An indication of low self-esteem is a bad feeling towards one's self. Bad feelings are common with depression. How the brain is trained to think about one's self will determine whether he or she has low self-esteem.
How the brain is wired to think of one's self will remain constant unless the individual begins to retrain the thinking involved. As LeDouix explains, people are what they think. If you think you are a lazy selfish person, then you will tend to always believe that about your self.
How to Change the Brain's Self-Image
• Start by challenging the negative thoughts for truth. Then find out who you are and compare that with the negative thoughts about yourself. Chances are you will discover that you are not as bad as you thought you were. Paris Hilton was on the view a couple of years ago. She was asked how Paris is. All Paris could say was, "I like dogs". That was an interesting answer and all she seemed to know about herself at that time. She may be missing out being in touch with herself.
Learning who you are gives you the chance to be proud of yourself. And learning who you are gives you the chance to rewire the negative thoughts to positive rewarding ones.
Remember on the homepage it was discussed how neurons grow and become like a mesh of neurons as information is added. If the information about yourself is all negative, you just might end up with a web of negativity. Being around a person who is negative all the time does not help if you have low self esteem. You tend to feed off of each other and see everything negatively. But, you have control to change how your brain sees yourself by looking at things in a more positive manner.
Take a small step today and list one positive thing about yourself. Every day add one more positive thing to the list. As for the bad thinking, take this challenge and ask yourself one question, How can that negative thought be something positive? For example, if I believe that I am a quiet person, how can my quietness be something positive at times? This could be answered in a multitude of ways. Being quiet could help a person avoid being in a bad situation. Being quiet could allow a person to speak up at the most appropriate time or can show that your listening and learning about a subject that you are not totally familiar with. Being quiet could help avoid putting your foot in your mouth...and so forth.
You can learn more about rewiring your "synaptic self" as LeDouix puts it in my book, When Your Mind Is Clear, the Sun Shines All the Time".
