Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Has Low Self-Esteem Made You Forget How to Have Fun?

One night two weeks ago, while watching a Nebraska-based trance band, I suddenly remembered how to have fun.It happened effortlessly—as shake-out-your-sleeves-and-collapse-on-the-h…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

How Can I Love You When You Don't Love Yourself?

Person A tells Person B: "You're beautiful.""I am not," Person B retorts."I love you," Person A sighs."Why?" wails Person B.Loving people who have low self-esteem means constantly …

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Can We Give and Get Gifts Without Hating Ourselves (or Anyone Else)?

My mother's birthday was last week. Because she's left ths world, I couldn't send her a gift.This was a bittersweet relief.Opening gifts almost always made Mom cry—not with joy, bu…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Is Lying to Ourselves Even Crueler Than Lying to Others?

Last year, I lost interest in writing.That was a problem, because writing's my career. It also, for better or worse—I suspect worse—largely comprises my sense of identity.My latest…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

From Childhood Onward, Spirituality Shapes Our Self-Esteem

Some children aren't spiritually inclined, but many are. Is this because their tender, innocent awe for all things alive and imagined hasn't yet been trounced by trauma, teasing an…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

What Do We Really Mean When We Say We're Doing Nothing?

When anyone asks what I've been doing lately, I almost always say: "Nothing."Of course, that's not literally true. Yesterday, I wrote two articles, drew a picture of a girl wearing…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Renouncing Things We Love and Forgiving Ourselves Enough to Get Them Back

Last month, as a white-ribbon waterfall fed a chocolate-milk river swirling seaward past houses on stilts, wild ponies gazed into my eyes.It was the Waipio Valley, on Hawaii's Big …

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Introverts: Is Social Media Stealing Your Self-Esteem?

Not to over generalize, but mainly:Social media feels natural, fun and rewarding to extroverts.Social media feels unnatural, creepy and devastating to introverts.I know this bec…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Would Living Somewhere You Loved Make You Hate Yourself Less?

Do you love where you live?Do you live where you love?Exploring rainforests, farms and craters on Hawaii's Big Island last week, traversing its dazzling, dreamlike backcountry via …

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Talking With People Who Trigger Your Issues

I met a supermodel last week.Daisy Lowe, whose archangelic statuesquity graces Vogue and other fashion hotspots, appears in a stunning set of images recently commissioned by the Gr…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

4 Signs That Your Self-Esteem Has Improved

Maybe you've been working hard to raise your self-esteem—with or without the use of my book, Unworthy: How to Stop Hating Yourself. Maybe your self-esteem has been rising naturally…

Worthy: A Self-Esteem Blog

Just Don't Do It

Do you do certain things only because of fear and anxiety? Give yourself permission to stop.A feel-good moment in countless fairy tales, songs, advertising jingles, children's film…