"High self-esteem isn't a luxury. It's a necessity for anyone who has important goals to achieve." – Jack Canfield

A healthy self-esteem is necessary for personal growth to work. It is related to your beliefs about your worthiness, your abilities and your feelings. It does not matter what others think of you. It is what you feel about yourself that matters.

And in order for you to feel worthy and succeed in life, self-acceptance is important. But don't misunderstand that with the word ego. Being egoistic is a negative trait.

Feeling worthy is that gut feeling from within gives you an inner strength. Having solid and clear personal values will guide you to make the right decisions and strengthen your self worth.

When your self-esteem is healthy you believe that many things are possible for you to achieve. You feel energized. The presence of a healthy self-esteem in your life makes you feel attractive. You are aware of the beauty in others. But you do not make judgments and compare yourself to them. This is because you have a healthy and positive perception of your body image.

Images of past success are more likely to flash on your mind. And if there is none you will imagine one.

When you grew up with critical parents and were surrounded in a negative atmosphere, your self-esteem most likely would have suffered. By then you would have identified yourself and created your self-concept that most likely was not empowering. You doubted your own looks and questioned your physical appearance.

If you do not challenge the critics, self-blaming and faultfinding, self-criticism will eventually habituate and become a pattern into your adult life.

What it takes is your willingness to change and grow and achieve personal mastery.

You must make it your goal to become a worthy person. To love and be loved.

To maintain self-respect and be respected. To be the person you dream of becoming.

And accept yourself for what you are and still acknowledge that it is within your personal power to make the necessary change.

What does it take to raise your self-esteem?

Are you really interested to make a change? Because if you aren't you will back away from the slightest challenge.

• It starts with a journey of self-discovery.

You do not have to go back in time to discover yourself. You can start right here and right now.

You begin by exploring your present thoughts, emotions and responses. You look at your behavior and your good or bad habits.

You continue by thinking about it. And what is thinking but asking questions and listening to the answers from within.

It is what is happening now that matters. You can't bring back the past. You can distort it by using some tools if you are interested. But the fact is your past is your memories that you still linger on until today.

At times you have emotionalized them so much that they look, sound and feel so real and so near.

• You have to start looking at another point of view.

Somewhere you have not looked before. At things you have not noticed. With open eyes and a curious mind.

You have to interfere with your habitual patterns of thoughts. You must interrupt, stop and change your focus.

Your present attitude toward your capabilities, your thinking and your relationship with others have to shift. A high level of self-efficacy positively affects your performance and therefore your self-worth.

• Accepting that you have allowed yourself to drift along.

A healthy self-esteem is developed through the years. It can be shattered from losing a job or breaking up from a meaningful relationship.

A person who loses something of value or someone dear will go through a grieving period. But the person who has high self-regard does not wallow in self-pity for a long period. She takes personal responsibility on the outcome of her life and makes corrective actions.

• A decision that you have to take a different approach.

That you are the one who is in charge. You have high self-worth and a strong confidence and know that there are choices and you can make the decisions. You acknowledge that you are a valuable person to your family and to other people in your life.

You must be willing to accept that what you have done so far has not given you the result that you desire.

But self-esteem being a belief about who you are can be challenged and changed. You can help yourself by repeating positive affirmation to change your mental programming.

• Take deliberate and conscious effort to monitor your self-talks.

Have you been listening to yourself lately? Really listening to that chatter? Those voices could be destroying your self-esteem.

Sometime, somewhere, someone or even yourself have told you that you were not good enough. And you believe that. From then on you keep saying it over and over again.

If you don't snap at those voices you will keep on believing in your "I can't" and "I'm not good enough" mentality.

What you say to yourself affects your emotions. Your emotions affect your actions. Filter your negative comments and replace them with positive words. Your own voice is more powerful that those outside yourself.

• Start something today and continue to do so each day.

Have you thought about how you are going to live your future if you allow yourself to believe that you do not deserve something better?

You have a choice "To be or not to be".

You can choose to become a person with a healthy and high self regards. Someone who is determined to grow and succeed and become more. Or you can choose to wither and atrophy until it is time for you to go.

You can decide to influence or be influenced. You do not have to depend on other people's opinion. You can take advice but you make your own decisions.

With each forward progress your self-esteem will increase and you will regain your pride and dignity.

Remember that when you change, your relationship will change. Your confidence will grow. When you feel better about yourself. Your self-image will grow. Your life will turn around.

With a healthy self-esteem your motivation to act upon your goals become easier because you believe in you.

Start saying what you do want. Start writing your goals. Start planning. Start taking action steps. Start believing.

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