I know the title may seem to be a paradox but as you read on, you’ll realize why you need to be careful about your self esteem lest you fall into a bottomless pit that has consumed many in the past, even celebrities.

Before we go any further, we’ll first look at what is self esteem so that we can get to understand why we need to be careful about our self esteem.

What Is Self Esteem

Instead of going right into what is self esteem, I’ll first define the two words (i.e. self esteem) separately then I’ll combine their meanings so that we get to answer our question (What is self esteem)

Self-Self refers to oneself or an individual e.g. yourself.

Esteem-Esteem can mean:

• To respect
• To admire
• To hold in high regard
• To consider

So what is self esteem?

Self esteem refers to how we think of ourselves as well as how others think of us.

I know many people look at self esteem as a synonym of self worth but let me clarify that there is indeed a difference between self esteem and self worth.

The Difference Between Self Esteem And Self Worth

Whereas self esteem refers to how we think about ourselves i.e. our individual sense of pride, self worth refers to how much we think about ourselves i.e. our individual sense of value.

Self esteem mainly comes from others e.g. how your friends or family think about you whereas self worth comes from within i.e. how much value do I think I posses? I’m I content as an individual? And the like.

Now that we have looked at what is self esteem, we can go ahead and look at the 5 reasons why you need to be careful about your self esteem so that you avoid getting into a trap that has consumed many before.

5 Reasons Why You Should Be Careful About Your Self Esteem

1. Self esteem does not necessarily mean you’re at peace with yourself-Remember that in our earlier definition, we said that self esteem is mainly an outward force i.e. how others think of us. This means that despite others thinking very highly about you, you can have a void space within yourself that no magnitude of praise can fill.
2. Self esteem is mainly attributed to success-The main question to ask here is, “What happens when you fail?” Many people attribute self esteem with success and when they fail, they end up depressed and in some cases, they become suicidal.
3. Self esteem can disappear in a flash-We have seen people being praised and the next minute they’re being prosecuted and cursed at which leads to their self esteem disappearing in a flash. A good example are celebrities i.e. one minute they’re being praised for being the best at what they do (football, golf, tennis and the like) and when a scandal involving them comes to light, the whole world is breathing down their throats which causes their self esteem to disappear.
4. You can suffer silently with self esteem no matter how much it is-Think of a scenario where someone being held in high self esteem by others is going through trying times in a relationship but because they don’t want others to know, they sit there alone and suffer silently with their high self esteem.
5. Self esteem may lead to your downfall-There’s a proverb that goes “pride comes before a fall” and majority of the people who are placed on top of the world by others because of their prowess in one area or the other, usually tend to become proud and arrogant and before you know it, they’ve fallen from those very same people’s grace and are now the laughing stock of the village.

There are many more reasons why you should be careful about your self esteem and the above 5 are just a tip of the iceberg.

It would therefore be a good move to seek both self esteem and self worth since relying on one (especially self esteem) is a sure way to write down your failure in plain words-It may work in the short term but in the long term, it will crumble.

A combination of both self esteem and self worth is the best way to improve your life.