Balancing self-esteem 

Having healthy and balanced self-esteem is key to a happy and healthy life. 

Sometimes people assume that introverts don’t have high self-esteem or even that they have low self-esteem.

And then, there are times when self-esteem morphs into ego or overconfidence. 

There is healthy self-esteem. Here you have the confidence to be honest with yourself. You know your strengths and weaknesses, and you love yourself. Healthy self-esteem encourages you to live your life to the fullest, make good measured choices, and keep going even when mistakes happen with a lesson learned. 

Then there is low self-esteem. Unhealth low self-esteem leaves you with no confidence and a fear of making mistakes. Often this leads to a poor quality of life where you feel scared and trapped. Here you take in a lot of what people say about you, especially if it is negative.  

Then there is the overinflated self-esteem. This is also unhealthy. Overinflated self-esteem can trick you into thinking that you are better than everyone. This is ego and can ostracize you from your friends and family. 

Your self-esteem can fluctuate. But it is important to keep balance.  Unbalanced self-esteem can lead to poor quality of life. People with low self-esteem can miss out on important experiences. And overinflated self-esteem can push people away.

Most excess confidence or extreme lack of confidence is a form of deception. You are the one person you really don’t want to lie to, and unbalanced self-esteem is likely you lying. 

Understanding what self-esteem means is important. It is defined as confidence in your own self-worth and a sense of self-respect. You are not respecting yourself if you don’t believe you deserve respect and happiness. Neither is it when you hide behind a false sense of confidence. 

Being honest with yourself is the most important step. Only then can you start working on the changes to your life for the better.