So, You're Not "Good Enough", eh?

Or maybe you are saying you're not pretty enough, handsome enough, smart enough, rich enough...?

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." And truer words were never spoken!

Not discounting those who may have been born with a predisposition to feelings of inadequacy, the majority of people who suffer poor self-esteem are the result of conditioning. Perhaps their parents or teachers were overly critical, and said things like, "You'll never amount to anything!" or "Is that the best you can do?!" or compared them unfavorably to brothers and sisters.

An inferiority complex goes hand in hand with lack of self-confidence and can be the difference between getting a great job or promotion or living a life of mediocrity. Here are some tips for handling and dealing with the different ways low self-esteem affects us and our lives.

"I'm not good enough"

Really? Can you prove that? Is this why you don't go for those great jobs or promotions or any of your dreams? If you aren't "good enough" in terms of skills or education, go and get the skills and education you need for the job or promotion you want. It's never too late - as the growing number of adult education centers bears testimony to.

Try to be realistic... are you really not good enough, or is this just something you've heard and have been repeating to yourself for so long that you can't even remember how it started? Take a look at your track record - list all your achievements, big and small - you'll find your plenty "good enough" after all! (Hey, now I'm a poet!)

You can always be "good enough" at work by simply being and doing the best you can. Arrive on time; don't take "sickies" unless you really are sick; be helpful and cooperative to others; learn your own job so well that you're an expert at it; don't loaf; don't dawdle back to work after lunch; make every effort to get along with your boss and fellow workers - display a cheerful, cooperative disposition. If you are stressed, learn how to handle it - there are books, tapes, websites, and experts who can help you identify and conquer the stress in your life.

If you are already doing these things, then you ARE good enough. If you aren't, you can start now and if you find some habits hard to change, just pretend, and soon you will have developed the newer, successful habit and will no longer have to pretend.

Next week, I'll tell you about some other ways in which we feel not good enough and how to conquer them.

Terri Levine
http://www.coachinstitute.com
http://www.terrilevine.com