Teen Success Ideas to Move Your Mind by Beatrice J. Elye Slide Show of Significant Excerpts for School Success Compiled and arranged by Carolyn Harrell Chapter 10 pages 79-86 Self-Esteem: Mastering Your Own Challenges

How do you develop healthy self-esteem? Self-esteem is your psychological barometer, responding to the pressures of daily life as your skin responds to physical pressure. How do you develop healthy self-esteem? Perfectionism is illogical Omniscience and infallibility are not attainable human characteristics. http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/6a9af9e8-c5cf-4d29- a071-45ad9600a683/david-foster-wallace-on-ambition-blank-on- blank-pbs-digital-studios/

Doing your best is important Honesty Effort Preparation Project an image of yourself in the future and an awareness of what is required to arrive at that goal.

Some comments which you might take very personally, may have been intended simply as helpful constructive criticism. A mistake doesn’t erase previous successes, nor does it foretell future failures. It just says, “I’ve got more learning to do.”

Maintaining and Improving Self-Esteem Keep a scrapbook, notebook, album, etc to record achievement and point toward future possibilities (I’ll share some of mine) Enjoy something every day. Set rewards for yourself for accomplishing something challenging. Inventory your assets. What do you do well? What have you accomplished? Develop a hobby or interest

Give deserved compliments to others Give deserved compliments to others. As you see good in others, you’ll see it in yourself. Give to others expecting nothing in return. Regard failures as learning experiences. If what you do is too easy you need to try things that challenge you more. Unless you stretch yourself, how else will you really find out what you can do? Work at self improvement. Set goals and develop a plan of action. Do something by a certain date.

Associate with optimistic people. Surround yourself with positive suggestions. Read literature especially things that teach “the human condition.” Picture yourself being what you want to be before undertaking a task. Create a “salvage system” for low- esteem days (friend, inspiration, good book, music, exercise, etc.)

Summary The desire for self-esteem is basic to life. A healthy self-esteem develops when you do your best each day. Your perception of reality affects how you regard yourself. Self-esteem comes as you master challenges. You need to recognize and address problems that may arise because of your talented nature. Certain activities will enhance your acceptance of yourself.

Words of Wisdom When we can begin to take our failures non-seriously, it means we are ceasing to be afraid of them. It is of immense importance to learn to laugh at ourselves. –Katherine Mansfield Every time we start thinking we’re the center of the universe, the universe turns around and says with a slightly distracted air, “I’m sorry, What’d you say your name was again?” -Margaret Maron Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. -Judy Garland Ninety percent of the world’s woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves—so how can we know anyone else? -Sydney J. Harris Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment. –Thomas Carlyle Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition—such as lifting weights—we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity. –Stephen Covey Simply put, you believe that things and people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy. –Wayne Dyer There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality’ and then there are those who turn one into the other. -Douglas H. Everett