Dear Adelaide:

You are welcome.

“Building self worth will be an ongoing journey, but I feel proud I am at least embarking on it, despite it feeling difficult at times”-

– I understand that you are busy professionally and otherwise, so feel free to not read my little research (Wikipedia) into the concept of the term you used, self worth, aka self esteem. I thought that maybe it will be interesting for you to read, and it couldn’t possibly be harmful to read:

The concept of self-esteem was first expressed in the writings of David Hume (1711-1776), a Scottish enlightenment thinker, expressing that “it is important to value and think well of yourself because it serves as a motivational function that enables people to explore their full potential”.

Nathaniel Branden (1930-2014), a Canadian-American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self esteem, stated: “(I) cannot think of a single psychological problem- from anxiety and depression, to fear of intimacy or of success.. that is not traced back to the problem of low self esteem”.

He suggested the following for the purpose of increasing one’s self esteem (I will present it using the first person pronoun, with just a bit of paraphrasing):

(1) The practice of living mindfully, being aware of what I am doing while doing it

(2) The practice of accepting myself, owning truths regarding my thoughts, my emotions, and my behaviors, being kind to myself regarding my thoughts and emotions, being “for” myself, not against myself.

(3) The practice of self- responsibility, owning my authorship of my actions, owning my capacity to be the cause of the effects I desire.

(4) The practice of self assertion, treating my needs and interests with respect and of expressing them in appropriate ways.

(5) The practice of living purposefully, formulating goals and action plans to achieve them.

(6) The practice of personal integrity, maintaining alignment between my behaviors and  my convictions.

I wish you well, Adelaide!

anita