Maybe not many are familiar with the term self-worth, and some may not be able to distinguish it from self-esteem. Although both are important for building a self-confident personality, there are significant differences between the two. Here’s the explanation for you.
Self-worth is an individual’s evaluation of himself as a valuable and capable human being who deserves to be respected and taken into account. People who have positive self-worth have the belief that they are worthy of love and are someone of value.
Positive feelings of self-worth tend to be associated with high levels of self-acceptance and self-esteem. Not even infrequently, people use the term self-worth to replace self-esteem even though the two are different things.
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The difference between self-worth and self-esteem
The difference between self-worth and self-esteem lies in the feelings experienced. No matter what happens, people who have positive self-worth will continue to hold on to the idea that they have innate value. This is an important thing as a self-foundation and can keep us stable when self-esteem values go up and down.
Self-worth comes from realizing that you have the capacity to do good and make a positive impact in the world no matter how small it is.
Meanwhile, building and maintaining self-esteem will depend on the evidence collected about your assessment as a person, such as having good academic grades, or winning competitions in certain fields. When these things are achieved, then you will feel that your self-esteem increases.
This is in accordance with the definition of self-esteem which is the way we evaluate ourselves to find out our personal assessment of the qualities and attributes we have. High self-esteem will be formed when the things you think, feel, and believe about yourself are in accordance with the reality that is happening or experienced.
The importance of having self-worth
People with low self-worth tend to have negative opinions about themselves. They will also assess and evaluate themselves critically.
This can make them often criticize their own abilities but ignore praise. People with low self-worth tend to focus on mistakes, regret things they didn’t do, and compare themselves to others.
Having high self-worth is very important, because when someone feels their self-worth is low, then this can affect the way they live their daily lives, such as:
- Avoid challenges at school or work, thus achieving less.
- Easily offended, hurt or depressed when criticized or disapproved in personal relationships.
- Maybe trying his best to please someone else
- Very shy or self-conscious
- Avoiding or withdrawing from intimacy, vulnerability, or social contact
- Less likely to defend oneself from being harassed or ignored
Tips to build self-worth
Some tips that you can do to build self-worth are:
1. Stop comparing yourself to others
To be able to build self-worth, the first step that needs to be done is to stop comparing yourself to others. Frequently comparing yourself to others will make you feel lost and worthless.
2. Ignore harsh self-criticism
Stop evaluating your every move and don’t listen too much to the critical voice in your head. Constantly nagging and criticizing yourself will undermine your self-worth and can even lead to self-destructive behavior.
Start looking at who you really are and don’t just look at yourself from a negative perspective. You must begin to understand and appreciate your own feelings, thoughts, desires, and values.
3. Love yourself
Self-worth can also be fostered by starting to practice self-compassion. This is the practice of treating yourself with the same kindness and compassion you would treat a friend.
Be curious, open, accepting, and loving yourself and your experiences rather than being self-critical. There are three steps to practicing self-compassion, namely:
- Acknowledge and pay attention to the difficulties you are experiencing.
- Be kind and caring in response to adversity.
- Remember that imperfection is a part of the human experience shared by everyone
4. add meaning to your life
You can also build self-worth by adding meaning to your life. This can be done by taking part in activities that you feel are important. What you can do for example:
- Helping others in need
- Engage in activities that have a positive impact on people or the larger environment, such as volunteering
- Studying religion can also increase self-worth
- To find the food of life, seek a purpose greater than yourself by engaging in activities and interests that feel meaningful to you personally.
5. Act in accordance with the principles
Another important quality for developing self-worth is keeping your actions in line with your words. When your actions don’t match your words, you’re more likely to be vulnerable to attacks from a critical conscience and less likely to respect yourself.
6. Take responsibility for yourself
Another thing that must be developed to increase self-worth is to practice being responsible for yourself, including your circumstances and problems. Take full responsibility for everything that happens to you, and acknowledge that you have the personal power to change and influence events and circumstances in your life.
