Self esteem is the appreciation of your own worth and importance,and involves accountability to oneself and consideration of others with whom you interact.Self-confidence is a large part of self esteem,and is essential if you want to succeed in any area of your life,including professionally.

Low self esteem significantly impacts on many women's lives,resulting in personal problems in many spheres including relationships,friendships and professional life.If you want to succeed you need to believe in yourself and trust that you are capable of overcoming the many challenges that you will encounter in your daily life.Other people pick up on your feelings about yourself,so it is important to project a positive and confident air,particularly in interviews and professional interaction.

Some indicators of low self esteem:

• Highly self critical,constantly putting yourself down
• Have difficulty accepting compliments from others
• Feel victimized by others' actions
• Feel lonely,even in the company of other people
• Feel empty
• Feel different from other people
• Feel depressed
• Feel shame and guilt
• Have self doubt,and don't believe in your ability to achieve
• Fear new situations
• Fear failure
• Fear success
• Fear being out of control
• Have a high need to please others
• Experience high levels of anxiety in business settings
• Experience problems in managing time demands and feel highly stressed
• Procrastinate and suffer the consequences
• Overly sensitive to other people's criticism,real or imagined
• Don't disclose own opinions for fear of other people's reaction
• Maintain an emotional distance from others
• Participate in self-destructive behaviors
• "Numb out" to relax
• Hold negative attitudes
• Experience difficulty in setting and sticking to goals
• Find it difficult to ask for what you want and need
• Frequently feel angry and aggressive
• Make unrealistic self-assessments
• Think in clear cut options and have little tolerance for ambiguity
• Don't tolerate imperfection
• Feel unconnected or removed from family and/or community
• Lack of pride in or information about your own ethnic,cultural or gender group

• The right to hold and express your own opinions.
• The right to interrupt to request clarification.
• The right to ask for help.
• The right to make mistakes.
• The right to ask for assistance from professionals.
• The right to decide how you will spend your time,energy and money.
• The right to hold and express both positive and negative feelings.
• The right to get what you pay for.
• The right to receive recognition for your achievements.

• Be aware of your thoughts and feelings. Awareness is the first step in any process of change. Explore both your negative and positive emotions,and learn to recognize when they arise,in response to what types of situations,and how your behavior changes accordingly. It is your choice then as to whether you maintain a negative thought,feeling or behavior, or make an active decision to replace it with more positive reaction.
• Cancel. When you realize you are experiencing a negative thought or feeling,repeat to yourself - cancel,cancel,cancel. After some time,and practice in focusing, you will begin to experience a warning in negative thoughts.
• Stay mentally busy. When the negative thought is present,work to replace it with a positive thought or feeling so that you do not have the space left to dwell on the negative aspects.
• Visualize. Imagine how you want to be in detail,and you will begin to make it happen. It takes time to see what you do want to be and how to act,but practice and thought over time reinforce that positive image and encourage you to adapt your behavior to attain the goal.
• Affirmations. When you are having a negative thought,replace it with an affirmation. An affirmation is a short and positive statement which describes the state you would like to be in at a particular time. For example, "I am calm and in control", "I am successfully managing my responsibilities".