Confidence, self-esteem and self-image are closely related concepts controlled by our own minds. Some people have too much, some too little, but how do you tell?
It’s been generally said that men have too much confidence and women have too little self-esteem. But how did we get there? This begs the question of why. Is it a social thing? Very likely so.
We need to explore why one deserves a level of confidence and self-esteem. I think Lanny Bassham puts it very well in his book, ‘With Winning in Mind’. To Lanny, self-image is related to the skill set. True skill comes from training and practice in the conscious mind building those skills into the subconscious mind where they can be performed readily, quickly, efficiently and smoothly. The self-image then improves with one’s realization of the improving skills. Once one realizes the level they are, they can work towards further improvement by using the conscious mind to further better the subconscious. The triangle of conscious, subconscious and self-image continues and feeds upon itself. If one piece is deficient, one must realize that in order to improve the whole triangle. Certainly you can imagine how one can extrapolate this into a whole life concept.
You might say that one who has lower self-esteem just doesn’t realize yet how good they actually are or how much good they do. I would say that one who has a strong self-image and no skill set is a fool.