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Connection between Self Empowerment and Self Esteem


To achieve success is life one has to begin from the point of higher self esteem. If you don’t have a belief in yourself then success will continue to elude you. Without a solid faith in your skills and abilities it would be quite a challenge to accomplish your goals. Hence it can be said that self esteem is an integral component of self empowerment. Let us explore further the Connection between Self Empowerment and Self Esteem.

First the definitions of Self Empowerment and Self Esteem and then we’ll see how they overlap.

What Is Self Empowerment?

Self empowerment is about the process of having or acquiring strength and skills to do something that you believe to be in your best interests.

For example, if someone asks you to join an office group for a Friday evening party and you have better plans to utilize your precious time, you are able to say no. Conversely, if you want to achieve a goal that others perhaps don’t think is possible or they discourage you, you stick to your objective and have faith in your beliefs and you continue to follow your own path.

What Is Self Esteem?

When asked to define Self Esteem, many people tend to get confused between Self Esteem and Self empowerment. They just know intuitively whether they have Self Esteem or not. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines self esteem as a feeling of having respect for yourself and your abilities.

That’s a literal definition. If you look a little deeper an on a practical side, self esteem represents your sense of self worth and value. Also it would not be wrong to consider it to be a personality trait that can be sum total of your experiences and beliefs about your appearance, behaviors, emotions, and skills.

Your self esteem runs intensely into the thoughts and it is the positive self image you carry.

Connection between Self Empowerment and Self Esteem

If you don’t think that you can be a good public speaker or orator then it could be because of two reasons. One – you never learnt the skills of public speaking. This is a clear case that you lack the public speaking skill. Therefore, you are not empowered to be a good speaker.

Second, you have undergone various trainings for public speaking and for acquiring good communication skills, presentation skills etc. but you don’t think you can be a good speaker. This is more of a case of Self Esteem.

To be successful what is required – Self Empowerment or Self Esteem?

Continuing with the same example, if you never learnt or acquired skills of public speaking, presentation skills or communication skills then you have to focus on building both – building your self esteem as well as your self empowerment.

However, if you have already acquired those skills then you need to work on your self empowerment.

Self Empowerment and Self Esteem co exist

The important thing to note is that Self Empowerment and Self Esteem complement each other way. Also it can be said that there is an overlap between the two concepts.

Hence by taking steps to improve your self empowerment you will also improve your self esteem simultaneously. As you start to set goals and move step by step to achieve them, each small success will help increase your self esteem or self worth.

You’ll notice that you actually have the power to make positive change in your life and that you’re capable of more than you initially believed. While self esteem and self empowerment are separate characteristics, the combination can be more powerful and life changing.

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