Learning to Change

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily...” (Thomas Szasz)

Self-esteem is something that we talk quite a bit about but that few people understand beyond a vague concept of "good self-esteem means I feel good about myself." It is a little more complicated than that, self-esteem involves more than just feeling good, it involves the willingness to be in a place where you recognize your own faults and short-comings, but that recognition is still "okay" because a healthy self-esteem means you can accept that there are things about you that are still unwell or could be better. But it doesn't stop the world. Healthy self-esteem allows one to embrace the potential within you for good and bad, to judge neither and from that knowledge to learn what aspects of each behavior can be used as motivation and strength to pursue a healthful direction. Self-esteem means that you hold yourself in esteem, you have respect and knowledge of your reality and you have trust and faith in your willingness to learn to change to be the best that you can be.