how to value yourself essay

What is Self-Worth & How Do We Build it? (Incl. Worksheets)

What is Self-Worth and How Do We Increase it? Definition, Quotes + 4 Worksheets

There’s self-esteem, self-compassion, self-acceptance, self-respect, self-confidence, self-love, self-care, and so on.

There are so many words to describe how we feel about ourselves, how we think about ourselves, and how we act toward ourselves. It’s understandable if they all start to blend together for you; however, they are indeed different concepts with unique meanings, findings, and purposes.

Read on to learn more about what may be the most vital “self-” concept of them all: self-worth.

Before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Self-Compassion Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will not only help you show more compassion and kindness to yourself but will also give you the tools to help your clients, students or employees improve their self-compassion and realize their worth.

This Article Contains:

What is the meaning of self-worth and self-value, the psychology of self-worth.

What Is Self-Worth Theory?

What Determines Self-Worth?

3 examples of healthy self-worth, how to find self-worth and value yourself more, the importance of self-worth in relationships, the risks of tying your self-worth to your job, the self-worth scale, 5 activities and exercises for developing self-worth, 2 worksheets that help increase self-worth, meditations to boost self-worth, recommended books on self-worth, must-watch ted talks and youtube videos, 12 quotes on self-worth, a take-home message.

Self-worth and self-value are two related terms that are often used interchangeably. Having a sense of self-worth means that you value yourself, and having a sense of self-value means that you are worthy. The differences between the two are minimal enough that both terms can be used to describe the same general concept.

However, we’ll provide both definitions so you can see where they differ.

Self-worth is defined by Merriam-Webster as:

“a feeling that you are a good person who deserves to be treated with respect”.

On the other hand, self-value is “more behavioral than emotional, more about how you act toward what you value, including yourself, than how you feel about yourself compared to others” (Stosny, 2014).

Self-Worth versus Self-Esteem

Similarly, there is not a huge difference between self-worth and self-esteem , especially for those who are not professionals in the field of psychology. In fact, the first definition of self-worth on the Merriam-Webster dictionary website is simply “self-esteem.”

Similarly, the World Book Dictionary definition of self-esteem is “thinking well of oneself; self-respect,” while self-worth is defined as “a favorable estimate or opinion of oneself; self-esteem” (Bogee, Jr., 1998).

Clearly, many of these terms are used to talk about the same ideas, but for those deeply immersed in these concepts, there is a slight difference. Dr. Christina Hibbert explains this:

“Self-esteem is what we think and feel and believe about ourselves. Self-worth is recognizing ‘I am greater than all of those things.’ It is a deep knowing that I am of value, that I am loveable, necessary to this life, and of incomprehensible worth.” (2013).

Self-Worth versus Self-Confidence

In the same vein, there are subtle but significant differences between self-worth and self-confidence.

Self-confidence is not an overall evaluation of yourself, but a feeling of confidence and competence in more specific areas. For example, you could have a high amount of self-worth but low self-confidence when it comes to extreme sports, certain subjects in school, or your ability to speak a new language (Roberts, 2012).

It’s not necessary to have a high sense of self-confidence in every area of your life; there are naturally some things that you will simply not be very good at, and other areas in which you will excel. The important thing is to have self-confidence in the activities in your life that matter to you and a high sense of self-worth overall.

We explore this further in The Science of Self-Acceptance Masterclass© .

Download 3 Free Self-Compassion Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you to help others create a kinder and more nurturing relationship with themselves.

Download 3 Free Self-Compassion Tools Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

What Is the Self-Worth Theory?

The self-worth theory posits that an individual’s main priority in life is to find self-acceptance and that self-acceptance is often found through achievement (Covington & Beery, 1976). In turn, achievement is often found through competition with others.

Thus, the logical conclusion is that competing with others can help us feel like we have impressive achievements under our belt, which then makes us feel proud of ourselves and enhances our acceptance of ourselves.

The theory holds that there are four main elements of the self-worth model:

Performance;
Self-worth.

The first three interact with each other to determine one’s level of self-worth. One’s ability and effort predictably have a big impact on performance, and all three contribute to one’s feeling of worth and value.

While this theory represents a good understanding of self-worth as we tend to experience it, it is unfortunate that we place so much emphasis on our achievements. Aside from competing and “winning” against others, there are many factors that can contribute to our sense of self-worth.

However, people commonly use other yardsticks to measure their self-worth. Here are five of the top factors that people use to measure and compare their own self-worth to the worth of others:

Appearance—whether measured by the number on the scale, the size of clothing worn, or the kind of attention received by others;
Net worth—this can mean income, material possessions, financial assets, or all of the above;
Who you know/your social circle—some people judge their own value and the value of others by their status and what important and influential people they know;
What you do/your career—we often judge others by what they do; for example, a stockbroker is often considered more successful and valuable than a janitor or a teacher;
What you achieve—as noted earlier, we frequently use achievements to determine someone’s worth (whether it’s our own worth or someone else’s), such as success in business, scores on the SATs, or placement in a marathon or other athletic challenge (Morin, 2017).

Author Stephanie Jade Wong (n.d.) is on a mission to correct misunderstandings and misperceptions about self-worth. Instead of listing all the factors that go into self-worth, she outlines what does not determine your self-worth (or, what should not determine your self-worth):

Your to-do list: Achieving goals is great and it feels wonderful to cross off things on your to-do list, but it doesn’t have a direct relationship with your worth as a human;
Your job: It doesn’t matter what you do. What matters is that you do it well and that it fulfills you;
Your social media following: It also doesn’t matter how many people think you are worthy of a follow or a retweet. It can be enlightening and healthy to consider the perspectives of others, but their opinions have no impact on our innate value;
Your age: You aren’t too young or too old for anything. Your age is simply a number and does not factor into your value as a human being;
Other people: As noted above, it doesn’t matter what other people think or what other people have done or accomplished. Your personal satisfaction and fulfillment are much more important than what others are thinking, saying, or doing;
How far you can run: Your mile run time is one of the least important factors for your self-worth (or for anything else, for that matter). If you enjoy running and feel fulfilled by improving your time, good for you! If not, good for you! Your ability to run does not determine your self-worth;
Your grades: We all have different strengths and weaknesses, and some of us are simply not cut out for class. This has no bearing on our value as people, and a straight-A student is just as valuable and worthy as a straight-F student or a dropout;
The number of friends you have: Your value as a human has absolutely nothing to do with how many friends or connections you have. The quality of your relationships is what’s really important;
Your relationship status: Whether flying solo, casually dating, or in a committed relationship, your value is exactly the same—your relationship status doesn’t alter your worth;
The money (or lack thereof) in the bank: If you have enough money to physically survive (which can, in fact, be $0), then you have already achieved the maximal amount of “worth” you can get from money (hint: it’s 0!);
Your likes: It doesn’t matter if you have “good taste” or not, if your friends and acquaintances think you’re sophisticated, or if you have an eye for the finer things. Your worth is the same either way.
Anything or anyone but yourself: Here we get to the heart of the matter—you are the only one who determines your self-worth. If you believe you are worthy and valuable, you are worthy and valuable. Even if you don’t believe you are worthy and valuable, guess what—you still are worthy and valuable!

“ If I succeed at this, I will feel more valuable as a person. ”

Have you ever had a similar thought? You are certainly not alone. While objectively, your worth is not conditional on anything, most of us constantly evaluate our worth as human beings.

Blascovich and Tomaka (1991) describe self-esteem as the extent to which an individual evaluates themselves favorably. Consequently, the core process underlying self-esteem is self-evaluation, and people use many standards and domains to determine their worthiness (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001).

Domains represent the areas where people believe success means that they are wonderful or worthwhile, and failure means that they are worthless (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001).

For example, the self-worth of person A may be greatly determined by academic performance, while the self-worth of person B may be determined mainly by appearance.

Noticing the domains your use as a frame of reference to determine your self-worth is the first step toward developing more unconditional self-acceptance. The self-reflection questions shared below explore created conditions used to determine ‘worthiness’ and later lead beyond these conditions.

Note that there is a difference between evaluating actions and evaluating personal worth. We can learn from our mistakes and grow as individuals by assessing our efforts. However, by evaluating our personal worth, we can threaten our wellbeing.

You might be thinking, “Okay, I know what does and doesn’t (and shouldn’t) determine self-worth, but what does healthy self-worth really look like?”

Given what we know about the determinants of self-worth, let’s read through a few examples.

Bill is not a great student. He gets mostly Bs and Cs, even when he spends a great deal of time studying. He didn’t get a great score on his SATs, and he’s an average reader, a struggling writer, and nobody’s idea of a mathematician.

Even though Bill wishes he had better grades, he still feels pretty good about himself. He knows that grades aren’t everything and that he’s just as valuable a person as his straight-A friends. Bill has a high sense of self-worth and a realistic view of himself and his abilities.

Next, let’s consider Amy. Amy has a wide variety of interests, including marathons, attending book club, playing weekly trivia with her friends, and meeting new people.

Amy’s not particularly good at running and has never placed in a marathon. She’s a slow reader and frequently misses the symbolism and themes that her fellow book club members pick up on. She only answers about 10% of the trivia questions correctly and leans on her friends’ knowledge quite often. Finally, she loves to talk to new people but sometimes she gets blown off and ignored.

Despite all of this, she still believes that she is worthy and valuable. She knows that her worth as a human is not dependent on her ability to run, read, play trivia, or make new friends. Whether she is great, terrible, or somewhere in between at each of her vast range of chosen activities, she knows she is still worthy of happiness, fulfillment, and love.

Finally, consider the case of Marcus. Marcus is an excellent salesman and frequently outsells most of the other people at his company, but one coworker seems to always be just a bit ahead of him. He is also an avid squash player and frequently competes in tournaments. Sometimes he gets first or second place, but usually he does not place at all.

Even though he is not the best at his job or at his favorite hobby, Marcus still feels that he is valuable. He thinks he is smart, talented, and successful, even though he’s not the smartest, most talented, or most successful, and he’s okay with that.

Bill, Amy, and Marcus all have healthy levels of self-worth. They have varying levels of abilities and talents, and they get a wide range of results from their efforts, but they all understand that what they do is not who they are. No matter whether they win awards or garner accolades for their performance or not, they still have the same high opinion of their value as a person.

There are things you can do to boost your sense of self-worth and ensure that you value yourself like you ought to be valued—as a full, complete, and wonderful human being that is deserving of love and respect, no matter what.

How to build self-worth in adolescents

As with most lifelong traits, it’s best to start early. If you know any adolescents, be sure to encourage them to understand and accept their own self-worth. Reinforce their value as a being rather than a “doing,” as some say—in other words, make sure they know that they are valuable for who they are, not what they do.

If you need some more specific ideas on how to boost an adolescent’s self-worth, check out the suggestions below.

Researchers at Michigan State University recommend two main strategies:

Provide unconditional love, respect, and positive regard;
Give adolescents opportunities to experience success (Clark-Jones, 2012).

Showing a teen unconditional love (if you’re a parent, family member, or very close friend) or unconditional respect and positive regard (if you’re a teacher, mentor, etc.) is the best way to teach him self-worth.

If you show a teenager that you love and appreciate her for exactly who and what she is, she will learn that it’s okay to love herself for exactly who and what she is. If you demonstrate that she doesn’t need to achieve anything to earn your love and respect, she’ll be much less likely to put unnecessary parameters on her own self-love and self-respect.

Further, one way in which we gain a healthy sense of self-worth is through early and frequent experiences of success. Successful experiences boost our sense of competency and mastery and make us feel just plain good about ourselves.

Successful experiences also open the door for taking healthy risks and the success that often follows. Don’t just tell a teen that she is worthy and valuable, help her believe it by giving her every opportunity to succeed.

Just be sure that these opportunities are truly opportunities for her to succeed on her own—a helping hand is fine, but we need to figure out how to do some things on our own to build a healthy sense of self-worth (Clark-Jones, 2012).

How to increase self-worth and self-value in adults

It’s a bit trickier to increase self-worth and self-value in adults, but it’s certainly not a lost cause. Check out the two tips below to learn how to go about it.

First, take a look back at the list of what does not determine self-worth. Remind yourself that your bank account, job title, attractiveness, and social media following have nothing to do with how valuable or worthy a person you are.

It’s easy to get caught up in chasing money, status, and popularity—especially when these things are highly valued by those around us and by society in general—but make an effort to take a step back and think about what truly matters when determining people’s worth: their kindness, compassion, empathy, respect for others, and how well they treat those around them.

Second, work on identifying, challenging, and externalizing your critical inner voice. We all have an inner critic that loves to nitpick and point out our flaws (Firestone, 2014). It’s natural to let this inner critic get the best of us sometimes, but if we let her win too often she starts to think that she’s right!

Whenever you notice your inner critic start to fire up with the criticisms, make her pause for a moment. Ask yourself whether she has any basis in fact, whether she’s being kind or not, and whether what she’s telling you is something you need to know. If none of those things are true, feel free to tell her to see herself out!

Challenge her on the things she whispers in your ear and remind her that no matter what you do or don’t do, you are worthy and valuable all the same.

For more specific activities and ideas, see the exercises, activities, and worksheets we cover later in this piece.

It’s an understandable tendency to let someone else’s love for you encourage you to feel better about yourself. However, you should work on feeling good about yourself whether you are in a relationship or not.

The love of another person does not define you, nor does it define your value as a person. Whether you are single, casually seeing people, building a solid relationship with someone, or celebrating your 30th wedding anniversary with your spouse, you are worthy of love and respect, and you should make time to practice self-acceptance and self-compassion.

This is true for people of any relationship status, but it may be especially important for those in long-term relationships.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your partner’s love is what makes you worthy of love. If anything ever happens to your partner or to your relationship, you don’t want to be forced to build up your sense of worth from scratch. It can make breakups and grief much harder than they need to be.

Although this facet of the issue might be enough to encourage you to work on your self-worth, there’s another reason it’s important: Having a healthy sense of self-worth will actually make your current relationship better too.

When you learn to love yourself, you become better able to love someone else. People with high self-respect tend to have more satisfying, loving, and stable relationships than those who do not, precisely because they know that they need to first find their worth, esteem, and happiness within themselves.

Two people who are lit with self-worth and happiness from within make are much brighter than two people who are trying to absorb light from each other (Grande, 2018).

World’s Largest Positive Psychology Resource

The Positive Psychology Toolkit© is a groundbreaking practitioner resource containing over 500 science-based exercises , activities, interventions, questionnaires, and assessments created by experts using the latest positive psychology research.

Updated monthly. 100% Science-based.

“The best positive psychology resource out there!” — Emiliya Zhivotovskaya , Flourishing Center CEO

Similar to the dangers of anchoring your self-worth to someone else, there are big risks in tying your self-worth to your job. Like a significant other, jobs can come and go—sometimes without warning.

You can be let go, laid off, transitioned, dehired, dismissed, downsized, redirected, released, selectively separated, terminated, replaced, asked to resign, or just plain fired. You could also be transferred, promoted, demoted, or given new duties and responsibilities that no longer mesh with the sense of self-worth your previous duties and responsibilities gave you.

You could also quit, take a new job, take some time off, or retire—all things that can be wonderful life transitions, but that can be unnecessarily difficult if you base too much of your self-worth on your job.

As noted earlier, your job is one of the things that don’t define you or your worth. There’s nothing wrong with being proud of what you do, finding joy or fulfillment in it, or letting it shape who you are; the danger is in letting it define your entire sense of self.

We are all so much more than a job. Believing that we are nothing more than a job is detrimental to our wellbeing and can be disastrous in times of crisis.

If so, you’re in luck. There is a scale that is perfectly suited for this curiosity.

Also known as the Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale, this scale was developed by researchers Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, and Bouvrette in 2003. It consists of 35 items that measure self-worth in seven different domains. These seven domains, with an example item from each domain, are:

Approval from others (i.e., I don’t care if other people have a negative opinion of me);
Physical appearance (i.e., my self-esteem is influenced by how attractive I think my face or facial features are);
Outdoing others in competition (i.e., my self-worth is affected by how well I do when I am competing with others);
Academic competence (i.e., I feel bad about myself whenever my academic performance is lacking);
Family love and support (i.e., my self-worth is not influenced by the quality of my relationships with my family members);
Being a virtuous or moral person (i.e., my self-esteem depends on whether or not I follow my moral/ethical principles);
God’s love (i.e., my self-esteem would suffer if I didn’t have God’s love).

Each item is rated on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Once you have rated each item, sum the answers to the five items for each domain and divide the total by 5 for the sub-scale score.

To learn more about this scale or use it to determine your own self-worth, click here .

According to author and self-growth guru Adam Sicinski, there are five vital exercises for developing and maintaining self-worth. He lays them out in five stages, but there’s no need to keep them in strict order; it’s fine to move back and forth or revisit stages.

1. Increase your self-understanding

An important activity on the road to self-worth is to build self-understanding. You need to learn who you are and what you want before you can decide you are a worthy human being.

Sicinski recommends this simple thought experiment to work on increasing your understanding of yourself:

Imagine that everything you have is suddenly taken away from you (i.e., possessions, relationships, friendships, status, job/career, accomplishments and achievements, etc.);
Ask yourself the following questions: a. What if everything I have was suddenly taken away from me? b. What if all I had left was just myself? c. How would that make me feel? d. What would I actually have that would be of value?
Think about your answers to these questions and see if you can come to this conclusion: “No matter what happens externally and no matter what’s taken away from me, I’m not affected internally”;
Next, get to know yourself on a deeper level with these questions: a. Who I am? I am . . . I am not . . . b. How am I? c. How am I in the world? d. How do others see me? e. How do others speak about me? f. What key life moments define who I am today? g. What brings me the most passion, fulfillment, and joy?
Once you have a good understanding of who you are and what fulfills and satisfies you, it’s time to look at what isn’t so great or easy about being you. Ask yourself these questions: a. Where do I struggle most? b. Where do I need to improve? c. What fears often hold me back? d. What habitual emotions hurt me? e. What mistakes do I tend to make? f. Where do I tend to consistently let myself down?
Finally, take a moment to look at the flipside; ask yourself: a. What abilities do I have? b. What am I really good at?

Spend some time on each step, but especially on the steps that remind you of your worth and your value as a person (e.g., the strengths step).

2. Boost your self-acceptance

Once you have a better idea of who you are, the next step is to enhance your acceptance of yourself.

Start by forgiving yourself for anything you noted in item 5 above. Think of any struggles, needs for improvement, mistakes, and bad habits you have, and commit to forgiving yourself and accepting yourself without judgment or excuses.

Think about everything you learned about yourself in the first exercise and repeat these statements:

I accept the good, the bad and the ugly;
I fully accept every part of myself including my flaws, fears, behaviors, and qualities I might not be too proud of;
This is how I am, and I am at peace with that

3. Enhance your self-love

Now that you have worked on accepting yourself for who you are, you can begin to build love and care for yourself. Make it a goal to extend yourself kindness, tolerance, generosity, and compassion .

To boost self-love, start paying attention to the tone you use with yourself. Commit to being more positive and uplifting when talking to yourself.

If you’re not sure how to get started, think (or say aloud) these simple statements:

I feel valued and special;
I love myself wholeheartedly;
I am a worthy and capable person (Sicinski, n.d.).

4. Recognize your self-worth

Once you understand, accept, and love yourself, you will reach a point where you no longer depend on people, accomplishments, or other external factors for your self-worth.

At this point, the best thing you can do is recognize your worth and appreciate yourself for the work you’ve done to get here, as well as continuing to maintain your self-understanding, self-acceptance, self-love, and self-worth.

To recognize your self-worth, remind yourself that:

You no longer need to please other people;
No matter what people do or say, and regardless of what happens outside of you, you alone control how you feel about yourself;
You have the power to respond to events and circumstances based on your internal sources, resources, and resourcefulness, which are the reflection of your true value;
Your value comes from inside, from an internal measure that you’ve set for yourself.

5. Take responsibility for yourself

In this stage, you will practice being responsible for yourself, your circumstances, and your problems.

Follow these guidelines to ensure you are working on this exercise in a healthy way:

Take full responsibility for everything that happens to you without giving your personal power and your agency away;
Acknowledge that you have the personal power to change and influence the events and circumstances of your life.

Remind yourself of what you have learned through all of these exercises, and know that you hold the power in your own life. Revel in your well-earned sense of self-worth and make sure to maintain it.

Check out the four worksheets below that can help you build your self-worth.

About Me Sentence Completion Worksheet

This worksheet outlines a simple way to build self-worth. It only requires a pen or pencil and a few minutes to complete. Feel free to use it for yourself or for your adult clients, but it was designed for kids and can be especially effective for them.

This worksheet is simply titled “About Me: Sentence Completion” and is exactly what you might expect: it gives kids a chance to write about themselves. If your youngster is too young to write down his own answers, sit with him and help him record his responses.

The sentence stems (or prompts) to complete include:

I was really happy when . . .
Something that my friends like about me is . . .
I’m proud of . . .
My family was happy when I . . .
In school, I’m good at . . .
Something that makes me unique is . . .

By completing these six prompts, your child will take some time to think about who he really is, what he likes, what he’s good at, and what makes him feel happy.

Self-Esteem Sentence Stems worksheet.

Self-Esteem Checkup

This worksheet is good for a wide audience, including children, adolescents, young adults, and older adults. The opening text indicates that it’s a self-esteem worksheet, but in this case, the terms self-esteem and self-worth are used interchangeably.

Completing this worksheet will help you get a handle on your personal sense of understanding, acceptance, respect, and love for yourself.

The worksheet lists 15 statements and instructs you to rate your belief in each one on a scale from 0 (not at all) to 10 (totally or completely). These statements are:

I believe in myself;
I am just as valuable as other people;
I would rather be me than someone else;
I am proud of my accomplishments;
I feel good when I get compliments;
I can handle criticism;
I am good at solving problems;
I love trying new things;
I respect myself;
I like the way I look;
I love myself even when others reject me;
I know my positive qualities;
I focus on my successes and not my failures;
I’m not afraid to make mistakes;
I am happy to be me.

Add up all of the ratings for these 15 statements to get your total score, then rate your overall sense of self-esteem on a scale from 0 (I completely dislike who I am) to 10 (I completely like who I am).

Finally, respond to the prompt “What would need to change in order for you to move up one point on the rating scale? (i.e., for example, if you rated yourself a 6 what would need to happen for you to be at a 7?)”

Click here to preview this worksheet for yourself or click here to view it in a collection of self-esteem-building, small-group counseling lesson plans.

If you’re a fan of meditations , check out the four options below. They’re all aimed at boosting self-worth:

A Guided Meditation to Help Quiet Self-Doubt and Boost Confidence from Health.com;
Guided Meditation for Inner Peace and Self-Worth from Linda Hall;
Guided Meditation: Self-Esteem from The Honest Guys Meditations & Relaxations;

If you’re not fond of any of these four meditations, try searching for other guided meditations intended to improve your self-worth. There are many out there to choose from.

To learn more about self-worth and how to improve it, check out some of the most popular books about this subject on Amazon:

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Dr. Brené Brown ( Amazon );
What to Say When You Talk to Your Self by Dr. Shad Helmstetter ( Amazon );
The 21-Day Self-Love Challenge: Learn How to Love Yourself Unconditionally, Cultivate Confidence, Self-Compassion & Self-Worth by Sophia Taylor ( Amazon );
Love Yourself: 31 Ways to Truly Find Your Self Worth & Love Yourself by Randy Young ( Amazon );
Self-Worth Essentials: A Workbook to Understand Yourself, Accept Yourself, Like Yourself, Respect Yourself, Be Confident, Enjoy Yourself, and Love Yourself by Dr. Liisa Kyle ( Amazon );
Learning to Love Yourself: Finding Your Self-Worth by Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse ( Amazon ).

If you’re more of a watcher than a reader, there are some great TED Talks and YouTube videos you can check out, including:

TED Talk: Meet Yourself: A User’s Guide to Building Self-Esteem by Niko Everett

In her talk, Niko Everett, the founder of the organization Girls for Change, discusses inspiring ways to build up your self-esteem.

TED Talk: Claiming Your Identity by Understanding Your Self-Worth by Helen Whitener

Judge Helen Whitener discusses self-worth through the lens of social justice and equality in this talk.

A Clever Lesson in Self Worth from Meir Kay

Sometimes all we need to kickstart or motivate us to work on our self-love and self-worth is a good, insightful quote. If that’s what you’re looking for, read on.

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.

Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.

Louise L. Hay

The fact that someone else loves you doesn’t rescue you from the project of loving yourself.

Sahaj Kohli

Why should we worry about what others think of us, do we have more confidence in their opinions than we do our own?

Brigham Young

Don’t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only you can be responsible for that. If you can’t love and respect yourself—no on else will be able to make that happen. Accept who you are—completely; the good and the bad—and make changes as YOU see fit—not because you think someone else want you to be different.

Stacey Charter

Your problem is you’re afraid to acknowledge your own beauty. You’re too busy holding onto your unworthiness.

It’s surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves, and if you’re not comfortable within yourself, you can’t be comfortable with others.

Sidney J. Harris

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s own sunshine.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

George Eliot

Stay true to yourself. An original is worth more than a copy.

Suzy Kassem

17 Exercises To Foster Self-Acceptance and Compassion

Help your clients develop a kinder, more accepting relationship with themselves using these 17 Self-Compassion Exercises [PDF] that promote self-care and self-compassion.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

Self-worth is an important concept for both researchers and laymen to understand, and it’s especially important for us to be able to identify, build, and maintain a normal, healthy sense of self-worth.

Learning about self-worth can teach you how to be more happy and fulfilled in your authentic, loveable self.

What do you think is the most important takeaway from research on this topic? Do you think a lack of self-worth is a problem? Or perhaps you think an excess of self-worth is the bigger problem today? Let us know in the comments section.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Self Compassion Exercises for free .

Blascovich, J., & Tomaka, J. (1991). Measures of self-esteem. Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes, 1, 115-160.
Bogee, Jr., L. (1998). Leadership through personal awareness. University of Hawaii. Retrieved from http://www.hawaii.edu/intlrel/LTPA/selfwort.htm
Clark-Jones, T. (2012). The importance of helping teens discover self-worth. Michigan State University – MSU Extension. Retrieved from http://www.canr.msu.edu/news/the_importance_of_helping_teens_discover_self-worth
Covington, M. V., & Beery, R. G. (1976). Self-worth and school learning. Oxford, UK: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R. K., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, A. (2003). Contingencies of self-worth in college students: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85 , 894–908.
Crocker, J., & Wolfe, C. T. (2001). Contingencies of self-worth. Psychological Review, 108(3), 593.
Firestone, L. (2014). Essential tips for building true self-worth. Psych Alive. Retrieved from https://www.psychalive.org/self-worth/
Grande, D. (2018). Building self-esteem and improving relationships. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-it-together/201801/building-self-esteem-and-improving-relationships
Hibbert, C. (2013). Self-esteem vs. self-worth. Dr. Christina Hibbert. Retrieved from https://www.drchristinahibbert.com/self-esteem-vs-self-worth/
Morin, A. (2017). How do you measure your self-worth? Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201707/how-do-you-measure-your-self-worth
Roberts, E. (2012). The difference between self-esteem and self-confidence. Healthy Place. Retrieved from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/buildingselfesteem/2012/05/the-difference-between-self-esteem-and-self-confidence
Sicinski, A. (n.d.). How to build self-worth and start believing in yourself again. IQ Matrix. Retrieved from https://blog.iqmatrix.com/self-worth
Stosny, S. (2014). How much do you value yourself? Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anger-in-the-age-entitlement/201406/how-much-do-you-value-yourself
Wong, S. J. (n.d.). 13 things that don’t determine your self-worth. Shine. Retrieved from https://advice.shinetext.com/articles/12-things-that-dont-determine-your-self-worth/

Share this article:

Article feedback

What our readers think.

So, you check the appropriate boxes in a worksheet you somehow develop self worth?

This was very helpful, thank you. It encapsulated a lot of topics I wanted to touch on during therapy. Well-researched and written 🙂 Especially love how you linked how most people who struggle with self-worth, struggle with relationships.

Let us know your thoughts Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Social Identity Theory: I, You, Us & We. Why Groups Matter

As humans, we spend most of our life working to understand our personal identities. The question of “who am I?” is an age-old philosophical thought [...]

Discovering Self-Empowerment: 13 Methods to Foster It

In a world where external circumstances often dictate our sense of control and agency, the concept of self-empowerment emerges as a beacon of hope and [...]

How to Improve Your Client’s Self-Esteem in Therapy: 7 Tips

When children first master the expectations set by their parents, the experience provides them with a source of pride and self-esteem. As children get older, [...]

3 Self-Compassion Tools (PDF)

11 Simple Ways to Value Yourself More

Self-worth and self-value play integral roles in how you see and treat yourself in your everyday life. Learn how to utilize both to value yourself through your words and actions.

What Is Self Worth?

The idea of self-worth comes down to feeling that you are a good person who deserves to be treated with respect. If you value yourself, you inherently feel that you are kind, compassionate, and respectful, and are worthy of those same things in return.

Aligning ourselves to our own self-worth allows us to move into more actionable steps that grow and nurture that worth. This is done through self-value.

What Is Self-Value?

While self-worth is more emotional, self-value is more behavioral. This is where we take the foundation of how we feel about ourselves and put it to work. Self-value is the driving vehicle that allows us to walk the walk and act in ways that align with what we value.

This shows up in the way we talk to people or in steps we take to speak our truth. Both self-worth and self-value feed off of one another, but it’s helpful to point out the subtle differences.

How Do They Differ?

Self-worth is at the core of our being. It’s how we step into our life and our purpose, and how we develop our worthiness as human beings. We can also argue that a healthy sense of self-worth is highly responsible for the decisions we make, relationships we foster, and life paths we choose.

On the other hand, if you don’t value yourself, it can lead to boughs of aggressive self-criticism and deprecating self-image. [1]

Self-value is the action that keeps us aligned to that self-worth. We can also think of self-value as another feeding element of the bigger umbrella term of self-worth. Valuing ourselves is represented in actionable ways, many of which are highlighted below. When we learn how to value ourselves, not only do we nurture our self-worth, but we also extend that energy out to our communities and the people in them.

How to Value Yourself

1. acknowledge the inner critic.

We all have that loud inner voice that isn’t always kind. It interjects when we have ideas and projects at hand, and it often persuades us from taking that leap of faith or believing in ourselves. When left unchecked, the inner critic can have devastating effects on our self-esteem. [2]

This is no place for our self-worth to grow. Wresting with this critic is often a lifelong journey, but a first good step is to acknowledge it. So many people live the length of their life with this voice on autopilot, never realizing how much of a dictator it has become. When you can pause and acknowledge that it is calling the shots, you can learn to take back your power and value.

2. Receive a Compliment

The next time someone compliments you, notice if you’re quick to send that compliment back or wave your hand dismissively so as not to attract attention. We’re so afraid of coming off as needy, that we hardly ever receive the good words someone sends our way. Really, the true culprit here is that we don’t often believe we’re worthy of the compliment!

The beautiful truth here is that we don’t often see ourselves in the same way others see us. So, the next time someone says something nice about you, believe them and receive their words fully.

3. Be Grateful for Effort

It’s not always easy to show up to life. We don’t always stop to examine just how much effort we put forth in everyday living. One way to value yourself more is to be grateful for everything you do.

It’s easy to be critical and wish you’d done better, but you’re always doing the best that you can. Keep that up and celebrate small progress. Your entire being will thank you, tenfold.

Forgive Yourself Often

When things don’t go as planned, practice forgiveness . When people hurt you, practice forgiveness. Holding on to grudges, whether from others or yourself, is like intentionally plaguing yourself with burdens that you don’t need to carry.

Forgiveness is the free remedy that can alleviate so much of our suffering when we hold onto bitterness. [3] It’s worthy of implementing it into our everyday life.

5. Practice Affirmations in the Mirror

Words carry a potent amount of power, and positive words are like little miracles waiting to sprout! Because the eyes are the mirror to that soul, practicing speaking affirmations in the mirror is even more potent.

When we can catch our own gaze and fill our space with positive words, we send that energy deep into our own psyche. Affirmations may be something like, “I am loved and loving” or “Today, I embrace myself as I am.”

6. Give Attention to Your Dreams

Whether you’d like to write them out in your journal or make a vision board , giving attention to your dreams is a never-ending cycle of self-value and worth. Your dreams are your deepest desires and wishes.

When you shine a light on them, you’re feeding your soul and heart in a way that is spiritually and emotionally fulfilling. You’re also teaching and empowering yourself to believe that you are worthy of those dreams.

7. Let Go of Comparison

You are as unique as a snowflake. There is no one else out there quite like you. We all know that “comparison is the thief of joy.” It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and think that we’re behind or lacking in some way.

That’s simply not true.

You are exactly where you need to be in the timeframe of your life. Trust and believe that everyone walks their path in due and divine timing. Instead of focusing on what others have over you, focus on your own unique journey and get excited at the opportunities to come.

8. Find Ways to Serve Others

When we come into the practice of selfless service (or seva , in Sanskirt [4] ), we simultaneously feed our own self-worth and value. Giving to others is more than just volunteering; it’s offering something of ourselves that is uniquely precious and our own.

Whether you have a certain skill you’d like to share, or even just your time, your community benefits from you sharing your own personal contribution to the world.

9. Accept Yourself as You Are

There is no use in re-living the past; it’s done. There is no use in wondering about the future; it has not come yet. In the present moment, your greatest gift to yourself is accepting yourself as you are right now.

The world is more complete when you show up as authentically as you can . It gives others the courage to do so, as well. No doubt you will change and evolve as your life progresses, but right now, how can you show up as yourself?

10. Don’t Settle for Less

If you’re unhappy, notice that you are and start to ask yourself what would make you happier. You don’t have to tolerate anything or anyone who doesn’t bring you joy and contentedness.

We often think that we have to sacrifice our own happiness for some bottom line, but that’s untrue. There are always choices in life. It’s up to you to believe that you are worthy of the best ones.

11. When in Doubt, Remember Your Perseverance

Life has a funny way of throwing curveballs. If there is anything that can dampen your self-worth, it’s thinking that you’re not enough or have somehow failed. When this happens, think about your end-goal or dream. Remember that perseverance is the limitless supply of fuel that is always at your disposal to keep reaching further.

Final Thoughts

Self-worth is the umbrella term that represents our core being and who we are at the center of our humanness. The steps we take to actionably align ourselves to that worth is the definition and purpose of self-value.

One might think that such steps are complex and time-consuming. Thankfully, they’re anything but. Learning to value yourself requires a gentle shift in perspective to how you show up in your life. Such small yet potent changes can make all the difference for yourself and the greater good.

[1]	^	PsychAlive:
[2]	^	GoodTherapy:
[3]	^	Mayo Clinic:
[4]	^	Yogapedia:

How to Use a Planner Effectively

How to Be a Better Planner: Avoid the Planning Fallacy

5 Best Apps to Help You Delegate Tasks Easily

Delegating Leadership Style: What Is It & When To Use It?

The Fear of Delegating Work To Others

Why Is Delegation Important in Leadership?

7 Best Tools for Prioritizing Work

How to Deal with Competing Priorities Effectively

What Is the RICE Prioritization Model And How Does It Work?

4 Exercises to Improve Your Focus

What Is Chronic Procrastination and How To Deal with It

How to Snap Out of Procrastination With ADHD

Are Depression And Procrastination Connected?

Procrastination And Laziness: Their Differences & Connections

Bedtime Procrastination: Why You Do It And How To Break It

15 Books on Procrastination To Help You Start Taking Action

Productive Procrastination: Is It Good or Bad?

how does procrastination affect productivity

The Impact of Procrastination on Productivity

How to Cope With Anxiety-Induced Procrastination

How to Break the Perfectionism-Procrastination Loop

15 Work-Life Balance Books to Help You Take Control of Life

Work Life Balance for Women: What It Means & How to Find It

6 Essential Mindsets For Continuous Career Growth

How to Discover Your Next Career Move Amid the Great Resignation

The Key to Creating a Vibrant (And Magical Life) by Lee Cockerell

9 Tips on How To Disconnect From Work And Stay Present

Work-Life Integration vs Work-Life Balance: Is One Better Than the Other?

How To Practice Self-Advocacy in the Workplace (Go-to Guide)

How to Boost Your Focus And Attention Span

What Are Distractions in a Nutshell?

What Is Procrastination And How To End It

Prioritization — Using Your Time & Energy Effectively

Delegation — Leveraging Your Time & Resources

Your Guide to Effective Planning & Scheduling

The Ultimate Guide to Achieving Goals

How to Find Lasting Motivation

Complete Guide to Getting Back Your Energy

How to Have a Good Life Balance

Explore the time flow system.

About the Time Flow System

Key Philosophy I: Fluid Progress, Like Water

Key Philosophy II: Pragmatic Priorities

Key Philosophy III: Sustainable Momentum

Key Philosophy IV: Three Goal Focus

How the Time Flow System Works

You are here: Home » Blog » Personal Growth

6 Simple Ways to Value Yourself More (and Build Self-Esteem)

Reviewed and fact-checked

We are committed to the highest standards of accuracy and reliability in our content. Every statement made on our website is meticulously fact-checked and supported by authoritative studies.

What does it mean to value yourself?

Why is it so important to value yourself, 1. stop comparing yourself to others, 2. set boundaries, 3. challenge your negative self-talk, 4. seek therapy, 5. cultivate gratitude, 6. embrace self-compassion, wrapping up.

Self-value and self-worth are two concepts that are often used interchangeably.

Self-worth is defined as “the sense of one’s own value or worth as a person”.

Self-value goes beyond regarding yourself as worthy or important. As Stonsy (2014) states, “self-value is more behavioral than emotional, more about how you act toward what you value than how you feel about yourself compared to others”.

To have self-value means you not only recognize yourself as inherently worthy but are also willing to invest your time and energy into nurturing and sustaining yourself.

Valuing yourself by putting your needs and desires first is not selfish; it is an integral step to strengthening both your belief in yourself, as well as improving important relationships in your life. Having strong self-value plays an essential role in how you see and treat yourself every single day.

The concept of ‘valuing yourself’ means that you believe you are worthy of love, respect, success, happiness, and all things good. It means you believe in your capabilities and recognize the innate strengths and resilience within you. If you value yourself, it makes it easier to take actionable steps towards growth and achieving your goals.

Valuing yourself does not mean you devalue others. In fact, having a strong sense of self-value means that you also value others, and extend your self-nurture and self-care to the relationships and communities present in your life.

💡 By the way : Do you find it hard to be happy and in control of your life? It may not be your fault. To help you feel better, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet to help you be more in control. 👇

Don’t Miss Out On Happiness

Find happiness with this 10-step mental health cheat sheet.

Believing in your value is a crucial element of living a life where you feel good about yourself with no influence from another person or external source.

Valuing yourself first allows you to understand and believe you are worthy of love, affection, and good things in life. When you believe these things, it becomes easier to appreciate validation and recognition from the outside world when it comes.

If you do not value yourself, no amount of love, appreciation or recognition from external sources will satisfy you. Rather, devaluing yourself will lead you to believe that you are not deserving of such accolades.

Additionally, it can also lead you to experience more negative self-talk and experience more self-esteem and self-image issues.

A study conducted at the University of Michigan found that college students who based their self-worth on external sources, such as appearance, approval from others, and academic stress, reported higher stress, anger, academic issues, and relationship conflicts and had higher levels of drug and alcohol use, as well as symptoms of eating disorders.

Additionally, the same study found that students who based their self-worth on internal sources, such as being a virtuous person or adhering to moral standards, were found to do better academically, and were less likely to use drugs or alcohol, or develop eating disorders.

Another study found that those with high self-esteem suffer less emotional distress when encountering negative feedback from others. The research clearly illustrates the importance of building a strong sense of internal self-value, rather than basing your self-worth and value on outside sources.

Ways to value yourself more

Building up your sense of self-value is no small feat, but thankfully there are things you can do to help.

We all do it; it is natural to compare yourself to others and think that you are not doing enough or are lacking in some aspect of life.

Comparing yourself to others can have detrimental impacts on your sense of self-value and overall mental health.

It does not matter what other people are doing, what they think of you, or what they have accomplished. Your personal sense of self-value is far more important to nurture and maintain.

Although it is easier said than done, when you stop comparing yourself to others you can begin to focus on your own unique path, your goals, and what you personally value in life.

If you need pointers on this aspect of your life, here’s our article on how to stop comparing yourself to others .

Your self-value and the boundaries you set for yourself go hand in hand.

Setting personal boundaries for yourself means that you get to define how you would like to be treated by others. They allow you to protect yourself from being taken advantage of or mistreated.

Having a strong sense of self-value combined with secure boundaries shows that you respect yourself and that you expect the same respect from others.

Sometimes it can feel uncomfortable to set a boundary, as we feel like it can be mean or selfish (it is not!). However, you are doing yourself a disservice if you are not establishing clear and respectful boundaries in your life, as it can often lead to a pattern of neglecting yourself in order to appease others or tolerating disrespectful or harmful behavior.

The more you are able to practice boundary setting in your life, the more people will treat you with the respect and kindness that you deserve; and those who are unable to abide by those boundaries may not be conducive to the healthy relationships you need and want in your life.

Here’s how to set boundaries in your life with others in 5 simple steps .

Our internal voice plays a significant role in how we see ourselves, others, and the world. Everyone experiences negative self-talk from time to time; it is natural!

What’s important is being able to recognize and challenge your critical self-talk. If you continue to let your inner critic thrive with no challenge or intervention, you will begin to believe these thoughts and treat them as a fact. To build and sustain a strong sense of self-value it is important to be able to first identify when negative self-talk is occurring.

Some common forms of negative self-talk include:

Personalizing: personalization means that you believe that you are to blame for something even if you had little or nothing to do with the outcome, or it is beyond your control. Some examples of personalization include thoughts like “everyone is mad at me” or “it’s all my fault”.
Catastrophizing: this happens when you automatically assume the worst-case scenario is going to happen. For example, “I am not in the mood for hanging out with my friends, but if I don’t go to the party, they will not like me anymore and I will be lonely forever”.
Filtering: filtering means that you amplify the negative parts of a situation and ignore the positive. For example, you just finished playing a soccer game and your coach compliments your performance multiple times. He also adds one piece of constructive criticism. Instead of accepting and appreciating positive feedback, you can only focus on constructive criticism.
Polarizing: when you are experiencing polarizing self-talk, it means you only see things as good or bad. An example of polarizing thoughts is thinking that you have to be perfect or else you are a failure.

These types of negative self-talk can be difficult, but there are things you can do to conquer them. Some common questions you can ask to challenge your negative thoughts include :

Is there any evidence to support this thought?
Is this thought factual? Would it be accepted as a fact by other people?
Am I jumping to conclusions?

Exploring therapy as an option to strengthen your sense of self-value can be extremely beneficial.

Studies show that low self-worth, self-esteem, and self-value can be effectively addressed through therapy.

For example, a case study researching the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for an individual experiencing low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety showed that after completing a course of therapy, they no longer met the diagnostic criteria for any mental health disorder and showed clinically significant improvement in their symptoms.

A therapist can help you to understand the underlying reasons for issues you may be experiencing, including struggling with your self-value and worth.

A therapist can offer a new perspective and assist you in developing the skills to challenge negative self-talk, address past trauma that may be a contributing factor to low self-value, and develop healthy coping strategies.

If you need more convincing, here’s our article on the ways therapy can help you live a happier life .

Gratitude is a powerful tool in enhancing self-value. Start by acknowledging the positive aspects of your life and your personal achievements, no matter how small. This practice shifts focus from what you lack to what you have and are capable of, fostering a deeper appreciation for yourself.

Create a daily routine of listing three things you are grateful for about yourself. This could be related to your character, achievements, or how you’ve overcome a challenge. Regularly recognizing your own worth in this way reinforces self-value and builds a positive self-image.

If you want more tips to cultivate gratitude, here’s one of our articles on how to be more grateful .

Self-compassion involves treating yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you would offer a good friend. It’s about recognizing that imperfection is part of the human experience and not being overly critical of yourself.

Practice self-compassion by speaking to yourself in a gentle, reassuring voice, especially in times of failure or difficulty. Replace self-criticism with self-encouraging words.

Additionally, engage in activities that promote well-being, like meditation or spending time in nature. This approach nurtures a compassionate relationship with yourself, enhancing self-value and emotional resilience.

💡 By the way : If you want to start feeling better and more productive, I’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here. 👇

This Cheat Sheet Will Help You Be Happier and More Productive

Thrive under stress and crush your goals with these 10 unique tips for your mental health.

Having a strong sense of self-value is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Although it can be difficult to value yourself at times, there are positive steps you can take to build up your sense of self-value. By implementing some of the strategies discussed in this article, you can take steps toward positive change, and recognize that you are deserving of respect, love, happiness, and success.

What do you think? Do you find it hard to value yourself? Or do you want to share your own tip on what helped you find your value? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Writer, athlete, social worker, and professional thrift shopper. Born in Canada, but currently living my dream playing professional soccer in Greece. Passionate about mental health advocacy, sewing, singing, and playing guitar.

9 thoughts on “6 Simple Ways to Value Yourself More (and Build Self-Esteem)”

Thank you Jessie Faber, this has really been helpful

Thank you for this article. I hope to impart this wisdom to my children (ages 17-2) and remind them and myself often that they have value and are worthy of love. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks, Leslie, for sharing these words of positivity!

Thank you so much. Valuing myself has always been a challenge. Your article was clear, concise and so helpful! So grateful!

Thank you, Lisa. I’m glad you liked our article!

I find that when I do not have an agenda for the next day I am not motivate to do any thing. But on days that I have a plan or have to go to work I feel better. So making a plan for the next day seems to be a good way to value my self as well as enhance my positive mood for the day.

That’s a great tip! Thanks for sharing, Paula!

I believe I will have a great change in my life about self

That is wonderful me too

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Focus on Your Values in Your Personal Statement

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by CEG Essay Specialist Kaila Barber in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

Identifying your own values, demonstrate your values with examples.

Reflecting on Your Experiences

It’s important to keep in mind what your reader is hoping to learn from your personal statement. The statement is an opportunity to reflect on your experiences and demonstrate how you think about and relate to the world around you. Specifically, what are some of your values? What’s meaningful to you? What do you find important?

Personal values can be things like communication, patience, nature, health, personal development, courage, self-love, authenticity, healthy boundaries, or even humor. Before you start drafting your personal statement, take a moment to reflect on the things that you find important and why.

We’re all very different people coming from different backgrounds, and we have different experiences that impact our individual values. While some of your values will overlap with those of other people, your personal reflection on the values that resonate most with you will separate your statement from someone else’s.

The best way to include your values, skills, and traits in your essay is to pair them with specific examples and anecdotes. Each anecdote should align with at least one of the values that you find most important and should be accompanied by your personal reflection on the value and its related experience.

Here’s an example. A student does not have a parent or guardian around to shoulder the expenses of caring for them and their younger sibling. In their outline, the student says that they value autonomy, financial stability, and family. Throughout the essay, they demonstrate these values by talking about getting a part-time job to help support the family and caring for their sibling at home. They also excel academically and even petition to have an AP Physics II course offered at their school.

The student has shown autonomy by taking the initiative to petition for the new course and by getting a job. They have also demonstrated that both financial stability and family are important to them by pitching in to support their parent and sibling.

Your examples should show your reader your values by being specific and personal to your background and experiences.

Reflecting on Your Experiences

Reflecting on your values is an equally important part of the personal statement. Your reflections or insight should focus on not only your experiences but also who you are and who you want to become. The insight you include in your essay shows that you’ve really found meaning from your personal experiences.

Insight can take a few forms. A common way to show insight is by writing about a growth experience. Show how you went from point A in your life to point B, and share the lessons you’ve learned along the way. For example, people often reflect on how navigating a strenuous activity or challenge changed the way that they thought about themselves and what they could handle. Reflecting on that change in confidence is one way to demonstrate insight.

One of the clearest ways to explore insight is to self-reflect and write about how something has either connected you to, influenced, or reframed how you think of your own values. Maybe you once pushed yourself too hard, and that experience showed you the value of rest and mindfulness. Or perhaps a change in circumstances shifted or redefined your values to an extent.

For example, a person might say that while they craved stability as a child because of their home life, they now see the value of risk-taking and adventure in enriching their own knowledge and experiences. In this example, both security and risk are important to the speaker, but their experiences ultimately shifted weight from one value to another.

Regardless of how you approach your personal statement, insight is the overarching meaning that you take away from the relevant experiences and values you’ve shared.

Are you looking for more guidance as you draft your personal statement? Check out this post on how to come up with a strong topic that wows your admissions reader!

Have a language expert improve your writing

Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes, generate your apa citations for free.

Knowledge Base
College essay

How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay | Examples

Published on September 21, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on May 31, 2023.

An insightful college admissions essay requires deep self-reflection, authenticity, and a balance between confidence and vulnerability. Your essay shouldn’t just be a resume of your experiences; colleges are looking for a story that demonstrates your most important values and qualities.

To write about your achievements and qualities without sounding arrogant, use specific stories to illustrate them. You can also write about challenges you’ve faced or mistakes you’ve made to show vulnerability and personal growth.

Start with self-reflection, how to write about challenges and mistakes, how to write about your achievements and qualities, how to write about a cliché experience, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Before you start writing, spend some time reflecting to identify your values and qualities. You should do a comprehensive brainstorming session, but here are a few questions to get you started:

What are three words your friends or family would use to describe you, and why would they choose them?
Whom do you admire most and why?
What are the top five things you are thankful for?
What has inspired your hobbies or future goals?
What are you most proud of? Ashamed of?

As you self-reflect, consider how your values and goals reflect your prospective university’s program and culture, and brainstorm stories that demonstrate the fit between the two.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Writing about difficult experiences can be an effective way to show authenticity and create an emotional connection to the reader, but choose carefully which details to share, and aim to demonstrate how the experience helped you learn and grow.

Be vulnerable

It’s not necessary to have a tragic story or a huge confession. But you should openly share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences to evoke an emotional response from the reader. Even a cliché or mundane topic can be made interesting with honest reflection. This honesty is a preface to self-reflection and insight in the essay’s conclusion.

Don’t overshare

With difficult topics, you shouldn’t focus too much on negative aspects. Instead, use your challenging circumstances as a brief introduction to how you responded positively.

Share what you have learned

It’s okay to include your failure or mistakes in your essay if you include a lesson learned. After telling a descriptive, honest story, you should explain what you learned and how you applied it to your life.

While it’s good to sell your strengths, you also don’t want to come across as arrogant. Instead of just stating your extracurricular activities, achievements, or personal qualities, aim to discreetly incorporate them into your story.

Brag indirectly

Mention your extracurricular activities or awards in passing, not outright, to avoid sounding like you’re bragging from a resume.

Use stories to prove your qualities

Even if you don’t have any impressive academic achievements or extracurriculars, you can still demonstrate your academic or personal character. But you should use personal examples to provide proof. In other words, show evidence of your character instead of just telling.

Many high school students write about common topics such as sports, volunteer work, or their family. Your essay topic doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, but do try to include unexpected personal details and your authentic voice to make your essay stand out .

To find an original angle, try these techniques:

Focus on a specific moment, and describe the scene using your five senses.
Mention objects that have special significance to you.
Instead of following a common story arc, include a surprising twist or insight.

Your unique voice can shed new perspective on a common human experience while also revealing your personality. When read out loud, the essay should sound like you are talking.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

Writing process
Transition words
Passive voice
Paraphrasing

Communication

How to end an email
Ms, mrs, miss
How to start an email
I hope this email finds you well
Hope you are doing well

Parts of speech

Personal pronouns
Conjunctions

First, spend time reflecting on your core values and character . You can start with these questions:

However, you should do a comprehensive brainstorming session to fully understand your values. Also consider how your values and goals match your prospective university’s program and culture. Then, brainstorm stories that illustrate the fit between the two.

When writing about yourself , including difficult experiences or failures can be a great way to show vulnerability and authenticity, but be careful not to overshare, and focus on showing how you matured from the experience.

Through specific stories, you can weave your achievements and qualities into your essay so that it doesn’t seem like you’re bragging from a resume.

Include specific, personal details and use your authentic voice to shed a new perspective on a common human experience.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Courault, K. (2023, May 31). How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay | Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/college-essay/write-about-yourself/

Is this article helpful?

Kirsten Courault

Other students also liked, style and tone tips for your college essay | examples, what do colleges look for in an essay | examples & tips, how to make your college essay stand out | tips & examples, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

Bipolar Disorder
Therapy Center
When To See a Therapist
Types of Therapy
Best Online Therapy
Best Couples Therapy
Managing Stress
Sleep and Dreaming
Understanding Emotions
Self-Improvement
Healthy Relationships
Student Resources
Personality Types
Sweepstakes
Guided Meditations
Verywell Mind Insights
2024 Verywell Mind 25
Mental Health in the Classroom
Editorial Process
Meet Our Review Board
Crisis Support

What Is Self-Esteem?

Your Sense of Your Personal Worth or Value

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin

Theories of Self-Esteem

Healthy self-esteem, low self-esteem, excessive self-esteem.

How to Improve

Self-esteem is your subjective sense of overall personal worth or value. Similar to self-respect, it describes your level of confidence in your abilities and attributes.

Having healthy self-esteem can influence your motivation, your mental well-being, and your overall quality of life. However, having self-esteem that is either too high or too low can be problematic. Better understanding what your unique level of self-esteem is can help you strike a balance that is just right for you.

Key elements of self-esteem include:

Self-confidence
Feelings of security
Sense of belonging
Feeling of competence

Other terms often used interchangeably with self-esteem include self-worth, self-regard, and self-respect.

Self-esteem tends to be lowest in childhood and increases during adolescence, as well as adulthood, eventually reaching a fairly stable and enduring level. This makes self-esteem similar to the stability of personality traits over time.

Why Self-Esteem Is Important

Self-esteem impacts your decision-making process, your relationships, your emotional health, and your overall well-being. It also influences motivation , as people with a healthy, positive view of themselves understand their potential and may feel inspired to take on new challenges.

Four key characteristics of healthy self-esteem are:

A firm understanding of one's skills
The ability to maintain healthy relationships with others as a result of having a healthy relationship with oneself
Realistic and appropriate personal expectations
An understanding of one's needs and the ability to express those needs

People with low self-esteem tend to feel less sure of their abilities and may doubt their decision-making process. They may not feel motivated to try novel things because they don’t believe they can reach their goals. Those with low self-esteem may have issues with relationships and expressing their needs. They may also experience low levels of confidence and feel unlovable and unworthy.

People with overly high self-esteem may overestimate their skills and may feel entitled to succeed, even without the abilities to back up their belief in themselves. They may struggle with relationship issues and block themselves from self-improvement because they are so fixated on seeing themselves as perfect .

Click Play to Learn More About Self-Esteem

This video has been medically reviewed by Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS .

Many theorists have written about the dynamics involved in the development of self-esteem. The concept of self-esteem plays an important role in psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs , which depicts esteem as one of the basic human motivations.

Maslow suggested that individuals need both appreciation from other people and inner self-respect to build esteem. Both of these needs must be fulfilled in order for an individual to grow as a person and reach self-actualization .

It is important to note that self-esteem is a concept distinct from self-efficacy , which involves how well you believe you'll handle future actions, performance, or abilities.

Factors That Affect Self-Esteem

There are many factors that can influence self-esteem. Your self-esteem may be impacted by:

Physical abilities
Socioeconomic status
Thought patterns

Racism and discrimination have also been shown to have negative effects on self-esteem. Additionally, genetic factors that help shape a person's personality can play a role, but life experiences are thought to be the most important factor.

It is often our experiences that form the basis for overall self-esteem. For example, low self-esteem might be caused by overly critical or negative assessments from family and friends. Those who experience what Carl Rogers referred to as unconditional positive regard will be more likely to have healthy self-esteem.

There are some simple ways to tell if you have healthy self-esteem. You probably have healthy self-esteem if you:

Avoid dwelling on past negative experiences
Believe you are equal to everyone else, no better and no worse
Express your needs
Feel confident
Have a positive outlook on life
Say no when you want to
See your overall strengths and weaknesses and accept them

Having healthy self-esteem can help motivate you to reach your goals, because you are able to navigate life knowing that you are capable of accomplishing what you set your mind to. Additionally, when you have healthy self-esteem, you are able to set appropriate boundaries in relationships and maintain a healthy relationship with yourself and others.

Low self-esteem may manifest in a variety of ways. If you have low self-esteem:

You may believe that others are better than you.
You may find expressing your needs difficult.
You may focus on your weaknesses.
You may frequently experience fear, self-doubt, and worry.
You may have a negative outlook on life and feel a lack of control.
You may have an intense fear of failure.
You may have trouble accepting positive feedback.
You may have trouble saying no and setting boundaries.
You may put other people's needs before your own.
You may struggle with confidence .

Low self-esteem has the potential to lead to a variety of mental health disorders, including anxiety disorders and depressive disorders. You may also find it difficult to pursue your goals and maintain healthy relationships. Having low self-esteem can seriously impact your quality of life and increases your risk for experiencing suicidal thoughts.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

For more mental health resources, see our National Helpline Database .

Overly high self-esteem is often mislabeled as narcissism , however there are some distinct traits that differentiate these terms. Individuals with narcissistic traits may appear to have high self-esteem, but their self-esteem may be high or low and is unstable, constantly shifting depending on the given situation. Those with excessive self-esteem:

May be preoccupied with being perfect
May focus on always being right
May believe they cannot fail
May believe they are more skilled or better than others
May express grandiose ideas
May grossly overestimate their skills and abilities

When self-esteem is too high, it can result in relationship problems, difficulty with social situations, and an inability to accept criticism.

How to Improve Self-Esteem

Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to address problems with your perceptions of yourself and faith in your abilities. How do you build self-esteem? Some actions that you can take to help improve your self-esteem include:

Become more aware of negative thoughts . Learn to identify the distorted thoughts that are impacting your self-worth.
Challenge negative thinking patterns . When you find yourself engaging in negative thinking, try countering those thoughts with more realistic and/or positive ones.
Use positive self-talk . Practice reciting positive affirmations to yourself.
Practice self-compassion . Practice forgiving yourself for past mistakes and move forward by accepting all parts of yourself.

Low self-esteem can contribute to or be a symptom of mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression . Consider speaking with a doctor or therapist about available treatment options, which may include psychotherapy (in-person or online), medications, or a combination of both.

Get Help Now

We've tried, tested, and written unbiased reviews of the best online therapy programs including Talkspace, Betterhelp, and Regain. Find out which option is the best for you.

Though some of the causes of low self-esteem can’t be changed, such as genetic factors, early childhood experiences, and personality traits, there are steps you can take to feel more secure and valued. Remember that no one person is less worthy than the next. Keeping this in mind may help you maintain a healthy sense of self-esteem.

Get Advice From The Verywell Mind Podcast

Hosted by therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares strategies that can help you learn to truly believe in yourself, featuring IT Cosmetics founder Jamie Kern Lima.

Follow Now : Apple Podcasts / Spotify / Google Podcasts

Trzesniewski KH, Donnellan MB, Robins RW. Stability of self-esteem across the life span . J Pers Soc Psychol . 2003;84(1):205-220.

von Soest T, Wagner J, Hansen T, Gerstorf D. Self-esteem across the second half of life: The role of socioeconomic status, physical health, social relationships, and personality factors . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . 2018;114(6):945-958. doi:10.1037/pspp0000123

Johnson AJ. Examining associations between racism, internalized shame, and self-esteem among African Americans . Cogent Psychology . 2020;7(1):1757857. doi:10.1080/23311908.2020.1757857

Gabriel AS, Erickson RJ, Diefendorff JM, Krantz D. When does feeling in control benefit well-being? The boundary conditions of identity commitment and self-esteem. Journal of Vocational Behavior . 2020;119:103415. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103415

Nguyen DT, Wright EP, Dedding C, Pham TT, Bunders J. Low self-esteem and its association with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation in Vietnamese secondary school students: A cross-sectional study . Front Psychiatry . 2019;10:698. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00698

Brummelman E, Thomaes S, Sedikides C. Separating narcissism from self-esteem. Curr Dir Psychol Sci . 2016;25(1):8-13. doi:10.1177/0963721415619737

Cascio CN, O’Donnell MB, Tinney FJ, Lieberman MD, Taylor SE, Stretcher VJ, et. al. Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation . Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience . 2016;11(4):621-629. doi:10.1093/scan/nsv136

Maslow AH. Motivation and Personality . 3rd ed. New York: Harper & Row; 1987.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Self Worth: Why You Need To Value Yourself More

Self-respect is the most crucial aspect of one’s life. If you do not understand how to appreciate yourself and your worth, how do you expect others to? Life is too short to maintain toxic relationships. In order for yours to flourish, you need to work on yourself first.

“Don’t expect anyone to love or respect you if you don’t fully love yourself first.”

People accept sh*tty jobs and relationships because they do not respect themselves enough to realize they deserve better. Too many people become complacent in these aspects and stop striving for greater things.

Relationships become detrimental when the self-respect is lacking. You wind up hurting the other person and yourself. You need to love yourself enough to choose the ones that make you happy and motivate you to grow.

“Respect yourself enough to walk away from anyone or anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.”

This does not come easy so a conscious effort must be consistently made on a day-to-day basis. A lack of self-respect can, and most often does, result in depression and self-destructive behaviors. You need to reinforce your positive qualities and actively try to fix your negative qualities. When everything else in the world fails you, you will always have your self-respect to fall back on. How you feel about yourself affects every single aspect of your life.

If you don’t respect yourself then you won’t take care of yourself the way you should. By achieving this, you set boundaries for your life and your relationships. This will encourage people’s deference to you. You cannot allow people to treat you poorly and if they do, you need to recognize your worth and walk away. Others cannot negatively influence your opinion of yourself; this will only lead to degradation of your worth. You must love and respect yourself before anyone else can.

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”

Self-respect and self-esteem play hand in hand with one another. Self-esteem gives you the confidence to succeed and without it you are simply placing limitations on yourself.

You and only you are responsible for your fate. Life is no fun if you spend it hating yourself; this stifles any progress you hope to make. Once your confidence is up, you will stop making the terrible mistake of comparing yourself to others. You will already be comfortable and happy with who you are.

When you love yourself, you take pride in who you and what you have to offer. Too many people place the needs of others before their own, but in order to respect others, you need to meet your own needs first. How can you truly learn to appreciate others if you can’t even appreciate yourself? This is fundamental to personal growth and a concept too many people do not realize.

Why Self-Worth Matters, And How To Improve It

A positive self-image, including a strong belief in one's abilities, can be a crucial element of mental health, potentially helping us be kinder to ourselves, develop greater confidence, and be more receptive to love. Self-worth generally refers to our sense of self , our values, and our belief that we are worthy of care, support, and compassion. With a healthy sense of self-worth, we’re often better situated to seize opportunities, develop a high level of self-esteem, and improve our mental well-being. You can improve your self-worth by using affirmations, doing what you love, and finding the good in yourself. Working with a licensed therapist can also be helpful.

What is self-worth?

According to the American Psychological Association, self-worth can be defined as “an individual’s evaluation of himself or herself as a valuable, capable human being deserving of respect and consideration.” A healthy sense of self-worth can be valuable to our careers, relationships, and health. However, it can also be something that many people, even those who are highly successful, struggle with.

The benefits of self-worth

Having a strong sense of self-worth can help you in many facets of life. When you believe you’re deserving of good things, regardless of the circumstances, you may be more likely to ask for what you want, get things done, and nurture healthy relationships. The following may be potential benefits of valuing yourself highly.

Meet your needs

As we work toward achieving our goals, self-actualizing, or simply living a healthy life, we typically have a running list of things that we must do or acquire. There are generally two ways to have your needs met. First, you can meet them yourself. To do that efficiently, you often must value yourself enough to justify putting in the effort to go after what you need.

The other way to meet your needs may be to work with others. Even when you meet your own needs, there may almost always be someone else involved. However, it can be hard to ask for help if you don’t believe you deserve it. A high level of self-worth can act as a signal to yourself that you’re worthy of having your needs met.

Solve problems confidently

Complications are likely going to arise in life, whether at work, at home, or in your community. When you experience hardship, a healthy sense of self-worth may help you avoid feeling overwhelmed. With a positive self-image, you may be more likely to accept the challenges life presents. You may be more confident in your abilities and comfortable with the possibility of making mistakes, knowing that no matter what happens, you will still have value as a person.

Be more decisive

Without a positive self-concept, you may doubt your knowledge or ability to judge situations and choose the proper path. You may worry about what may happen if you make the wrong choice, which can lead to indecisiveness and ineffectiveness.

A sense of self-worth is often accompanied by confidence in your abilities, which can help you choose the best course of action. You can decide whether a low-risk, medium-risk, or high-risk option may be best in a specific situation. You can feel comfortable knowing that, however it turns out, your life will still be valuable.

Maintain healthier relationships

When you feel comfortable with who you are, you may be more open and honest with your loved ones. A high level of honesty can be vital to romantic partnerships, as well as work relationships, friendships, and family relations. It can also help your loved ones to see how highly you value yourself, which may translate into healthy respect on their part as well.

Set realistic expectations

How to improve your self-worth.

If you’d like to learn how to value yourself more highly, there may be several steps you can take to improve your self-image. The following strategies can help you build your self-worth, enhance your mental well-being, and flourish.

Use affirmations

Positive affirmations can be beneficial tools. One way to use affirmations when you're starting with low self-worth may be to make them positive but believable to you. For example, if you want to get a job for which hundreds of people have applied, telling yourself you are going to get the job might seem overwhelming. Instead, you might use an affirmation like, "I deserve to have a good job like this, and I'll keep trying until I get one."

Do what you love

Research suggests that having a sense of purpose can improve mental well-being . Pursuing your passions, whether at work, through hobbies, or by volunteering, can help you reinforce your sense of identity and boost your self-esteem. For instance, someone who enjoys crafting may feel a greater sense of self-sufficiency after finishing a project. Think about the things in life that matter most to you and determine how you can nurture those interests.

Learn to take compliments

When we reject compliments, we often diminish our accomplishments and devalue ourselves. Say that someone compliments you on a portrait you painted. Instead of seeing it through their eyes, you might look at its flaws. You may focus on the eye color you didn't quite get right or the hair you drew too long. You may not accept the compliment because you may believe you don't deserve it.

What happens when you allow yourself to see the painting through the other person’s eyes may be that you suddenly become aware of the things you've done well in the portrait. You may now notice that you've made the mouth very expressive or captured the exact expression of your model.

Avoid criticizing yourself

Sometimes, we're so worried about being criticized that we criticize ourselves before anyone else has the chance. Think back to the painting example. Even without someone else's input, you can build your self-worth by looking at the good, both in how you've painted and in who you are, no matter how well you paint. Remember that there can be a significant difference between identifying areas for improvement and criticizing yourself. The first can be considered a problem-solving task. The second often serves the purpose of leading you to perceive yourself poorly.

Find the good in yourself

When you experience a negative outcome, you can rebuild your self-worth by looking for the positives in the situation. You might feel like you're a bad parent because you missed your child's dance recital. Rather than defining yourself as a parent by that one instance, try to look for more profound ways that suggest you're a good parent.

Use "I am" with care

When you use "I am" phrases, you’re often putting limits on yourself, particularly if you’re defining yourself in a negative way. Instead of labeling yourself, try labeling the behavior or thought that's concerning you. Rather than saying, "I am bad at solving problems,” you might say, "That idea wasn't quite right.”

Benefits of online therapy

Online therapy can be a convenient way of pursuing mental health care. With an online therapy platform like BetterHelp , you can chat with a therapist remotely, which may be helpful if you’re not yet comfortable discussing topics related to your self-image in person. BetterHelp works with thousands of therapists who have a wide range of specialties, so you’ll likely have a good chance of matching with someone who can address your concerns, whether they’re related to your self-worth, a mental health condition, or another challenge.

Studies suggest that online therapy can help people develop a stronger sense of self-worth. For example, in one study, researchers found that online cognitive behavioral therapy generally increased participants’ self-esteem, self-compassion, and overall quality of life. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help individuals identify and replace negative thought patterns that may be leading to maladaptive emotions and behaviors, such as those related to devaluing oneself.

Below are some reviews of BetterHelp therapists from people experiencing similar concerns.

Therapist reviews

"Dr. Mohammed is a very good therapist to work with. She gets me to think and to challenge my core negative beliefs with more positive beliefs in ways that are easy to do. She is a caring therapist who makes me feel validated and is helping me to see my worth as a human being. I highly recommend Dr. Mohammed to anyone seeking therapy, especially for past traumas."

“Stacy is incredibly insightful. She listens intently, challenges me to digest the issues in my life and I have become a more aware and confident person since beginning sessions with her. Highly recommend!!”

What is an example of self-worth?

Imagine a college student who receives a low grade on a test. Instead of letting this key life moment define her or succumbing to a critical inner voice, she recognizes her positive qualities and understands that one grade does not determine her overall worth.

How do I develop self-worth?

Building self-worth involves practicing self-acceptance, recognizing and appreciating your positive qualities, challenging your critical inner voice, and avoiding defining your worth by external factors. Seeking self-understanding and cultivating personal power can also boost self-worth.

What are the 4 types of self-worth?

Self-worth can be categorized into four types:

Self-confidence: belief in one’s abilities.
Self-acceptance: embracing oneself, flaws and all.
Self-understanding: deep knowledge about self-strengths, weaknesses, and motivations.
Self-compassion: treating oneself with kindness and understanding, especially during tough times.

What is a strong self-worth?

A strong self-worth means possessing an internal sense of being a worthy and capable person, irrespective of external factors or what others might think. It’s accompanied by healthy self-worth and genuine self-confidence.

What is an example of a lack of self-worth?

A person who constantly seeks validation from others and lets external factors, like their job or relationship status, entirely dictate their own life, showcases a lack of self-worth.

What are the two types of self-worth?

The two primary types are internal self-worth, which is grounded in an internal sense of worthiness not reliant on external factors, and external self-worth, which is based on external validation, achievements, or societal standards.

What does poor self-worth mean?

Poor self-worth, often synonymous with low self-esteem, indicates a lack of belief in oneself as a worthy and capable person. It is heavily influenced by external factors and a harsh internal critic.

What happens when you have self-worth?

When you possess self-worth, you operate from a place of self-acceptance and self-confidence. This leads to healthier relationships, more resilience during key life moments, and a stronger sense of personal power and purpose.

What is the attitude of self-worth?

The attitude of self-worth is characterized by self-respect, valuing oneself, acknowledging one’s positive qualities, and not letting external factors solely define one’s value.

What is another meaning for self-worth?

Another way to describe self-worth is as the internal sense of your value or worth as a person, beyond just skills or accomplishments.

How To Stop Feeling Inadequate: Understanding Feelings of inadequacy Medically reviewed by Melissa Guarnaccia , LCSW
The Media And Body Image: Safeguarding Your Self-Esteem Medically reviewed by Paige Henry , LMSW, J.D.
Self Esteem
Relationships and Relations

26 No Nonsense Ways To Truly Value Yourself

Disclosure: this page may contain affiliate links to select partners. We receive a commission should you choose to make a purchase after clicking on them. Read our affiliate disclosure.

woman splashing in sea - illustrating valuing yourself

In our bid to be everything to everyone, we often neglect our own needs and desires. We make sacrifices for our families, careers, religious beliefs, and everything in between, and we don’t always get much in return.

Taking the time to refuel or rejuvenate is not an option and is sometimes seen as being selfish or self-absorbed, or not being a team player.

It’s almost as if we are carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders, with no hope in sight of putting it down.

As a result, our mental and physical health takes a beating. Jumping from situation to situation, we’re overworked to the point where we neglect our bodies. And with no time to care for our mental well-being, our self-worth drops and we stop seeing our innate value.

Life becomes an endless struggle where your contributions feel insignificant.

The truth is, waiting for others to appreciate you is a waste of time. If they were going to, they would have already done so.

So, rather than waiting on other people, why don’t you recognize and celebrate your inherent value?

Speak to an accredited and experienced therapist to help you value yourself more if you struggle to see your worth. You may want to try speaking to one via BetterHelp.com for quality care at its most convenient.

Why is recognizing your value so important?

Strip away everything; roles, responsibilities, experiences, weaknesses. Do you recognize your innate value?

Are you uncomfortable with putting yourself first? Does the idea of loving yourself sound selfish and un- (Christian, cultured, kind, insert whatever adjective fits)?

Perhaps you struggle with an inner critic? You know, the voice inside that is always quick to point out your mistakes or weaknesses and rationalize or downplay your strengths.

Maybe it is an outer critic, in the form of a loved one or a religious figure or societal pressure, always pushing you to do and sacrifice more.

In this day and age when our mental health is being assaulted at every turn, being able to recognize your value is a skill that can no longer be disregarded.

Recognizing your value enables you to get your needs met. It helps you build and maintain healthy, stress and drama-free relationships that spur you toward your goals. It makes you more decisive because you trust your instincts.

Mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety can be fueled by a low sense of self-worth. Developing your ability to see your value can reduce your chance of sinking into depression and despair.

When you work to value yourself more, it positively impacts your physical health (you’ll take better care of yourself) and your mental health (you’ll treat yourself with compassion).

So there is no reason not to start working on it today.

26 Ways To Recognize And Celebrate Your Inner Value

Celebrating yourself and seeing your value can sometimes go against the lessons learned throughout life. It certainly goes against many religious beliefs where low self-worth is often mistakenly characterized as humility.

So, how can you truly value yourself?

1. Trust yourself and the decisions you make.

Stop doubting yourself and your judgment. Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to make a mistake.

You can only do so much research. After a while, you’re going to have to decide. Trust that you’ve dotted your i’s, crossed your t’s, and made the best possible decision with all the information at your disposal.

And after making a decision, stop second-guessing yourself and worrying about how things could have worked out better.

Once you start trusting your instincts, you’ll have more confidence and be better able to seize opportunities when they come. You’ll be less likely to get analysis paralysis – an endless cycle of being stuck and not moving because of ongoing research.

2. Stop settling.

Don’t settle for less than what you deserve, whether in your relationships, at work, or in pursuit of your dreams. You are not doing anyone any favors by taking less or being less than what you’re meant to be.

When you settle for less, it’s usually the result of fear. Whether it’s fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of success; whatever it is, you’re afraid of something.

Fear has you settling for a job you hate because you think you won’t find a better one. You are stuck in a relationship, settling for being unfulfilled because you’re afraid to enter the dating pool again. Your dreams lay abandoned because you fear you will fail if you chase them.

Spend some time in introspection and identify where you are settling for less. Ask yourself, what would you want instead? Don’t be afraid to dream big.

Now, imagine yourself having it, just like you dream of. How would you feel? How would that change your life?

Research people who have accomplished what you’re dreaming of, and take inspiration from them. After all, if they can do it, why can’t you? Use their experience to develop a plan to move toward your dream.

If your dream still seems too big, keep researching until it no longer seems impossible.

Take the first step.

Don’t settle.

3. Identify those people who try to tear you down.

Not everyone who claims to be your friend is actually your friend. The same goes for family.

Identify people in your life that just love to tear you down.

You’ll know who they are because even though they dress it up as constructive criticism, it lacks the care required to make it constructive. It’s biting, sometimes cruel, and always makes you feel less than.

Identify anyone quick to rain on your parade and downplay you, your dreams, or your accomplishments. Friends and family members are supposed to build you up so you can face whatever challenges come your way. They’re supposed to celebrate your accomplishments, so you feel encouraged to grow and do better.

Identify those who don’t. Consider cutting ties with them.

4. Be honest with yourself.

It’s one thing to lie to others, but don’t lie to yourself. Be honest with yourself . Don’t be dishonest about who you are and what you can do.

You’re a work in progress, you’re not finished yet. You’re still growing and becoming, regardless of your age. It’s okay. Everyone is going through the same process of evolution.

Don’t be ashamed of the areas where you need improvement. Be honest about them and work on your bad habits. Don’t hide from the truth; face it.

5. Stop comparing yourself to others.

You are an original. There is no one else quite like you. You have your unique talents and gifts. No one has gone through what you have gone through.

Yes, you have failed, but you’ve also succeeded too.

Own that and stop comparing yourself to others. You are making the absolute best out of the hand life dealt you.

As Marilyn Monroe once said, “Trying to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”

Honor the person you are. Give that person a chance to be.

6. Silence your inner critic.

Your inner critic is holding you back. It is stopping you from seeing your true value. Because you focus on the negative, you cannot see the positive impact you have on those around you or appreciate your contribution to humanity, no matter how small it is.

Before you can take a leap of faith, your inner critic is there to showcase all the reasons why you would fail at the attempt.

Identify your negative thoughts. This might be hard because you’ve heard them for so long that they’ve become your truth. You might even feel you’re lying when saying otherwise.

Challenge these beliefs. Find evidence that proves your inner critic wrong.

Stop replaying your mistakes over and over in your mind.

Replay your successes. Focus on our strengths.

7. Practice self-compassion.

Be kind to yourself . Give yourself the same compassion you’d give to a friend or a beloved pet. Talk to yourself the way you talk to a loved one.

In the same way you are patient with a small child when he is taking his first steps, be patient with yourself.

Don’t ignore your pain or destroy your confidence with criticism. Be tolerant of your shortcomings.

Show yourself the same compassion you freely show to others.

Accept that life isn’t perfect and neither are we. Be gentle with yourself when you cannot live up to your impossibly high standards.

8. Take part in activities you feel are important.

Imagine how much free time you’d have if you limited yourself to doing only those activities you feel are important and necessary.

Think about how much more goal-oriented you’d be or purpose-filled you’d feel if you focused on doing what was important.

Spending hours on social media or an entire afternoon in front of the television might be fun, but is it important?

Identify what is important to you and take part in activities that are related to that.

9. Help others.

The term “helper’s high” refers to the feeling you get after helping others in need.

Comparable to the runner’s high, it’s a feeling of elation, exhilaration, and increased energy, followed by a period of calm and serenity.

The difference between the two is that studies have shown the helper’s high lasts much longer than runner’s high; even up to several weeks.

The high you get from helping others has even been shown to increase the body’s immune levels and lower stress.

You help yourself by helping others; it’s the ultimate win-win situation.

10. See a therapist.

Although seeing a therapist is more acceptable now than it has been in the past, it’s not used as often as it should be.

If you’re feeling confused, lost, sad, stressed, or depressed, reach out to a therapist.

We often underestimate the amount of trauma we’ve experienced or are currently experiencing now. Since we have lived with abuse or in toxic situations for so long, we’ve adapted to it. It has become normal.

Let me let you in on a little secret… we were not created to carry such burdens. Talk to a licensed therapist and start unpacking your trauma.

BetterHelp.com is a website where you can connect with a therapist via phone, video, or instant message.

While you may try to work through this yourself, it may be a bigger issue than self-help can address. And if it is affecting your mental well-being, relationships, or life in general, it is a significant thing that needs to be resolved.

Too many people try to muddle through and do their best to overcome issues that they never really get to grips with. If it’s at all possible in your circumstances, therapy is 100% the best way forward.

Here’s that link again if you’d like to learn more about the service BetterHelp.com provide and the process of getting started.

Asking for help is a sign of courage and intelligence.

11. Identify troubling conditions and situations.

Have you ever watched a horror movie where the hero/heroine is walking into a dangerous situation but is completely unaware of it?

They’re about to step into a house where a deranged murderer is waiting to chop them down with an axe. You tense up, knowing they’re walking into an obvious trap, wondering why they are oblivious to the clues of impending danger when all the signs are right there for them to see.

You are the hero/heroine in the movie of your life. Recognize the danger that you’re in or about to walk into. And get yourself out of that troubling condition or situation before you come to harm.

12. Recognize what you’re good at.

Everyone is good at something. No one on the face of this earth is bad at everything. Not even you.

Recognize what you’re good at.

What things come easily to you? Don’t write them off because you think they’re easy. For some people, that skill might be extremely difficult.

For example, you might be great at encouraging people. You always have a motivational word for everyone who comes your way. In your opinion, it’s just words or you’re just telling them the truth. But it’s a truth they can’t see and you have a gift for helping them to see it.

Find your unique talents , and celebrate it.

13. Build positive relationships.

Human beings are social creatures, and our relationships heavily impact our emotional and mental well-being. We benefit when our lives are filled with people who support, encourage, and help us, and for whom we do the same.

With positive relationships, we have less drama, a greater sense of purpose, and healthier behaviors because our support system is ideal for such peace of mind and growth.

Build relationships that motivate and encourage you. Stop wasting your energy repairing relationships with people who tear you down. Let them go.

14. Learn to say “no.”

For many people, saying the word “No” is an awkward and challenging feat. One that feels wrong. By saying no, you feel you’re letting the other party down or causing them to be inconvenienced.

You’ve said “Yes” so many times it’s almost like you’ve forgotten the word “No” even exists in the English dictionary.

Consider this: by saying “Yes” to everyone else, you’re saying “No” to yourself. “No” to your mental health, “no” to your well-being, and “no” to your boundaries.

Saying “No” to others is one of the easiest forms of self-care you can engage in. That simple two-letter word allows you to do what really matters to you. It helps you take control of your time and energy, and helps you set and enforce boundaries.

15. Set boundaries.

Have you ever left an interaction with someone feeling drained or anxious or in a foul mood? Chances are that person crossed a few boundaries, and you allowed them to do so.

Protect your energy. Set clear boundaries for others regarding your time and energy, including close family members.

Make refueling a priority. Remember, you can only give out of what you have in store. If you have nothing in storage, you have nothing to give.

No one deserves to be in your space 24/7/365.

Setting healthy boundaries is good for your mental and emotional health. It also helps you avoid burnout.

16. Maintain your personal integrity.

Personal integrity refers to having your own set of morals and values. Maintaining your personal integrity is essentially being true to yourself in whatever situation you find yourself in. It’s about living by your moral code.

Have you ever disappointed yourself or done something that you never would have expected you’d do? You didn’t necessarily do anything bad, in the conventional sense. But you were uncomfortable with your actions.

The reason you were uncomfortable is that you didn’t live up to your moral standards.

Listen to your inner moral compass. Don’t let yourself be pressured to act in ways that conflict with your sense of right and wrong.

17. Create a physical space that nurtures your well-being.

Is your house or apartment cluttered and disorganized? Are you constantly stepping over a pile of clothes, dropped and forgotten on the floor? Is your sink full of dishes that you just haven’t gotten around to washing yet?

Have you noticed the effect of your cluttered and disorganized environment on your mental health?

Create time and a physical space that nurtures your mental well-being.

Decluttering your entire house is a huge undertaking for many of us. So how about you just tackle one corner; a corner that you keep neat and organized with your favorite items and relaxing scents? A place for you to sit and unwind.

18. Go on a date with yourself.

Take yourself out on a great date. Think about your idea of the perfect date. Then plan it, book the reservations, put on the perfect outfit for the occasion, and go. By yourself. Not with anyone else, but by your lonesome.

Don’t wait for someone to take you. Take yourself out.

Don’t wait for someone to treat you well. Treat yourself well.

19. Create an achievements folder.

Put together a folder of things you’ve accomplished in life and are proud of. Our memories are fleeting and it is easy for us to forget our achievements when we’re busy beating ourselves up.

Unfortunately, we don’t always have people in our corner who will build us up when we feel down. Even if we do, we are reluctant to reveal how often we struggle with feelings of inadequacy .

For times like these, put together a physical folder or a file on your computer of all the things that you’ve done that you’re proud of. It will serve as your reminder that you’re far better and have achieved far more than you think.

20. Feel your feelings.

Allow yourself to feel your emotions instead of always stuffing them down and pretending that everything is okay. Be okay with not being okay.

The burden to always put on a cheerful face or have a stiff upper lip is exhausting and damaging to your mental health.

Instead, learn how to skillfully feel your feelings . This involves:

a) Naming the feeling – identify the specific emotion at play, without judgment.

b) Allowing the sensations of your feelings in your body – observe and allow the physical sensations of what you are feeling to flow without trying to control or reduce it. How are your emotions affecting your body?

c) Mindfully investigating what is at the heart of your feelings – identify what is driving the emotion. Ask yourself what is at the heart of your pain or joy.

d) Bringing compassion to your experience – treat yourself gently, the way you would a close friend who was going through a tough experience.

21. Do what you love or love what you do.

You spend more time at work, with colleagues than anywhere or with anyone else. Hating what you do and who you do it with for eight hours a day, five days a week is a sure way to die a slow and painful death.

Understandably, not everyone can up and quit their jobs. If you’re stuck, then love what you do. Find something to love about it, at least for the moment. That colleague that drives you insane must have some redeeming quality. Attempt to find out what it is

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs.

It boils down to your mindset. If you cannot leave your present job, decide that you will love your soul-sucking job, no matter what.

If you’re one of the lucky few who have the freedom to search for what they love to do, do so. It is better to try and fail at doing something you love than to fail at doing something you hate. Because, believe it or not, it is possible to take the safe route and still fail.

22. Look after your health.

Have you ever asked yourself why you treat your body the way you do?

It might not be because you’re lazy or don’t have enough time or money. It might actually be a form of self-flagellation, where you’re beating yourself as a sort of punishment.

After all, why are you eating junk food or engaging in dangerous activities such as smoking that you know are slowly killing you?

If you don’t look after your health, who will?

Look after your health not only because you’ll live longer and enjoy a better quality of life, but also because it will make you feel better. When you exercise, your brain produces hormones that are associated with happiness (dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin).

People who have been diagnosed with clinical depression have been found to have lower levels of serotonin. By simply exercising, you can increase the amount of these hormones your brain produces.

23. Take care of your appearance.

Poor body image often shows up in how you take care of your appearance. Do you constantly compare your body to other people’s? Do you speak negatively about your body? Have you stopped caring about your appearance because you think “who’s going to care?”

Studies have shown a strong link between disinterest in your appearance and some psychological disorders, such as depression.

When you take care of your appearance, there is a positive impact on your mental health. It improves the way you see yourself, which naturally improves your mood.

Take care of your appearance and ensure you always look your best.

24. Teach others how to treat you .

People will treat you the way you let them treat you. That’s a harsh but painful truth.

We let people get away with taking us for granted or treating us poorly. We’re afraid of rocking the boat or hurting their feelings when we should worry about our own feelings.

Teach people how you wish to be addressed, how you wish to be respected, and how you wish to be loved.

25. Stand up for yourself.

If you saw someone treating an animal the way some people treat you, would you ignore it and move on or would you object and call the local authorities?

If you would call the authorities to save a defenseless animal from being treated the same way you let yourself be treated, then you need to stand up for yourself . It’s long overdue.

You need to save yourself from a fate not even fit for an animal.

Dig deep within yourself and find the courage needed to stand up to people and situations that are crushing you.

Say, enough is enough, even though your voice squeaks and your knees knock together.

26. Believe you are good enough.

You are good enough. Not because of your education or how much money you make or where you come from or who you know.

By reason of the fact you are a living, breathing human being, you are worthy of respect; you deserve love; you are good enough.

You don’t have to do anything more than that. Just believe that simple fact.

By simply being, you have value. Luckily, many of us do more than just exist. What we don’t do is value ourselves and the contributions we make on this planet.

We take ourselves for granted and choose to believe a false narrative that says our contribution to the world and society is insignificant. We are in an abusive relationship with ourselves, with self-criticism and self-flagellation being the order of the day.

Our past failures and trauma keep us paralyzed in fear, low self-esteem, and low self-worth.

If we saw someone treating another person the way we treat ourselves, we’d probably call the police.

Reject this negative and destructive mindset. Embrace your value as a living, thinking, functioning human being.

Still not sure how to truly value yourself and what you bring to the world? Speak to a therapist today who can help you see your true worth. Simply connect with one of the experienced therapists on BetterHelp.com .

How I Value Myself: Nurturing Self-Worth

Table of contents, acknowledging my unique essence, celebrating achievements and growth, embracing vulnerabilities: the heart of authenticity, setting healthy boundaries, fueling a cycle of self-respect, conclusion: a tapestry of self-worth.

*minimum deadline

Cite this Essay

To export a reference to this article please select a referencing style below

Holi Festival

Need writing help?

You can always rely on us no matter what type of paper you need

*No hidden charges

100% Unique Essays

Absolutely Confidential

Money Back Guarantee

By clicking “Send Essay”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement. We will occasionally send you account related emails

You can also get a UNIQUE essay on this or any other topic

Thank you! We’ll contact you as soon as possible.

Essay Papers Writing Online

Learn the best tips and techniques for crafting a compelling and engaging essay about myself.

When it comes to talking about oneself, it can be quite a challenge to find the right words to express our thoughts and emotions. Writing an essay about oneself is an opportunity to not only showcase our personality, but also our experiences and achievements. It allows us to reflect on our journey and share our unique perspective with the world. Crafting an essay about oneself requires careful consideration of the words we choose and how we structure our thoughts. In this guide, we will explore effective tips and strategies to help you write an exceptional essay that truly captures who you are.

Understanding yourself is the first step. Before diving into writing, take some time to reflect on your experiences, values, and beliefs. Consider the moments that have shaped you and the lessons you have learned along the way. Think about your passions, strengths, and weaknesses. Understanding yourself will help you create a more authentic and compelling essay. Don’t be afraid to dig deep and explore your innermost thoughts and feelings. This self-reflection process will provide a solid foundation for your essay.

Show, don’t tell. Instead of simply listing your accomplishments or personality traits, strive to illustrate them through vivid anecdotes and specific details. This will make your essay more engaging and memorable. Use descriptive language and paint a picture for your readers. For example, if you want to showcase your leadership skills, don’t just say, “I am a great leader.” Instead, share a story of how you organized and successfully led a team to accomplish a challenging task. By providing concrete examples, you will leave a lasting impression on your readers.

Tactics for Crafting a Personal Account: Step-by-Step Manual

Constructing a narrative about oneself can often present a challenge. In order to produce an effective personal essay, it is crucial to employ certain strategies that lend authenticity and engage the reader. This section will outline a step-by-step guide for writing a compelling essay that highlights personal experiences and insights.

Use Personal Anecdotes and Examples

When crafting an essay about yourself, it is important to make it engaging and relatable to your audience. One effective way to achieve this is by using personal anecdotes and examples. These storytelling elements can bring your essay to life and make it more memorable.

Instead of just stating facts about yourself, try incorporating specific instances or events from your life that illustrate your qualities, experiences, or perspectives. For example, if you are writing about your leadership skills, you can share an anecdote about a time when you successfully led a group project or organized a community event.

Personal anecdotes not only add depth and authenticity to your essay, but they also help to showcase your unique personality and differentiate you from other applicants. They provide concrete evidence of your abilities, allowing the reader to form a better understanding of who you are as an individual.

Furthermore, using examples is an effective way to support your claims and arguments. Whether you are discussing your academic achievements, personal growth, or career goals, providing specific examples or evidence can strengthen your essay and make it more persuasive.

Remember to choose anecdotes and examples that are relevant to the points you are trying to make in your essay. They should effectively support your main ideas and contribute to the overall coherence of your piece.

In conclusion, incorporating personal anecdotes and examples in your essay can make it more engaging, relatable, and persuasive. By sharing specific instances from your life, you not only showcase your unique qualities and experiences, but also provide evidence to support your claims. So, don’t be afraid to share your personal stories and experiences – they can make your essay truly standout.

Highlight Your Achievements and Accomplishments

When it comes to writing an essay about oneself, it is essential to showcase your achievements and accomplishments. This section allows you to underscore your skills, experiences, and noteworthy moments in your personal and professional life. By highlighting your accomplishments, you not only demonstrate your abilities but also provide evidence of your dedication, hard work, and commitment to success.

Begin by reflecting on your accomplishments in various areas of your life. Look beyond the obvious academic or professional achievements and consider personal milestones, volunteer work, leadership roles, or any significant challenges you have overcome. These accomplishments can range from winning a sports competition to completing a project successfully or receiving recognition for your contributions.

When describing your achievements, aim to be specific and provide relevant details. For instance, instead of simply stating that you won an award, elaborate on the specific award, including the criteria, the competition or event, and possibly how you felt when you received it. This level of detail helps the reader get a clear sense of your accomplishment and its significance.

Moreover, don’t shy away from discussing challenges you have faced during your journey to highlight your accomplishments. Sharing the obstacles you have overcome demonstrates resilience, determination, and the ability to adapt and grow.

In addition to showcasing your accomplishments, it is pivotal to connect them to your personal and professional goals . Highlight how these achievements have shaped you as an individual and how they relate to your aspirations. Discuss how each accomplishment has contributed to your growth, development, and the acquisition of specific skills or qualities that are relevant to your essay’s overall theme or purpose.

Remember, while it is important to present your achievements, do so humbly and avoid sounding boastful. Instead, focus on conveying your passion, the lessons you have learned, and the positive impact these accomplishments have had on your life.

By highlighting your achievements and accomplishments, you will showcase your abilities, experiences, and the unique qualities that make you stand out. This section allows you to provide a well-rounded view of yourself while demonstrating your potential for future success.

Discuss Your Goals and Aspirations

When writing an essay about yourself, it is important to discuss your goals and aspirations. This section allows you to express your hopes and dreams for the future, showcasing your ambition and drive. By sharing your goals, you provide insight into your motivations and what you hope to achieve in life.

One way to discuss your goals is by highlighting specific career aspirations. You can mention the profession or field you aim to pursue and explain why it is meaningful to you. Perhaps you have always had a passion for science and hope to become a research scientist, or maybe you dream of being a lawyer and fighting for justice. By discussing your career goals, you demonstrate your focus and determination.

Furthermore, it is important to discuss personal goals unrelated to your career. These could include aspirations in areas such as personal growth, relationships, and health. For example, you may have a goal to become a better communicator, to build stronger relationships with loved ones, or to prioritize self-care and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Sharing these goals provides a well-rounded picture of who you are and what you value in life.

In addition to discussing your goals, it is beneficial to explain the reasons behind them. What has influenced or inspired you to set these aspirations? Did a personal experience or role model shape your goals? By providing context, you give your readers a deeper understanding of your motivations and what drives you to pursue these aspirations.

In conclusion, discussing your goals and aspirations in your essay about yourself allows you to showcase your ambition, drive, and motivations. By discussing both career and personal goals, you provide a well-rounded perspective of who you are and what you hope to achieve in life.

Be Honest and Authentic in Your Writing

When it comes to writing about yourself, it is important to be truthful and genuine in your words. Being honest allows you to connect with your readers on a deeper level and creates a sense of authenticity in your writing.

Authenticity in writing means presenting your true self and conveying your thoughts and experiences sincerely. It involves revealing your strengths, weaknesses, successes, and failures without any embellishment or exaggeration. Your readers will appreciate your genuine approach and will be able to relate to you on a personal level.

Being honest in your writing also means being true to yourself. Don’t try to mold your story or experiences to fit a specific narrative or expectation. Instead, embrace your uniqueness, quirks, and individuality. Your personal voice and perspective are what make your essay stand out and resonate with your readers.

In addition to being honest, it is important to be mindful of the tone and language you use in your writing. Be respectful and tactful when discussing sensitive or challenging topics. Maintain a balance between vulnerability and professionalism to ensure your message is conveyed effectively.

Remember, the purpose of writing about yourself is to share your story and experiences, not to impress or gain approval from others. Stay true to yourself and allow your authenticity to shine through your words. By being honest and authentic in your writing, you will not only create a meaningful essay, but also connect with your readers on a deeper level.

Be truthful, genuine, and authentic in your writing, and your essay about yourself will be compelling and impactful.

Revise and Edit Your Essay for Clarity and Coherence

Once you have completed the initial draft of your essay, it is important to carefully revise and edit it to ensure clarity and coherence. Revising and editing involves carefully reviewing your essay for any errors or areas of confusion, and making necessary changes to improve the overall flow and organization of your ideas.

One important aspect of revising and editing is to ensure that your essay is clear and easy to understand. This involves checking for grammar and spelling errors, as well as refining your sentence structure and word choice. By using clear and concise language, you can ensure that your ideas are communicated effectively to your reader.

In addition to clarity, coherence is another key element to consider when revising and editing your essay. Coherence refers to the logical and smooth flow of ideas within your essay. To achieve coherence, you should ensure that your paragraphs are well-organized and that each paragraph links to the next in a logical manner. Transitions and topic sentences can help to achieve this, providing a clear connection between ideas and guiding your reader through your essay.

When revising and editing, it can also be helpful to read your essay out loud. This can help you to identify any awkward or confusing sentences, as well as to check the overall rhythm and flow of your writing. Pay attention to any areas that seem disjointed or difficult to follow, and make changes to improve the overall coherence of your essay.

Finally, it is important to take the time to review and polish your essay before submitting the final version. This involves checking for any remaining errors, refining your language and style, and ensuring that your essay is well-structured and organized. By thoroughly revising and editing your essay, you can ensure that your ideas are presented clearly and coherently, leaving a strong impression on your reader.

How to master the art of writing expository essays and captivate your audience, convenient and reliable source to purchase college essays online, step-by-step guide to crafting a powerful literary analysis essay, unlock success with a comprehensive business research paper example guide, unlock your writing potential with writers college – transform your passion into profession, “unlocking the secrets of academic success – navigating the world of research papers in college”, master the art of sociological expression – elevate your writing skills in sociology.

What Matters Most to You and Why: Uncovering Your Core Values in Essays

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on April 6, 2024

Categories Creativity , Education

Exploring the depths of what matters most to you isn’t just a reflective exercise; it’s a cornerstone of authenticity and self-awareness. You might often find yourself caught up in the daily rush, seldom pausing to consider this reflective question.

Yet, understanding what drives you and gives your life meaning is essential. Whether it informs your choices in life, shapes your goals, or steers your relationships—pinpointing these core values is a journey worth taking.

What Matters Most to You and Why: Uncovering Your Core Values in Essays

As you peel back the layers of your ambitions and fears, you reveal your personal narrative —a story only you can tell. This isn’t just about reaching a moment of epiphany but rather acknowledging the rich tapestry of experiences that defines you.

Self-awareness is a powerful tool. It allows you to navigate life with more intention and clarity. When you articulate what matters most to you, you’re not just mapping your internal motivations but also setting the groundwork for a life that resonates with purpose. It’s about honoring your individuality and the unique impact you aspire to make.

Defining Your Core Values

Your core values are the guiding principles that dictate your behavior and actions. They shape your personal and professional life, influencing your choices and interactions with the world.

Influence of Family and Friends

Family and Friends contribute significantly to shaping your values. The morals and principles you’ve observed and absorbed from your family from an early age form a foundation for your values. For instance, if honesty and integrity were highly regarded in your household, they likely feature prominently in your value system.

Similarly, your friends can impact your values through their perspectives and actions, further defining what matters most to you.

Professional Experiences and Career Aspirations

Your career aspirations and experiences in the workplace play a critical role in shaping your values. The desire for achievement and professional growth may lead you to prioritize values such as diligence and innovation.

Reflection on how to find, define, and use your values professionally can help align your career trajectory with your personal value system, ensuring that what you do resonates with who you are.

Academic and Extracurricular Passions

Lastly, your academic interests and extracurricular activities are a playground for expressing your values. Whether you value creativity, which could be reflected in pursuing arts and literature, or if you prize knowledge and are drawn to research and science, your academic life enhances and reflects your values.

Similarly, hobbies and passions complement your academic pursuits, giving a fuller picture of what matters to you – be it community service, sports, or any other field that allows you to express your intrinsic values.

Narrating Your Journey

In narrating your journey , you’re not just recounting events but reflecting on the turning points that have shaped who you are. Your narrative will encapsulate your struggles, passions, and the wisdom gained through life experiences.

Significant Life Moments

Think back to the milestone events in your life. Maybe it was the joyous day you graduated from college, illustrating your passion for education. These moments are vital chapters in your story that highlight your evolving character and the values that drive you.

Overcoming Challenges

Challenges are inevitable, but your resilience in the face of obstacles showcases your growth . Whether it was a professional setback or a personal loss, how you rose from these times speaks volumes about your strength and commitment to personal growth .

Moments of Personal Growth

These are the times when you learn the most about yourself. Perhaps it was a tough decision that taught you the weight of regrets and the importance of making choices aligned with your values. Reflect on these experiences as pivotal points in your story where you saw significant personal growth.

Articulating Your Purpose

Discovering and articulating your purpose involves deeply exploring your passions and dreams to establish a clear vision for your future that resonates with your desire to make a positive impact.

Envisioning Your Future

Think about where you want to be. Sketch out a roadmap for your life that’s guided by your deepest aspirations. Instead of vague wishes, identify specific goals that align with your passions. For example, if you dream of becoming an educator, outline the steps to get you into the classroom, the educational philosophy you want to embody, and how you aspire to influence your students’ lives.

Making a Positive Impact

Identify the mark you wish to leave on the world. Reflect on areas where you’re driven to make a change—be it in your community, workplace, or a broader scale. This might mean volunteering for causes you’re passionate about or pursuing a career that enables you to address issues close to your heart.

Documentation of previous experiences with positive impact can fuel your commitment and give a clearer picture of the path forward.

Essays on What Matters Most to You

Structuring Your Essay

When you sit down to convey what matters most to you and why, structuring your essay can be as critical as the content itself. Your goal is to create a narrative that answers the essay question and captivates the reader with clear intention.

Employing a Clear Narrative

Start your essay with a compelling hook to draw your reader into your world. A personal anecdote can be a window into what drives you as a foundation for the narrative you intend to weave through your essay.

The body of your narrative should be a journey that methodically reveals layers of your character and values, culminating in a climax that resonates with the essence of the prompt.

If leadership is central to your story, begin with a moment that epitomizes your leadership qualities.
Should you focus on a personal transformation, choose an instance that best illustrates that pivotal change.

Maintaining Clarity of Purpose

The soul of your essay lies in its purpose. Consistently ask yourself, “Does this sentence serve my central theme?” Maintain a laser focus on answering the ‘why’ component of the essay prompt. Each paragraph should advance your narrative and underscore your central message, leading to a reflective and insightful conclusion that underscores your central thesis.

Quick Tips:

Bold key sentences that directly address the question to ensure they stand out.
Use italics for emphasis, particularly when reflecting on the significance of your experiences or beliefs.

Showcasing Authenticity

When it comes down to what matters most, being true to who you are and confidently sharing your journey can set you apart. Showcasing authenticity involves embracing and expressing your unique qualities and experiences.

Being Genuinely You

Your authenticity is your distinct fingerprint in a world teeming with duplication. To embrace your true self , consider these points:

Values : Your core beliefs guide you. Recognize them, stand by them, and let them be known.
Personality : Celebrate your quirks. They make you, you .

Likewise, understanding your weaknesses is just as crucial as knowing your strengths. This level of self-awareness breeds a deep-seated authenticity.

Sharing Your Unique Story

Each of us has a tale that’s uniquely ours. How you share that story can make an enduring impression. Keep these storytelling elements in mind:

Context : Provide the background that shapes your narrative. This gives your story a foundation.
Authentic Moments : Details about turning points or lessons learned showcase growth and character.

Remember, your authentic story isn’t just what you’ve done but also why you’ve done it — the motives and passions driving your actions. Being authentic means that you’re not just sharing a narrative but also the diverse emotions and thoughts that come with it.

Reflecting on the Influence of Relationships

In this journey of life, your relationships profoundly shape your emotions, experiences, and the paths you choose. Here’s how:

Relating Through Emotion and Experiences

You navigate life’s highs and lows through a complex web of emotional connections with others. Imagine the shared laughter over a meal that turns strangers into friends or the silent empathy from a loved one during tough times.

These interactions aren’t just fleeting moments; they are the threads that weave the fabric of your life. For instance, couples often find self-reflection critical for healthy relationships, suggesting that how you perceive and adjust in relationship contexts is vital to your personal growth.

Emotional Support: Your bonds can offer comfort and a safety net, enhancing your life satisfaction.
Shared Experiences: The joint adventures you embark on enrich your narrative and personal development.

Navigating the Admissions Process

When applying to a college or MBA program, it’s vital to understand the inner workings of the admissions process. This knowledge can give you a competitive edge and align your application with what admissions committees seek.

Understanding What Admissions Committees Look For

Admissions committees select candidates who showcase academic prowess and potential for future success. There are specific attributes that matter:

Academic Achievement : A solid academic record with competitive grades and test scores is crucial.
Professional Experience: Relevant work experience can set you apart for MBA admissions .
Personal Essays : Your essays should reflect clarity of thought, leadership qualities, and long-term goals.
Letters of Recommendation : Strong endorsements from professionals or academics who have witnessed your capabilities intimately.
Extracurricular Activities : Engagement outside the classroom signifies a well-rounded applicant.

Aligning your application with these focal points can significantly impact the impressions you leave on the admissions committee.

Crafting Your Essay

It’s important that you inject your personality into your writing while maintaining the right balance of professionalism. You want the essay to truly reflect who you are.

Writing with Wit and Humor

Wit can be a sharp tool in your essay-writing arsenal, allowing you to express your thoughts engagingly and memorably. However, use humor with caution; it should feel natural, not forced. Your essays will stand out if you can make the admissions committee chuckle without veering off-topic or sacrificing your essay’s core message.

Balancing Professionalism with Personality

You’re not just a professional but a person with unique traits and experiences. Infuse your personality into your essay, but do so professionally. This means avoiding overly casual language and ensuring your anecdotes and reflections are relevant to the essay’s prompt. Being professional doesn’t mean being devoid of personality; it means presenting yourself as a well-rounded candidate.

Managing Essay Length and Details

Your essays should be concise yet detailed. Aim for a sharp focus rather than a sprawling narrative. When discussing what matters most, every word should serve a purpose.

Environment

How much do you value yourself, a radical prescription for personal, and world, peace..

Posted June 25, 2014 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

The age of entitlement is, not coincidentally, the age of high self-esteem . Self-esteem, as defined by standard measures, is a function of how we feel about ourselves—based mostly on comparison to others. It often has a hierarchical bias —we’re better than some, but not as good as others. It has a dark side, too, as indicated by the research of Roy Baumeister and colleagues and summarized in the book, Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty. High self-esteem tends to create a sense of entitlement. When the world does not meet their entitlement needs, many with high self-esteem feel wronged and may retaliate with manipulation, abuse, or violence.

Self-value is more behavioral than emotional, more about how you act toward what you value , including yourself, than how you feel about yourself compared to others . It necessarily includes self-care.

To value something goes beyond regarding it as important; you also appreciate its qualities, while investing time, energy, effort, and sacrifice in its nurturing or maintenance. If you value a da Vinci painting, you focus on its beauty and design more than the cracks in the paint, and, above all, you treat it well, making sure that it is maintained in ideal conditions and shielded from direct lighting. Similarly, people with high self-value appreciate their own better qualities (even while trying to improve their lesser ones) and take care of their physical and psychological health, growth, and development.

Now here's the tricky part. In contrast to high self-esteem, with its tendency toward entitlement, people with high self-value necessarily value others . Where self-esteem is hierarchical, self-value is about equality. Here's why: When we value others, we value ourselves more—we elevate our sense of well-being and facilitate our health, growth, and development. (Think of how you feel when you’re loving and compassionate to those you love.) When we devalue someone else, we devalue ourselves—our sense of well being deteriorates, we violate our basic humanity to some degree, and become more narrow and rigid in perspective, all of which impair growth and development. (Think of how you feel when you devalue loved ones.) In other words, when you value someone else you experience a state of value—vitality, meaning, and purpose—and when you devalue someone else, you experience a devalued state, wherein the will to live well becomes less important than the will to control or dominate or at least be seen as right.

Valuing others makes our self-value soar. It also carries substantial social reward; showing value tends to invoke reciprocity and cooperation . Devaluing others, though, causes reactivity and resistance. It makes us look for something to be cranky about, so the low-grade adrenaline can inflate our egos enough to get us through the day.

In general, the more we value other people, animals, and things, the stronger our self-value becomes; the more we devalue, the lower our self-value sinks, making elaborate and often self-destructive ego defenses—chronic resentment, anger , substance abuse , impulsive behavior, or abuse of others—seem necessary.

A radical approach to self-value makes these and other maladaptive ego defenses unnecessary. Here's how to get there:

1. Physical Well-Being. Commit to making your physical health important and worthy of appreciation, time, energy, and sacrifice. Begin by reading widely available information about wellness, diet , and exercise, and decide which are optimal for you. Pursue your regimen of health vigorously—not only for yourself, but to make the world a better place.

2. Emotional Well-Being. Make your emotional well-being worthy of appreciation, time, energy, and sacrifice. Emotional well-being has many dimensions:

Honor your deepest values. The most potent contributor to consistent emotional well-being is fidelity to your deepest values. When we are true to our deepest values—whatever they are—we feel more genuine. When we violate those values, we experience guilt , shame , and anxiety —not as punishments, but as reminders to be authentic. If your life feels genuine, with sustained interest, purpose, conviction, and compassion, you have created a set of values and more or less kept true to them.
Survey your environment. We continually survey our environment for objects of attraction and threat—as one evolutionary anthropologist put it, food, affiliation, sex , saber-tooth tigers, and snakes in the grass. Many people, as researcher John Gottman has said, continually survey their environment for anything that might possibly be negative. They have trained their brains, quite inadvertently, to look for things that will make them feel down, resentful, anxious, or angry, which they inevitably find and almost always blame on the people around them. Fortunately, our brains can do the opposite—look for something to appreciate, enjoy, or be interested in—although it takes practice, as well as commitment to emotional well-being. We have very little control over the environment we live in, but we have considerable control over where in the environment to aim our focus. There are innumerable things around us that can stimulate interest, curiosity, enjoyment, courage, compassion, and kindness. Seek them out.
Act on what's most important. Much of the suffering in the world occurs when people violate what is most important to them by acting on what is less important. Think of the big mistakes you’ve made in life: Nearly every one probably involves devaluing someone or something important to you by acting on something that was not as important.
Value when feeling devalued. When we feel devalued, we feel we must do something that will make us feel more valuable—not more powerful. The easiest way to feel valuable is to be compassionate, kind, or loving. This is a simple but transformative skill, which anyone can acquire with practice. When you feel powerless, do something that will make you feel more valuable (e.g., compassionate, kind, or loving). In 20 minutes—or less, if not a lot of cortisol was secreted with the negative emotion —your self-value will be higher than before the powerless feeling occurred.

Learn more at CompassionPower .

Steven Stosny, Ph.D., treats people for anger and relationship problems. His recent books include How to Improve your Marriage without Talking about It and Love Without Hurt .

Find a Therapist
Find a Treatment Center
Find a Psychiatrist
Find a Support Group
Find Online Therapy
United States
Brooklyn, NY
Chicago, IL
Houston, TX
Los Angeles, CA
New York, NY
Portland, OR
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Seattle, WA
Washington, DC
Asperger's
Bipolar Disorder
Chronic Pain
Eating Disorders
Passive Aggression
Personality
Goal Setting
Positive Psychology
Stopping Smoking
Low Sexual Desire
Relationships
Child Development
Self Tests NEW
Therapy Center
Diagnosis Dictionary
Types of Therapy

Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.

Emotional Intelligence
Gaslighting
Affective Forecasting
Neuroscience

Tips for Writing a Strong Self-Evaluation (With Examples)

It’s no secret that nobody really loves the self-assessment performance review process. Singing our own praises may make our toes curl — and acknowledging where we’ve made mistakes in the past can feel uncomfortable or embarrassing.

So it seems like little wonder, then, that according to 2019 research by Gallup , 86% of employees say that they don’t find performance reviews helpful for driving improvement. Getting this part of the performance review right requires introspection, a non-judgmental attitude, and asking yourself the right questions to guide self-evaluation.

To get things started, use our tips in this article to help guide your reflection process. Then, follow up with our Self-Evaluation Template to help you structure your written evaluation.

Key Takeaways:

Your self-assessment is a chance to be your own advocate.
Track achievements year round to make the process easier.
Include specific examples of any skills learned or goals met.
If you’re stuck on what to write, consult manager and peer feedback.

What is a Self-Assessment Performance Review?

The self-assessment performance review is a key part of the performance management process. It’s a chance for self-reflection on your job performance, including your core strengths and areas for improvement. It also paints a picture for your manager of how you view yourself in relation to your team and the company as a whole, and surfaces any career aspirations or growth needs.

Self-assessment performance appraisals help employees see how their work contributes to the organization and their overall career aspirations, making them far more motivated to do their best work. They’re linked to increased employee performance, higher levels of job satisfaction, and improved employee engagement.

Benefits of employee self-evaluation include:

Set goals more effectively: A 2020 study on managerial feedback found that focusing on future actions, rather than dwelling on past events, leads to better performance. When we evaluate our overall performance in the context of our professional development and progression, it helps us pinpoint the skill sets we need in the future.
Eliminate performance review bias: A 2019 study on 30 years of performance management research found that when employees participate in the performance management process, it leads to greater satisfaction in the outcome. Employees were more likely to say the process felt fair and unbiased, because their participation created a two-way, collaborative process.
Improve employee confidence: Our self-efficacy — or beliefs about how likely we are to succeed in a particular topic or learning opportunity — play an important role in how we perform. A 2021 study based on classroom learning found that when students reviewed their own performance, it boosted their confidence.
Increase team alignment: Viewing your own performance in the context of how it contributes to your team’s overall goals helps highlight areas of misalignment in terms of processes or communication — meaning you can improve how your team works together.

What to Reflect On Before Writing an Employee Self-Assessment

Jumping into a self-evaluation might feel a little daunting. Taking a moment to do an informal review of your performance, progress, and goals can help you collect your thoughts when it’s time to write the real thing.

In the spirit of continuous feedback and the performance review process , consider your metrics of success for your own performance — whether that’s a quantitative measure like KPIs and OKRs, or more qualitative, such as your emotions and feelings about the last year.

Make sure you write down specific examples of any skills learned, goals met, or targets hit, so that you’re well-prepared for the next performance review cycle.

Here are our five best practices to get this process right.

1. Identify how you really feel.

Start by figuring out how you actually feel about your overall performance without the pressure of presenting these thoughts in a professional context.

Try taking some notes or consulting a trusted friend or peer about how you feel you’ve performed over the last quarter or year. Acknowledge the full spectrum of your experiences, including any specific examples you might feel hesitant to highlight in your formal performance review.

Coming up with an unfiltered version will help you understand how your perspective comes across, and you can always make edits once you start writing.‍

2. Review your goals.

Setting goals — and feeling motivated to achieve them — is the cornerstone of doing your best work. Review how you performed against your most recent goals. Did you meet, exceed, or struggle to meet expectations?

For each goal, evaluate yourself based on the following questions:

Why did you meet — or struggle to meet — this goal?
When you didn’t meet a goal, what blockers made progress difficult?
Was this goal clear, specific, and challenging enough? Why?
Thinking about the goals you struggled to meet, what could you improve on to meet goals like this in future?
Thinking about the goals you achieved, how can you build on this success to set a new goal?

As you reflect on goal progress, use your objectives and key results (OKRs) to provide a framework for your self-assessment, adding details and examples from the past year that contextualize your progress or challenges.

3. Review your manager’s feedback.

Your performance review is an opportunity to check in with your manager about your progress and have a dialogue on what’s next. But it’s also an opportunity for you to provide additional context on anything that might have improved or hindered your performance and goal accomplishment.

Look at recent one-on-ones or manager feedback from previous check-ins for guidance. What did your manager highlight or praise? Was there any constructive feedback on your performance?

Make sure you reference your accomplishments in your review and highlight what you did well. For areas that need improvement, provide additional context for any questions you think your manager might ask, and share any details about how you approached a project or situation that shed light on its outcome. Reflect on how you grew, and your plans to continue improving.

4. ‍ Review notes from peers and coworkers.

Peer feedback isn’t just great for professional development and surfacing new performance perspectives — it’s also vital for fostering the environment needed for great teamwork. In fact, one 2015 study on employee recognition found that praise from team members can have twice the impact on your wellbeing at work compared with manager feedback.

Evaluating feedback from peers can help you see how you’ve supported your team’s overall goals, as well as highlighting your progress on any non-technical skills — like problem-solving or communication — that build a more complete picture of your progress in the last year. Look through any past performance reviews, emails, personal messages, team meeting slide decks, or your company’s Praise Wall to collate a balanced view of how your peers see you.

Evaluate your progress by considering the following questions:

How have you helped team members and peers deliver on their goals?
Were there any specific instances or projects where team members praised your contributions?
How have you followed through on team expectations?
How would you rate your teamwork and collaboration skills?

Find more question examples in our Peer Review Template .

Writing Your Performance Review Self-Assessment

Once you’re ready to write your self-appraisal, you’ll want to collate everything you’ve noted during the reflection process, and start crafting your highlight reel that outlines all of your accomplishments since your last review.

To get started, use your job description as a guide. Evaluate how you meet each of the core competencies and skill sets, pointing to specific examples when you demonstrated each. While you write, work through the following topics:

Role in the wider team: How does your work connect to the bigger picture? What kind of teammate are you?
Unique selling point: What do you contribute that sets you apart? How is your team unable to function without you?
Key results: Review any OKRs. What key results did or didn’t you achieve? Why or why not?
Areas for improvement: Things can change for the better after a performance evaluation. What does that look like for you?

Examples of How to Talk about Your Accomplishments in Your Self-Assessment

Many folks worry about sounding braggy in a self-review. And while it might feel uncomfortable to sing your own praises, try writing it like you’re advocating for someone else to show what you’re capable of.

Talk about the cause and effect of your actions on projects, and make sure to reference praise you’ve gotten from others. Include business outcomes, quotes from happy customers, and any tangible data. Talk assertively about your accomplishments like they’re facts.

Try using these self-evaluation examples to help you guide your review.

‍Goal Accomplishment

“I set an OKR this year to grow our social channels 20%, but I exceeded that goal by growing them 40%.”
“My contribution to project X has helped increase customer NPS 10x.”
“Project Y has streamlined our process and saved time across teams.”
“Project Z will bring in more and better-qualified leads.”
“I accomplished a personal developmental goal to learn a new skill by working alongside peers in a different department.”

Project Management

“I demonstrate strong time management skills when hitting project deadlines.”
“I communicate project updates with all team members and relevant stakeholders in a timely manner.”
“When running project X, I was effective at delegating tasks and following up on work to make sure our team stayed on deadline.”
“I am effective at taking ownership of new projects and managing their successful completion.”

Team Support and Enablement

“I always review my team member’s work within 24 hours of being asked.”
“Because of my feedback on this project, XYZ was completed faster.”
“I supported the success of our customer conference by being a speaker, and received praise from our VP of Marketing.”
“I go above and beyond to make sure our team operates at its best, and I regularly provide help and support to team members when working on a collective goal.”

Non-Technical Skills

“My problem-solving skills helped overcome a key strategic challenge in a recent project.”
“Because of my effective decision-making skills, we were able to complete project XYZ in a timely manner.”
“I regularly contribute my ideas and perspectives in team meetings to help boost our team’s output and goal accomplishment.”
“I’m successful at staying on top of my to-do list, and regularly communicate progress with team members on shared projects.”

Ongoing Contributions

“I maintain and moderate a critical daily community discussion channel.”
“I reach out to prospects early in the morning, since they’re in a different time zone than I am.”
“I send out a weekly update to the entire organization about my project or function.”
“I helped launch and manage a new Employee Resource Group that supports our LGBTQ+ employees.”

Examples of How to Talk About Areas of Improvement

It can be hard to talk about your mistakes or recognize room for improvement in aspects of your work. For this reason, tone is particularly important when it comes to this portion of your self-assessment.

When talking about any areas for improvement, focus on honesty, and try not to be defensive, minimize errors, or blame others in your self-evaluation. Remember that everything you say is from your own perspective, so it’s a good practice to phrase things accordingly, such as “I found out I benefit from x”, or “I found I work best in x conditions”.

Reflecting on where you need to improve can also be a perfect opportunity to talk about how you want to grow in your career or improve in your job. When talking about mistakes or known problems during the review period, stay positive and emphasize the solution and next steps. You want to position yourself as a problem-solver with self-awareness.

For example, perhaps you weren’t prepared to take on a task because you weren’t trained. Propose enrolling in a class to help you step up your career development and take on more responsibilities.

When reflecting on your areas for improvement, try emulating the following examples:

“I can sometimes struggle to take the lead in project management scenarios. I’d really like to take on some leadership skills classes to help me develop.”
“I find it hard to share my ideas with team members on how to approach a project or piece of work, because I get overwhelmed when talking in a larger group. This year, I’d really like to learn how to develop my confidence with some mentoring.”
“I made a scheduling mistake that contributed to a delay on our team’s recent project. I learned better time management skills as a result and have a plan to manage these situations better in future.”
“I struggle with my presentation skills in front of a large audience. Is there someone in our wider team I can learn from?”

Crafting a Roadmap for Future Progression

Your self-assessment is a chance to be your own biggest advocate. As you work through the review process, try not to look at it as exposing your weaknesses, past failures, or mistakes. Instead, look at it as an opportunity, with your manager’s help, to take ownership of your career path, celebrate your wins, and unravel any niggling issues.

Working through this collaborative process should feel like a conversation with your manager that gives you a roadmap to help you perform at your very best in the future. For more support, download our Self-Evaluation Template .

Using AI to Write Performance Reviews: Everything You Need to Know

How Often Should Your Company Have Performance Reviews?

What to expect from your first ever performance review

Your Performance Review Is Next Week. Here's What to Do.

My Values in Life Personal Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

Introduction

My values in life.

Personal values are qualities that one considers to be worthwhile and, as such, act as the driving force in their life. They take precedence over other qualities and therefore dictate the manner in which an individual may behave in particular instances. When it comes to my values in life, I have a few that I hold dear.

These values are a result of my upbringing, development, my principles, as well as my socialization and the culture around me. In this “my values in life” essay, I shall identify the core beliefs that I hold and how they influence my everyday choices, actions, and plans that I make.

One of the educational values that are fundamental to me is achievement. This is a result of my belief that what defines me most as a person is my determination to succeed and my desire to make a positive contribution to society through my career. Achievement is, therefore, one of the values that are most important to me since, in today’s world, achievement and success are mostly tied together with educational success. As a result of this, I hold my educational exploits in high esteem since education is one of the avenues where one’s determination leads to quantifiable success.

I greatly value close relationships with my friends and constantly seek to cement the same. This is because good friends can assist one in achieving his/her goals in life and can sometimes even be closer than family. For this reason, I invest a lot of time and effort in my close friends. I make it a priority to be a part of the significant moments in my friends’ lives, such as their birthdays, wedding days, and even baby christening ceremonies. In addition to this, I always ensure that I inquire as to their well beings periodically.

Growth and personal development for me is a very fundamental value, and its importance in my life cannot be understated. It is my belief that my life is not worth much if I do not strive to constantly improve on my achievements as well as in becoming a better person. This value of personal growth and development greatly impacts my daily living, especially when establishing new relations. It is generally my rule that if a new relationship does not add any value to my life, then I should not waste my time exploring it.

One of the constant realities in human life is that we will always be surrounded by needy people. As such, on a social level, I always strive to give my services to the less fortunate. In my opinion, a life well lived is one that is lived in such a way that it makes a difference to someone else’s life. This is the philosophy with which I have led my life up to this point, and at all times, I try to make a difference in the lives of the people that surround me. Helping other people is, therefore, a value that I value not only in myself but also in other people.

While modern-day living has somewhat led to a degradation of the value of family from what it used to be in gone years, I still hold the value of family to be very important in my life. To me, one’s family members are the ones who will stand by you no matter the situation and encourage you through life’s troubles.

While I reckon that family may not always be supportive or as ideal as I envision it, in my experience, my family is closely knit and always stands up for me. I, therefore, always have my family in mind when making my decisions and consider how my actions will affect them. In addition, I try to seek guidance from members of the family who are more experienced than I am before making monumental decisions in my life.

It has been argued that honest men and women are a dying breed. This statement holds true in our capitalistic society, where profits and personal gains are the primary objectives. The means by which one achieves success is often overlooked, and as such, the ends justify the means.

Even in the midst of such an environment, I still hold honesty as one of my core values. This is mostly a result of my upbringing, whereby honesty was applauded and dishonesty shunned. Also, I have come to realize that when one achieves success through honesty, the level of satisfaction that comes with it is truly unrivaled by any other feeling.

Owing to my upbringing, I have a huge regard for religion. As such, one of my spiritual values is engaging myself in some religious organizations. While it is true that most of my religious values are a result of my upbringing, I have, over time, come to embrace them as my own and therefore make it my personal duty to be actively involved in my religious organization.

To me, this brings about a sense of balance and helps me be more reflective and appreciative in my life. My religious values impact my decision-making since I try not to make choices that are contrary to my religious beliefs.

In this paper, I have identified some of the values that I hold dear to me. I have also identified how these values impact the choices that I make as well as the actions that I take. From this deep exploration of my values, I have come to the realization that my values greatly dictate how I treat the people around me as well as how I prioritize matters. I believe that as a result of my values, I strive harder to achieve the things that I want in life, and as such, I am a better person as a result of them.

College Technology Application
Critical Evaluation of Self, God and Other Philosophical Phenomena
Maintaining a Balance of Upbringing
Parenting, Divorce, Dating in the Dear Abby Letter
Anne Bradstreet’s Poem “To My Dear and Loving Husband”
Most Influential People - My Uncle Jack
The Ethical Dilemma - How to Make the Right Decision
Concepts of Lessons from My Life as a Bully
This Capstone Class: Practice of Ethical and Social Responsibility
Why Gay Marriage Should Not Be Legal
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2018, July 15). My Values in Life. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-values-in-life/

"My Values in Life." IvyPanda , 15 July 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/my-values-in-life/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'My Values in Life'. 15 July.

IvyPanda . 2018. "My Values in Life." July 15, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-values-in-life/.

1. IvyPanda . "My Values in Life." July 15, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-values-in-life/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "My Values in Life." July 15, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/my-values-in-life/.

Home / Essay Samples / Life / Believe in Myself / How I Learned To Value And Believe In Myself

How I Learned To Value And Believe In Myself

Category: Life
Topic: Believe in Myself , Self Esteem , Values

Pages: 2 (811 words)

Downloads: -->

--> ⚠️ Remember: This essay was written and uploaded by an--> click here.

Found a great essay sample but want a unique one?

are ready to help you with your essay

You won’t be charged yet!

Nostalgia Essays

Compassion Essays

Honor Essays

Pride Essays

Suffering Essays

Related Essays

We are glad that you like it, but you cannot copy from our website. Just insert your email and this sample will be sent to you.

By clicking “Send”, you agree to our Terms of service and Privacy statement . We will occasionally send you account related emails.

Your essay sample has been sent.

In fact, there is a way to get an original essay! Turn to our writers and order a plagiarism-free paper.

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->