Did I get your attention? A Prison is a place of physical confinement and restriction to various levels of personal freedom. The word prison captures the effects of experiencing low self esteem which are isolation, little or no self worth, frustration, depression

Low Self Esteem refers to the perception of an individual, viewing himself as inadequate, unworthy, unlovable, and/or incompetent

You become IMPRISONED with the feelings of insecurity, take fewer risks, communicate less and this restricts various opportunities available for your personal growth or development.

There was an article on the BBC website dated the 9th of July 2009 stating Self Help Makes You Feel Worse.I felt a need to blog on this, attempting to highlight low self esteem symptoms, suggest ways in which we can handle it, inorder to promote our personal development. Its not about relying heavily on positive affirmations, statements, mantras etc alone, but working out an approach to building self confidence over a certain period.

Low self eteem signs are as follows:

Feeling that you're not good enough - even if you are. A decreased level of self confidence associated with putting yourself down all the time. The feeling of being overwhelmed by the purpose of life. The doubts of making any personal achievement and being too scared to try out new things to enhance your personal development. Feeling uncomfortable with your looks - too fat, too slim, too short, too tall. Always worrying about getting even with people. Always being the victim, blaming others for your problems. Social withdrawal. Being unnecessarily fearful and concerned over what people think or imagine about you. The feeling of Self neglect.

The following tips can help you break out from The Low Self Esteem Prison:

Do activities you love: Your talents, abilities should be maximized to their optimal level in order to achieve purpose and direction for your life. When you identify and engage in these areas with purpose, you earn the self-esteem that you feel you deserve

Address your weaknesses. Our weaknesses tend to box us into a corner, or for the purpose of this topic IMPRISON us. Be rational in laying out on the table various aspects of your life. Find the perfect motivation for changing these aspects in your life and dont expect a sudden miracle. Building self-esteem needs purpose and the need to accept changes in your life. Know that patience is a virtue, go slow but sure. Your habits will not change overnight. Rejoice when you make a tiny progressive change using that as a stimulus to propel further quests for personal growth and development.

Acknowledge your positive qualities Believe in yourself. Feel good about what you have achieved so far, your ability to face the future with confidence and purpose. Dont be too hard on yourself. This is a negative trait which over time, develops into low self esteem. Stop flogging yourself over mistakes over the past. Learn from your experiences and avoid comparing yourself to other people

Rest on your laurels for every victory gained. Take pleasure in, the feeling of euphoria for being able to surpass lifes challenges

Who you associate with influences your thoughts, actions and behaviour. Negative people tend to downplay your ideas, walk over you, patronize you etc. This significantly lowers your self esteem.

Positive compliments and constructive criticisms (this shouldnt be likened to negative talks about your person) shouldnt be ignored at all. When you put yourself in a position of not being teachable or unworthy praises for work done, or good character possessed, it reflects low self esteem.

Being realistic about your goals will enable you formulate specific steps on how to achieve that purpose.

Some ideas

Sit down and examine yourself.

Make a list of strengths.

List your goals and be sure to create milestones going there.

Break down your goals

Maintain optimism. Plan carefully and be firm in what you want to achieve.

Make a time frame of what you hope to achieve in a specific period of time.

Think about how people can aid in achieving your goals

People who experience low self esteem feel imprisoned but there is a likelihood of the prison doors being wide open without anyone imposing their stay in there.

Take action today to deal with low self esteem.

Are you ready to break out of prison?

It will be interesting to have your comments