Self Awareness And Self Esteem

According to a 1993 study in the longitudinal consistency and change in self-esteem form early adolescence to early childhood by Block and Robbins, between the ages of 14 and 23 exists the potential for great changes in how the self-concept develops and is shaped. The study also concluded that more males increased their sense of self-esteem during this time than did females. After people approach the age of 30, most self-concepts remain relatively stable without significant conscious effort (Adler, Rosenfeld, Proctor 63). A realistic self-concept should change over time as it reflects the reality of current circumstances and previous experiences. The tendency, however, is to resist those changes and instead seek out others than confirm the self-concept. The powerful effect that

Most people face self esteem problems at different levels. At some point in life people face this problem without realizing it. In the essay The Trouble with Self-Esteem written by Lauren Slater starts of by demonstrating a test. Self esteem test that determines whether you have a high self-esteem or low self-esteem. The question to be answered however is; what is the value and meaning of self-esteem? The trouble with self-esteem is that not everyone approaches it properly, taking a test or doing research based of a certain group of people is not the way to do so.

Self-Awareness, self-concept and emotional intelligence are effective managerial concepts that will result in leadership success. According to Stanford University, having these soft skills are indispensable traits that good managers should develop to be successful leaders. Managers strive to become aware of who they are, what their values, attitudes, skills, and abilities are. These values drive them to achieve and will eventually result in them become more effective. (Showry & Manasa, 2014, p. 15)

The concept of self esteem is widespread in life. When it comes to academics and extracurricular actives people associate high self esteem is necessary for success. Society makes promoting self esteem an important goal. With that in mind, it is surprising that only recently scientific literature began providing insight into the nature of development of self esteem.

❖ A child’s self esteem and confidence can be affected by negative experiences at school or other aspects of their life

These curiosities should have been answer by a parent, Victor Frankenstein. However, Victor never put any effort in guiding the poor and innocent child. Evelyn Yeo in “How Does Emotional Abuse Affect Self- Esteem,” concludes that from the time of infant-hood to childhood, a child’s sense of self is defined by how he was treated and what he was told by his parents and primary caregivers. Infants especially, have no knowledge of who they are as a separate person so they rely heavily on their parents’ feedback. From parents’ trust, affection, and encouragement, the child will eventually grow up with confidence and achieve potential to make him or her parents’ proud. Overtime, self esteem will soon build upon them so they are prepared to be set in the real world (1).

As health professionals, it is important to constantly be self-aware and to discover new truths about oneself. Jourard (1971) stated that lack of personal awareness can lead to a feeling of vulnerability when approached by patients expressing feelings, due to the fear of not knowing how to respond in an appropriate way. By having self-awareness, the sources of limitations that have the tendency to cause anxiety can be identified, so forward planning can be prepared to reduce or eliminate the impact this may have on performing activities and approaches to patients. Certain individuals utilise different techniques to minimise anxiety such as deep-breathing exercises or thinking of the positive outcome that comes once the source of fear or anxiety is overcame. Meanwhile, others prefer being critiqued, since it allows areas within practise needing improvements to be highlighted and alternatives to be considered.

During the early years of a child’s life they are developing their sense of identity, self- worth, self esteem and they are learning how others can see and treat them.

This part will discuss self-awareness and continuous self-development through analyzing a number of prior researches, then come up with the link of them to support my role as a manager in the future.

In most cases, children with low self-esteem feel that the important adults and peers in their lives do not accept them, do not care about them very much, and would not go out of their way to ensure their safety and well-being. Negative self-esteem is related to low self-confidence, insecurity, underachievement, anxiety, depression, acting-out behavior, sleep problems and being a loner (Yarnell, 1999).

Around ages two to three, infants can now refer to themselves using words such as “I”, or “Me”. Self-esteem also begins to develop around this age. Children begin to internalize standards and feelings of good and bad behavior. For example, they will respond more to “Good boy, or good girl”, and react more in hopes of receiving that kind of praise.

How important is good self-esteem in the development of children: extremely important!! Having good self-esteem is a key component in the healthy development of children and adolescents (Nuttall, 1991). A person with high self-esteem feels like they can accomplish anything they set their minds to, whereas a person with low self-esteem feels that they are unimportant and nothing they do will make a difference (Nuttall, 1991). How a person feels about themselves affects how they will act, this is true in adults and adolescents as well as small children (Nuttall, 1991) There are a myriad of influences that can make a difference in the self-esteem of children today: parents, teachers, friends, and society in general all have an effect on a

People’s self-esteem either high or low is shaped by their life experiences. I believe a person’s self-esteem begins to take shape at an early age, with their parents being a major influence. Kind, positive, knowledgeable and caring parents help children create a positive self-image. Parents who do not feel good about themselves or others, sometimes take it out on their childern by belittling them or discouraging them. This leads the child down a path of self-doubt and eventually given the right circumstances a lower self-esteem.

Children's views of self become more differentiated. As they get older, children discover that they may be good at some things and not so good at others. Children's self- concepts become divided into personal and academic spheres. During middle childhood children begin social comparison. Social comparison is the desire to evaluate one's own behavior, abilities, expertise, and opinions by comparing them to those of others. During middle childhood children deal with the crisis industry versus inferiority stage. The stage is characterized by a focus on efforts to attain competence in meeting the challenges presented by parents, peers, school, and other complexities of the modern world. This is a time of their life where the child develops a self esteem. Self-esteem in an individual's overall and specific positive and negative self-evaluation. Self concept reflects beliefs and cognitions about the self, self-esteem is more emotionally oriented. The self-esteem of most children tends to increase during middle childhood with a brief decline around age of 12. Some evidence shows that members of minority groups have lower self-esteem then those of the majority group. Children build a sense of self efficacy during their elementary years. Self efficacy refers to learned expectations that one is capable of carrying out a behavior or producing a desired outcome in a particular situation.

In effect, children “see” themselves when they interact with other people, as if they are looking in a mirror. Individuals use the perceptions that others have of them to develop judgments and feelings about themselves.