; and lastly,
they will be confident in their own body, emotions, decisions, creativity, etc. (Rogers, 2008).
Thus, this paper also confirmed that individuals with high self-esteem will have a better life with
more experiences and freedom over their lives.
Moreover, having high self-esteem can bring pleasant emotions in someone’s life, even if it is
just episodic self-esteem, which is presented in Salice’s paper “Self-Esteem, Social Esteem, and
Pride” published in 2020. According to the author, episodic self-esteem means one’s self esteem
sometimes depends on other’s evaluation towards him/her, and that negative or positive
self-esteem does not last for long, it is just occurrent (Salice, 2020). One will feel worthy and
valued when he/she is recognized by others, even though there is no assurance that these
pleasurable feelings will last for long. Also, once again, Salice claimed that high self-esteem
people are more likely to be confident, which is a valuable trait when the level of confidence is
well controlled. Furthermore, high self-esteem correlates with pride - a positive self-evaluation
that is not affected much by other’s opinion (Salice, 2020). In short, according to Salice, having
high self-esteem can manifest pleasant emotions and valuable traits in one’s life.
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Not only having positive impacts on individual level, high self-esteem also impacts team’s
function favorably. This is proven in Dierdorff, Fisher, and Rubin’s paper in 2018: “The Power
of Percipience: Consequences of Self-awareness in Teams on Team-Level Functioning and
Performance”. This paper found that teams having members with high levels of self-awareness
will perform better and have greater functioning. The criteria for examination were teams’s
coordination, cohesion and conflict. The researchers stated in their paper that the higher
aggregate level of team member’s self-awareness is, the better outcomes the team will have. The
team’s ability to coordinate, reach cohesion and resolve conflict will be boosted (Dierdorff,
Fisher, and Rubin, 2018). Positive self-awareness here is associated with people’s belief in their
ability and importance in life, therefore, it is highly connected to high self-esteem. It can be said
that a team consisting of individuals who have positive self-esteem may have better team-level
performance effectiveness in terms of coordination, cohesion and conflict resolvement.
Limits of high self-esteem
After analyzing the benefit of high self-esteem, this part of the paper will analyze the negative
impact of high self-esteem on individuals and teams. In general, many people have tried to see
themselves in a positive light. We focus on our positive characteristics and sometimes
manipulate knowledge in some situations—all of which will help us preserve our positive
self-esteem. But also too much self-esteem may be detrimental, especially if this is undeserved
and unrealistic. Narcissism, Dr. Charles Stangeor defines as : “a personality trait characterized
by overly high self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-centeredness.” (2014) which people with
overly high self-esteem have. Narcissism or so called narcissistic are people that are considered
charming or attractive but when they know those people for a long time, narcissistic people tend
to drive other people away (Strangor, 2014). According to Strangor (2014), people who have
high self esteem will have more chances to become successful. Additionally, Rusu (2019) also
has proven in his paper that when a person achieves higher self esteem and more success, other
people will find them more attractive, likable and will praise them. In this same paper, the
Maslow theory claims that people always have the needs for love and this needs have a
significant influence on an individual`s evaluation of their self worth (Maslow, 1993). This point
is also proven in the Salice (2020) paper which mentions that other people have a remarkable
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impact on how we feel about ourselves. Other person`s compliments on us might make us feel
extremely more empowered, confident and makes us love ourselves more. Therefore, the more
other people admire or praise people with high self esteem the higher the chance that person will
be narcissistic.
As an individual narcissistic people often do not have a good relationship partner since they are
more selfish and unfaithful than non narcissistic people (Strangor, 2014). Besides, narcissistic
people could have bad choices in relationships, they also tend to be bullies and do not react to
criticism in a positive way (Strangor, 2014). This argument is also supported by Dierdoff, Fisher
and Rubin in their paper of “The Power of Percipience: Consequences of Self-awareness in
Teams on Team-Level Functioning and Performance”, stating that people with higher
self-enhancement often have behavior tendencies of ignoring criticism and reacting defensively
toward other. People with narcissistic tendencies are people that are self centered and make their
own decisions on other people and societies around them based on their own good (Strangor,
2014). This claim is also supported by Dierdorff, Fisher, and Rubin (2018), stating in negative
events, they can become hostile or defensive and they are viewed as self-serving and
intransigent. Last characteristic about narcissistic people was researched by Baumesiter and his
friends and they found out that people with high self esteem are more likely to experiment with
drugs, sex and alchol since people with excessive self esteem have found themselves engaged in
a series of negative behaviours, especially when followed by narcissism, defensiveness and the
reluctance to criticism of their possible negative attributes (Strangor, 2014).
Having overly-high esteem for a team member also negatively affects the group. Dierdoff,
Fisher, and Rubin (2018) have pointed out that if a person overvalues their performance and
contribution, this can lead to the reduction in team coordination and cohesion. Having high
self-esteem will make that person become individualistic instead of collectivistics, which results
in decrease of integration, commitment and interpersonal connection amongst team members.
These negative characteristics will also increase team conflict, since the team members have too
many misunderstandings with each other.
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Benefits and limits of low self-esteem
In contrast to high self-esteem, a person will feel low self-esteem (negative self-esteem) when
they believe that they are inadequate or less competent than others (Strangor, 2014). This
argument is also supported by Dierdoff, Fisher and Rubin in their paper of “The Power of
Percipience: Consequences of Self-awareness in Teams on Team-Level Functioning and
Performance”, since their finding shows that people with lower levels of self-awareness will
often undervalue or underrate themselves. Similar to high self-esteem, low self-esteem also
affects people positively and negatively. Looking on the bright side, (Strangor, 2014) found out
that people with low self-esteem are less likely to become bullies, or experiment with alcohol
and drugs. This trend can be explained by the theory of Maslow that even though we love people
who represent perfection, success and high self-esteem, it is also those people who make us feel
anxious, embarrassed, and inferior (Maslow, 1993). Evidently, the prior part of this paper also
emphasizes that people with higher levels of self-esteem are more inclined to become bullies.
Therefore, people who perceive themself as incompetent and inferior will less likely to have to
confidence to become bullies. Strangor (2014) also found that when being forced to fail a
challenging task in front of a partner, people with low self-esteem will show less unfriendly, rude
and arrogant behaviours than people with high self-esteem. This situation can be explained
through the findings in Rusu’s paper (2019) that when being taken away the needs of being
respected, people with low self-esteem will feel inferior, weak, helpless and discouraged.
Therefore, people with low self-esteem will react less negatively compared to people with higher
self-esteem.
On another hand, low self-esteem also affects a person in a negative way. Even though people
with low self-esteem are less likely to become bullies, this does not mean that they will defend
victims of bullies either. It turns out that people with low self are less likely to defend victims of
bullies than high self-esteem people. This trend also appears in initiating relationships and
speaking up in people with low self esteem (Strangor, 2014). This argument is supported by
Rusu’s paper which stated that many people are afraid to take risks, because any actions might
decide if they will become a success or a failure. In the paper of Strangor (2014), the success of a
task is found to have an impact on the level of self-esteem. The failure in a task can make a
person with low self-esteem have a feeling that they are even more inadequate. In her paper of
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“Self-Esteem, Social Esteem, and Pride”, Salice (2020) also came up with the result that people
with low self-esteem are more prone to anxiety and depression. With all of these negative
feelings, people with lower levels of self-esteem are less likely to feel proud of their
achievements. Consequently, this will hinder the opportunities of a person to increase their
self-appreciation. If a person believes that they are incompetent and inadequate, they will also
feel that their achivements are unwarranted or not verified (Salice, 2020). This reduction in pride
caused by low self-awareness does not only leave impacts on personal level, but also on a
cooperating team level. Similar to the negative influence of over-rating in people with high
self-esteem, low self-esteem also causes higher levels of team conflict due to the fact that team
members with low self-esteem under-rate themselves, which then results in disagreement with
other team members (Dierdorff, Fisher, and Rubin, 2018). The research found out that inaccurate
evaluation of one’s contribution or ability will cause misunderstanding and interpersonal conflict
between team members, and push the team to be less flexible in terms of team functioning. These
kinds of conflict will also hamper the feeling of belongingness and attachment between team
members and result in team’s incohesion (Dierdorff, Fisher, and Rubin, 2018).
Self-esteem affect on quality of life
After considering all the positive and negative impacts of high and low self-esteem on
individuals and individuals working in a team, this section of the paper will use these analysis to
finalize the influence of self-esteem on one’s life. The third chapter of “Principles of Social
Psychology”, the concept of self-esteem is examined and how it affects us as individuals
(Stranger, 2014). The prior parts of this paper have also investigated the importance of this
matter and, therefore, this section will look closer at how one perceives oneself affects life
quality in the matter of positive and negative outlooks. A key factor is that there is a baseline of
self-esteem which is more or less stable, while it is also affected by the circumstances. As Dr.
Charles Strangor claims, there is a correlation between positive self-esteem and better
performance, but does that also mean a better quality of life? (Strangor, 2014).
The four sources analyzed all have several points in common, where how an individual perceives
oneself influences how one goes around in life. Another key component is that in order to be in a
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happy state, it is necessary to evaluate oneself in an accurate way. As self-esteem is mainly
subject to individuals and circumstances around us, in order to evaluate and have a balanced
self-esteem, we need to know ourselves, called “self-awareness”. Dierdoff, Fisher, and Rubin
write that “self-awareness, which has been generally defined as the capacity ‘to reflect on and
accurately assess one’s own behaviors and skills as they are manifested in workplace
interactions” (Dierdoff, Fisher, and Rubin, 2018). Self-esteem and self-awareness are closely
related in the sense that self-awareness is reflected in self-esteem. As one evaluates and is aware
of one's own being shows the level of self-esteem. If an individual keeps going in a direction
which is a mismatch with the true skills and character of that person, that can lead one into a
misleading path and result in a person living a life which is disadvantageous (Strangor, 2014).
This is also shown in “The Power of Percipience: Consequences of Self-awareness in Teams on
Team-Level Functioning and Performance”, the crucial aspect of self-awareness in order to be
able to operate efficiently and having team dynamics to minimize conflict (Dierdoff, Fisher, and
Rubin, 2018).
If one fails to accurately assess oneself, it is possible that they suffer from low self-esteem or
high self-esteem, as narcissistic. As analyzed in more details prior in this paper, with an
overassessed self-evaluation, individuals tend to ignore criticism of lacking skills or character
and are also prone to target weaker individuals and use addictive and abusive substances to a
larger extent (Strangor, 2014). This also leads to less development as an individual which
ultimately can lead to a lower quality of life. To be able to activate the highest potential of life
quality, it is crucial to realize who you are. Rusu uses Jung’s words, as he claims to become an
individual being, to the extent that, by individuality, we understand our most intimate, ultimate
and incomparable uniqueness, means to become our own self” (Rusu, 2019).
But as one can overestimate oneself, one can also underestimate, shown as low self-esteem. As
Dr. Charles Strangor argues, low self-esteem can result in an unstable and inconsistent
self-concept. This in turn can make an individual less resistant to challenging circumstances and
therefore can be more prone to stress. Having a stable and consistent self-concept can, on the
contrary, result in well-being (Strangor, 2014). Rusu displays Maslow’s theories, with the
statement that as individuals are not aware of their own self and their potentials, they set lower
standards for themselves, resulting in underperformance relative to what a person capable of
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achieving. In turn, dissatisfied and unmotivated individuals lose potential life quality (Rusu,
2019).
The opposite of self-esteem is disesteem which results in the subject to feel like a “nobody”.
Disesteem therefore makes individuals prone to feel unworthy or a loser. Lacking self-esteem
simply can be seen as one lacking “standing in the eyes of others” (Salice, 2020). Again showing
the importance of accurately assessing oneself in order to get a stable and secure self-esteem, not
depending on the opinions of others, ultimately resulting in better life quality.
Maslow argues that as a person discovers oneself, one matures and takes the next step from the
basic needs and skills and instead improves in motivation and performance (Maslow, 1970). This
is said to be so-called “meta-motivation”. Rusu also mentions that as these basic needs are
satisfied, an individual feels strong, worthy and necessary to one's surroundings, self-esteem is
satisfied. This is according to Maslow’s idea of “the need to be respected” where either desire for
power or reputation gives validation from others that I indeed am worthy (Rusu, 2019).
Since self-esteem evidently is linked to others’ esteem of ourselves, our self-esteem is to some
extent dependent on the people around us. Therefore, in order to not lose motivation and self
validation, it is important to assess yourself in an accurate way where you are confident in your
abilities and character. If one fails to create this baseline of self-esteem, the result can be that a
person becomes dependent on all circumstances and is chained to what the surrounding says. As
a result, the person will instead of deciding for oneself what to do or value, s/he will take the
general opinion upon herself, called “heteronomic” (Salice, 2020). Thus, lower life quality.
Throughout the four sources, it is evident that they all find how self esteem is a crucial factor in
determining the quality of life. If one is not the master of self perception and how to react to the
circumstances, it is ruled by the general opinion and the likes or dislikes of others, resulting in an
unstable and insecure state of being. A balanced self-esteem generates the best outcomes in
regard to conflict issues, confidence, relationships, performance and general motivation in life.
An inaccurate assessment of oneself can ultimately lead to an individual's downfall in terms of
missed opportunities, being placed in the wrong environment and living unsatisfied with one's
current situation.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, all the four sources which are “Chapter 3: The Feeling Self- Self-Esteem” by
Strangor (2014), “The Power of Percipient: Consequences of Self-Awareness in Teams on
Team-Level Functioning and Performance” by Dierforff and colleagues (2018), “The Process of
Self-Realization - From the Humanist Psychology Perspective” by Rusu (2019), and
“Self-Esteem, Social Esteem and Pride by Salice (2020) bring us more insights about the topic of
self-esteem. According to these researches, it can be said that self-esteem is an important factor
determining life quality. One’s self-esteem can be influenced not only by internal evaluation of
his/her ability, but also by other’s external opinions towards him/her (Salice, 2020). There are
different levels of self-esteem, with positive aspects and challenges associated with each specific
level. People having low self-esteem may react less negatively compared to others with higher
levels of esteem, but they are more prone to depression, anxiety and they often underrate their
achievements (Strangor, 2014). Team consisting of individuals with low self-esteem will be
more likely to face conflicts (Dierdoff, Fisher, and Rubin, 2018). On the other hand, high
self-esteem individuals may have a happier and more dynamic life with better performance in
relationships as well as at work. However, overly high self-esteem, also called narcissism will
result in criticism ignorance, overuse of addicted substances and bullying behaviors (Strangor,
2014). Team function level also suffers if team members over-value their contributions, which is
detrimental (Dierdoff, Fisher, and Rubin, 2018).
Therefore, a wrong self-view is definitely harmful. There will be negative consequences for
underrated self ability (low self-esteem), as well as overrated self ability (overly high
self-esteem/ narcissism) (Dierdoff, Fisher, and Rubin, 2018). Thus, the goal is to have a correct
self-awareness, to recognize where our ability is ranked at, so that we can avoid any problems
with over-valuing or under-valuing ourselves (Dierdoff, Fisher, and Rubin, 2018). Also, for the
ones struggling with low self-esteem, Strangor suggested ways to boost self-esteem, and to
maintain it in his book chapter in 2014. The author claimed that one way to enhance self-worth is
to succeed in what we do, no matter if it is at school, at work, in dating or at sports. Our
self-esteem rises automatically when we perform well, and when we are successful in creating
positive outcomes. In order to achieve these successes, Strangor suggested to keep a positive
mind and to never stop trying even after a failure. The authors also mentioned another technique
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to enhance positive self-esteem, which is to create quality connections with others (Strangor,
2014). Initiating and keeping satisfying relationships will make us value ourselves more and
boost our self-worth. There are many ways to create such relationships, by spending quality time
with friends and family, using social networking sites, hanging out with people with similar
interests, etc (Strangor, 2014). Self-esteem is not permanent, it can decline depending on
variables, but it can also be built and maintained with time and effort. Understanding different
aspects about self-esteem can help a lot in increasing life quality.
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References
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