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You Can’t Earn High Self Esteem
We often make the mistake of thinking that we need to acquire certain things to be respected by others. This is a damaging thought because one assumes that one is valued only for what they can get.
A worse thought, however, is the thought that we need to acquire certain things so that we can respect ourselves.
The truth is, a healthy level of regard for yourself cannot and should not be dependent on what you do, what you acquire or what position you have. That’s conditional love and we can’t afford to only be loving to ourselves when we get something valuable.
You have to know that you are inherently valuable. Anything less and the things and people who you consider valuable will not be able to rendezvous with you. If you don’t think you’re appreciated just as you are, people will believe you.
“It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.” — Sally Fields
Think of the story of the wise man and his ring. When a man who had been criticized his whole life came to the wise man for help, the wise man gave him his ring and told him to sell it in the market, with the asking price being one gold coin.
When the man tried to sell the coin, no one would give him anything close to what he…
