Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

5 Signs That Your Self-Esteem Is Improving

How can you tell if your self-esteem is improving? Sometimes—thanks to luck, work and/or miracles—self-loathing ebbs. But self-loathing is so sneaky, so habit-forming, that when it…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

People-Pleaser Syndrome Almost Always Backfires

If you and I meet anytime, in any way, today, these things will almost certainly occur: I'll say yes when my heart and mind mean no. I'll feel, perhaps throughout our entire inte…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

That's Not Just Negative Self-Talk. That's Rage.

Recently I started having trouble sleeping. Awake at 4 a.m., I'd scold myself: Relax! You crazy anxious maniac! You're ruining tonight and turning tomorrow into sleep-deprived hell…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

You're Already the Master of a Craft. But Which Is It?

Last night in the intensive-care unit, someone said of the patient we were visiting: "He was a master of his craft."That craft was drinking. Jaundice made the patient, now sedated,…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Sometimes Just Stepping Outside Is a Mark of Courage

On crowded streets, I often wonder who among us found it very hard to leave his or her home that day, yet did it anyway.In other words, I wonder who is brave. Then I send silent gr…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Tiny Traumas Are Traumatic Too

I hadn't seen Tracey in over a year. And I was wrangling, that morning, with the latest in a long series of anxiety attacks, which made me not want to see anyone.But cancelling our…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Does Everyone Call You "Negative"?

I'm not telepathic. But I probably know something about you. It's this: If you have low self-esteem, you're often accused of being "negative." They call you morbid, morose, a dow…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Write Your Own Self-Compassion Proposal

Compassion is a virtue. But what if, by inborn instinct or after diligent learning and practice, you attain this virtue—deeply feeling and expressing compassion for others o…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Giving Thanks for Giving Thanks

One day recently, as we sat outside a bakery where the season's first pumpkin pies had just gone on display, my friend T told me that she hates Thanksgiving.She said she hates it b…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

The 3 Best and 3 Worst Reasons to Be a People-Pleaser

Picking me up from a high-school football game, my dad saw me amidst a circle of my friends, all of them doubled over, roaring at my wild, rapid-fire jokes. "Don't go," one of the…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

What Would You Want to Be Famous For?

My fame reached its apex in 2010, when within six months my writing attracted more attention—including three appearances on national TV—than it has ever done during any other half-…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

How to Become Your Own Hero

Telling yourself, once or twenty thousand times, "I'm smart; I'm beautiful; everyone loves me" won't make it true (or untrue) but, more crucially, won't make you start believing it…