How Does Low Self-esteem Influence Personal Growth?
Many of the people who experience emotional discomfort on a daily basis do not suffer from any type of psychological disorder. However, this is not a reason to assume that this discomfort is something normal about which nothing can be done: there is much we can do to improve our lives, also on a psychological level.
We have an example of this in the forms of dissatisfaction linked to low self-esteem and obstacles to experiencing personal growth. Neither of these two situations are psychopathology in themselves, but they have the power to make us suffer and even make us learn to overcome them. And the way we perceive and value ourselves has a lot to do with the ease with which we find exciting projects to dedicate time and effort to.
In this article we will see the way in which low self-esteem problems influence personal developmentand why these psychological complications arise.
To understand the way in which these two psychological elements are related, we must first understand what they are. Let’s get to it starting with some brief definitions.
Self-esteem is the way in which an individual perceives and values himself, having as a reference an idea of the ideal “I”.. That is, self-esteem has both a descriptive component (how we believe we are) and a moral and evaluative component (to what degree we believe we approach the idea of “what is good” and desirable). Thus, unlike self-concept, which is the set of ideas and beliefs that make up our concept of “I”, self-esteem is linked to emotions of attachment or detachment towards oneself.
Regarding personal growth, it can be defined as the set of psychological processes that give us an idea of a desirable life project for us, and which also includes the position we have reached in that progress. It has a lot to do with happiness, in the sense that it is not limited to the ability to experience pleasant moments occasionally, but rather comes hand in hand with a feeling of well-being in the face of our past, present and future. In this way, enjoying good personal growth implies feeling that we are doing useful and meaningful things with our lives, according to our values and interests.
Of course, neither self-esteem nor personal development are realities that can be fully covered by such summary definitions of these concepts, but with these ideas we can already understand approximately what they consist of. Now… how are they related to each other?
4 ways in which low self-esteem limits personal growth
As both self-esteem and personal development are complex psychological phenomena, they can interact with each other in many ways, depending on our personality, our values, our life context, our biological predispositions, etc. Here we will review the most common ones in cases where the person has a level of self-esteem that is too low.
1. It is associated with a more passive lifestyle
Statistically, people with low self-esteem have a predisposition to limit their activities to what they know well. This gives rise to a lifestyle based on monotony and lack of new stimuliso it is easier to stagnate and not come into contact with ideas and projects with the ability to “pull us” and make us leave the comfort zone.
Along the same lines as above, Low self-esteem predisposes us to focus on catastrophic predictions about the results of our actions..
This makes it easier for us not only to not try our luck with new experiences, but also to get involved in not exposing ourselves to certain situations that may be considered a challenge. This means rejecting invitations to participate in group activities, not daring to apply for a promotion in our company, not trying to go to language classes with a friend, etc.
3. Increases the risk of developing psychological disorders
Although low self-esteem is not a psychopathology, it can contribute to developing a.
Both depressive disorders and certain anxiety disorders correspond to this dynamic of avoidance of complications and pessimism about one’s own abilities and positive qualities. And having developed this type of mental health problems, it is difficult to promote one’s own personal development as long as we have not overcome the disorder first.
4. It creates distractions for us
Low self-esteem goes hand in hand with unpleasant daily experiences: constantly remembering things we did that make us feel ashamed or guilty, suffering intrusive thoughts that cause anxiety, etc. Because of that, It is easy for us to spend a lot of time trying to get those disturbing mental images out of our minds.reducing our ability to concentrate on tasks capable of promoting our personal development.
Furthermore, we often adopt anxiety management habits that provide momentary relief but cause more problems in the long run: binge eating without being hungry, smoking, etc. This deteriorates our physical and psychological condition and distances us from long-term goals.
If you notice that you have self-esteem problems that negatively affect your self-esteem, it is worth seeking professional psychological help. Therefore, if you are thinking about starting a psychotherapy process, contact me.
