Self-Esteem

True self-esteem is not about thinking you are best at anything or having a high opinion of yourself but it is knowing what you are good at, and valuing the good qualities you have as a person. It is also about having the confidence to try new things without worrying about failing or what other people might think and also the courage to say no if friends are doing something stupid or dangerous or trying to persuade you to do or say something you don’t want to.

Often, people with low self-esteem have already decided what other people think of them without ever stopping to consider whether it is the true picture or one they’ve just made up in their head.

No-one is perfect and we all have things that we would change about ourselves but self-esteem is about accepting yourself and building on the positive. It could be that you’re good at sport, or good at a particular school subject or it could be that you're a really good friend that people trust and can talk to.

Sometimes, the media can portray unrealistic pictures of perfect celebrities, with perfect bodies and perfect lives but this is not the case— everyone has good and not so good things about themselves and no-one should compare themselves with others.