What are the differences between having high self-esteem and low self-esteem? And what are its consequences for our emotional stability?
Today we will continue to address the issue of self-esteem, and in this case we will talk about what characteristics people with low self-esteem and high self-esteem present. This will allow us to understand a little better why we respond in certain ways to some life situations.
It can be the key to improving our way of life, since our self-esteem largely determines our personal well-being.
As we mentioned there is a differentiation between high and low self-esteem, this is something that we have all heard at some time and we have a certain idea of it. However, from psychology other differentiations are addressed, opening a wider range of types of self-esteem. One of these aspects is the instability or stability of self-esteem.
That is, we can have a high self-esteem that is stable, or that is unstable. And the same happens with low self-esteem. Let’s see what each of them is about.
How do people with high and stable self-esteem behave?
For these people, who have a high value of themselves, the setbacks of life do not affect their self-esteem. They tend to be very open in the way they function since they have a solid image of themselves that is not altered by others. They are able to sustain their point of view in a discussion with others and this does not destabilize them emotionally.
When high self-esteem becomes unstable
In this case, we refer to people who, with high self-esteem, have difficulties to sustain it constantly. Some situations that can destabilize your self-esteem are, for example, very competitive areas.
They are very critical of their own failures and although they can defend their point of view with great conviction, they close themselves off from the points of view of others and seek to monopolize the word to avoid the opinions of others. They are very concerned about their self-esteem, and may even have aggressive attitudes to support it.
How to Identify Low and Stable Self-Esteem?
As in high and stable self-esteem, what happens outside does not manage to modify the person’s self-esteem, which is always very low. Not even successes can twist their devalued gaze on themselves.
Often this personality trait is accompanied by inattention to personal image, indecision, and fear of failing or making mistakes. Their negative assessment of themselves leads them to not be able to sustain their points of view in confrontations with others.
Have low and unstable self-esteem
In these cases, they also feel a negative assessment of themselves, as in the previous example. However, your self-esteem can be raised by external events, with an achievement, a successful decision, etc.; although this quickly subsides when that situation passes and self-esteem drops again.
They tend to be encouraged to express their opinion, but they do not have the possibility of defending it before that of others, due to the feelings of inferiority that accompany low self-esteem.
As you will see, these traits for each type of self-esteem, although brief, allow us to recognize our behaviors or those of other people quite clearly. Now we suggest you review which one is yours (and if necessary, look for strategies to strengthen self-esteem!). I think I have already discovered mine…
