A Motivational Poem:

Promise Yourself
By Christian D. Larson

Promise yourself….
To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.
To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

High School Reunion Star Cyndi & Self-Esteem

It's this reality TV show on the TV Land Network called 'High School Reunion' that I've been watching regularly. It airs every Wednesday at 10pm. I've always been a reality TV addict but this is my first time tuning in this season.

I was never too keen on the show's concept of living with old high school classmates. Personally, I hated high school. It wasn't fun for me. I could totally relate to the character Ned in the film '17 Again' when his friend asks him to go back to high school with him and he says, "No...way, I made a promise to myself a long time ago that once I left I would never go back to that god forsaking place again."

In the show 16 classmates reunite to rekindle the past or get closure. There's this set of women on the show that were part of the 'popular hot chick clique' and called themselves Summer Girls. They also have a gay guy that used to get beat up in high school, the bully, the nerd, the cheerleader, and etc. The former nerd is a now attractive blond named Cyndi who happens to work as a stripper now. During this week's episode Cyndi made it obvious that she still carried a chip on her shoulders from the traumatic experiences of high school. Self-esteem and confidence or the lack of really plays a major role in the lives of the former classmates.

Self-Esteem in High School

While I watched the episode I couldn't help but think back to my own high school days and the comments that affected my image then and even today. Some of the remarks I wrote on the 'Who Am I? List' exercise from Wednesday were from that time. Isn't it crazy how the people we meet often shape our lives.

Cyndi addresses her struggle with self-esteem in her TV Land Blog post. Check it out!
Cyndi's Personal Thoughts in Blog Post - Beautiful, Inside and Out

For some, high school was paradise. For others, it was an unforgettable nightmare. Twenty years after graduation, 16 classmates from Chaparral High School's Class of '89 reunite on the tropical Hawaiian island of Kauai to relive their high school glory days. The Football Star, The Nerd, The Cheerleader, The Ladies Man – they're all back and things haven't changed as bitter rivalries resurface and old flames reignite.
High School Reunion TV Show | Chaparral High Class of '89 | TVLand.com

First Step to Loving Yourself

The first incredible website I found online with the topic of self-love is called First Love You. This site has an assortment of really great articles on learning to love yourself. I recommend checking it out. Their technique focuses on becoming Alpha Females/Males and tapping deep into your personal power. It's a cool concept. They also have a lot of relationship and dating advice. I really liked the mental exercises suggested in some of the articles. So, for the next few days I'm going to work on them and report back.

First Step to Loving Yourself (www.firstloveyou.com)

We give and nurture… sometimes to the point of resentment… and then expect others to fill our emotional well. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The first step in learning how to love yourself is healing your past.

It’s so important to figure out WHY you believe what you do about yourself, and HOW you came to believe it.

Self-Esteem Exercise #1 - Make a List of Everything You Think About Yourself

Grab a piece of paper and a pen and write your name in big letters at the top. Allow yourself to write freely all over the page to answer the question “Who am I?”. You might start with your job title, or some role that you play (“daughter to so-and-so” or “godmother to ______”), and then you may move on to more descriptive words. “I am strong”, “I am weak”, “I am clumsy”, “I’m not happy all the time”, “I laugh a lot”.

Don’t just scratch the surface on this. Try to recall every little thing that someone has said about you. Write down every nickname people have given you. Write down what your high school sweetheart used to call you. Write what your old boss said about you in your last performance review. Write down every rumor you’ve heard about yourself. Write and think, write and think. Dig deep.

After you do this, take a look at your list. What ideas from your past have you been carrying around? What thoughts have shaped your reality? What is your ‘Ego’ made of?

How to Love Yourself - Louise Hay's Steps

How to Love Yourself
By: Louise Hay

1. Stop all criticism: Criticism never changes a thing. Refuse to criticize yourself. Accept yourself exactly as you are. Everybody changes. When you criticize yourself, your changes are negative. When you approve of yourself, your changes are positive.

2. Don't scare yourself: Stop terrorizing yourself with your thoughts. It's a dreadful way to live. Find a mental image that gives you pleasure (mine is yellow roses), and immediately switch your scary thought to a pleasure thought.

3. Be gentle and kind and patient: Be gentle with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be patient with yourself as you learn the new ways of thinking. Treat yourself as you would someone you really loved.

4. Be kind to your mind: Self-hatred is only hating your own thoughts. Don't hate yourself for having the thoughts. Gently change the thoughts.

5. Praise yourself: Criticism breaks the inner spirit. Praise builds it up. Praise yourself as much as you can. Tell yourself how well you are doing with every little thing.

6. Support yourself: Find ways to support yourself. Reach out to friends, and allow them to help you. It is being strong to ask for help when you need it.

7. Be loving to your negatives: Acknowledge that you created them to fulfill a need. Now you are finding new, positive ways to fulfill those needs. So. lovingly release the old negative patterns.

8. Take care of your body: Learn about nutrition. What kind of fuel does your body need to have optimum energy and vitality? Learn about exercise. What kind of exercise can you enjoy? Cherish and revere the temple you live in.

9. Mirror work: Look into your own eyes often. Express this growing sense of love you have for yourself. Forgive yourself looking into the mirror. Talk to your parents looking into the mirror. Forgive them, too. At least once a day, say: "I love you, I really love you!"

10. LOVE YOURSELF - DO IT NOW! Don't wait until you get well or lose the weight, or get the new job, or find the new relationship. Begin NOW - do the best you can.

What is Self Esteem?

Self-esteem is your opinion of yourself. High self esteem is a good opinion of yourself and low self esteem is a bad opinion of yourself.

Self-confidence is the self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.

To accept and love yourself unconditionally is to:

* Place no condition on yourself as to how to behave or what to be in order to receive self-acceptance and self-love.
* Not use "if-then" clauses in establishing conditions for accepting and loving yourself.
* Take a risk to be open and vulnerable to who you are with no preset limits or expectations.
* Accept and love yourself for the fact that you exist rather than for what you do.
* Give yourself the respect and latitude to be yourself rather than to be what others want or expect you to be.
* Set the stage for yourself to feel warmth, caring and concern for yourself which results in your growing in self-esteem and self-worth.