In psychology, the term self-esteem is used to describe an individual's overall self-worth or personal importance. In other words, how much you want and appreciate. It includes several self-values, such as determining your personality, beliefs, feelings, and habits.
Often seen as a personality trait, self-esteem means it appears to be strong and permanent.
Self-esteem will play a major role in your lifelong motivation and achievement. Low self-esteem can prevent you from succeeding at school or work, as you don't consider yourself successful.
By comparison, maintaining healthy self-esteem will help you accomplish this by approaching life with an optimistic, assertive mindset and believing you will achieve your goals.
Theories of Self-Esteem
Many researchers have written on self-esteem processes. The need for self-esteem plays an important role in the needs hierarchy of psychologist Abraham Maslow, which portrays self-esteem as one of the fundamental human motivations.
Maslow said people need both other people's esteem and inner self-respect. To evolve as an individual and achieve self-actualization, all of these needs must be fulfilled.
It is important to remember that self-esteem is a term distinct from self-efficacy, involving how well you think you can manage future behavior, success, or skills.
Factors That Influence Self-Esteem
As you expect, several factors affect self-esteem. Your inner thinking, age, possible illnesses, disabilities, physical limitations, and work can affect your self-esteem.
Also, genetic factors that help shape a person's personality may play a role, but also our interactions form the foundation for overall self-esteem. For example, those who regularly receive excessively critical or negative evaluations from family and friends may experience low self-esteem.
Signs of Healthy and Low Self-Esteem
We all know that self-esteem (sometimes called self-worth or self-respect) can be an important part of success. Too little self-esteem can leave people discouraged or depressed. It may also lead people to choose poorly, fall into harmful relationships, or struggle to live up to their full potential.
On the other hand, a grandiose sense of self-importance can be off-putting and even destroy personal relationships. It may also be a symptom of narcissistic personality disorder, a mental health disorder marked by excessive superiority and lack of empathy towards others.
