(S) Self-Esteem: Self Confidence

The terms self-esteem and self-confidence often are used as if they mean the same thing….but do they?

Although they seem like interchangeable words, they are two different concepts. It's important to understand the role of self-esteem and self-confidence when looking to grow, improve, and evolve our overall sense of self.

What is Self-Esteem? Self-esteem refers to how much esteem, positive regard or love you have for yourself; essentially, how you feel about yourself overall.

Self-esteem develops from experiences and situations that have shaped how you view yourself from the inside out!

People with higher self-esteem share many many characteristics. In general, they...:

What is Self-Confidence? Self-confidence is how you feel about your abilities and can vary from situation to situation.

Self-confidence, in easy terms, is about things on the outside. For example, I may have healthy self-esteem & feel confident telling you that I don’t cook well. However, I have low confidence about my cooking skills (something that is ‘outside’ of me).

When you love and like yourself, your self-esteem improves, which makes you more confident. When you are confident in areas of your life, you begin to increase your overall sense of esteem. You can work on both at the same time.

What Does Low Self-Esteem Look Like?

​A friend told me she has low self-esteem; she constantly feels “I’m not good enough.” This concept, this ‘tape’ in her thoughts, has developed over her entire life.

She has been in a series of unhealthy relationships, is frequently belittled by her boss, and constantly tells herself “I suck, I’m not worth it.” Recognizing she has this negative script, she is now better able to change it.

Yet, she is confident about being an amazing chef, a caring friend, and having the ability to be super-organized.

She knows and believes this about herself and feels confident in these areas. By focusing on the things she is confident in and working on changing her negative self-talk, she is improving both her self-esteem and self-confidence.

Ideas for Improving Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence

If you are having trouble finding areas you are confident in, try these tips.

The more we recognize our challenges with self-confidence and self-esteem, the more aware we become of improvements that can be made and the better people we become.