SELF-ESTEEM

You have the free will and the choice to take full responsibility for your self-image. Stop being your own worst enemy and be your own best friend. There's only one person who can lift up your low self-esteem and raise it to the heights of self-love and self-confidence, and that's you. Treat yourself with love and respect. You will spend every day of your life with yourself, so start appreciating the great person that you are today! - Wally Amos :)

These inspiring words by the author hit me to the core. Literature has its way to touch you or awaken you and these very much did so. Recently I've started reading a book called Live An Inspiring Life penned by Wally Amos with Stu Glaubermann.

Amos suggested ten secret ingredients for inner strength and they are as follows:
(1) LOVE
(2) POSITIVE ATTITUDE
(3) SELF-ESTEEM
(4) COMMITMENT
(5) INTEGRITY
(6) GIVING
(7) IMAGINATION
(8) ENTHUSIASM
(9) WORDS
(10)FAITH

By far, I have already read the first three ingredients and I actually feel that my life becomes more sweet, delicious and sumptuous. Admittedly, I've gone through a very challenging year and from the time I have decided to take a rest, it was the only time that I have come to a close assessment of myself. All along one of the missing piece of my character is self-esteem. For a while I believed that my self-esteem should come from other people such as family, relationship, peers or colleagues but it should not be the case. Self-esteem must emanate from myself and once it does then the external factors such as family, relationship and etc. will be a system support.

The thing is that from it's very own word self-esteem, the confidence and boost must come from deep within a person because first of all he loves himself and out of that self-love he will also be driven by a positive attitude. According to it and based from personal experience as well, love is the most powerful force in the universe. To live an inspiring life, you must keep LOVE in mind, hold love in your heart, and add love to everything you make. Recently love slipped out of the door in almost everything that I do, suddenly I no longer love what I am doing, everything became a burden. Now, I am slowly finding love again for and from myself; for and from the people that surrounds me and; for and from the things that I do. It is not like this all day everyday, there are times in between days that I feel being pulled back by negative thoughts and emotions but good always prevail. Some how I can honestly say I am getting better everyday.

Secondly one must maintain a POSITIVE ATTITUDE. This somehow I was able to successfully project to other people but the same does not necessarily apply deep within me. Perhaps it's because I was hurt and angry and once a person is hurt and angry it is hard to see things in the positive light. But as Epictetus once said, " I am uspet not by events but rather by the way I view them." This is true because at that time when I got angry and hurt I was upset because of how I viewed them, but you see God always have plans that we sometimes do not understand and it is only recently that I am becoming to realize some things and for that I am thankful. Being thankful is a sign of a positive attitude.

I am now on my third which is SELF-ESTEEM which I have already made mention earlier. Looking forward to reading all ten to hopefully achieve a stronger inner strength. With all these and prayer, now that I have opened my heart to Jesus Christ I know that life is good and the future will be bright.