Self Esteem Esteem Quotes

I had enormous self-image problems and very low self-esteem, which I hid behind obsessive writing and performing. It's exactly what I do now, except I enjoy it now. I'm not driven like I was in my twenties. I was driven to get through life very quickly. ~ David Bowie

Respect starts with ourselves. ~ Nathaniel Branden

When you're a kid growing up, and you think you're gay, you know that you're different; you're often teased and it can really destroy your self-esteem. But sports can be great for building self-esteem. ~ Greg Louganis

The wounded heart learns self-love by first overcoming low self-esteem. ~ Bell Hooks

There are times when a girl needs sexy. That's the thing no one ever tells you. Sexy can be both a weapon and a wall of defense. ~ Kristen Callihan

I am convinced that what has the greatest meaning for us is what we uncover for ourselves. ~ Elizabeth O'Connor

Toasted Heretic should have been cherished and helped, rather than ignored or sneered at, or put down as "quirky band with an arrogant singer". So I certainly didn't help the band, but the virtues I had meant that we recorded albums when everyone else just listened to them. But, yes, if you could suffer from high self-esteem, then I certainly suffered. ~ Julian Gough

He who has lost honor can lose nothing more. ~ Publilius Syrus

Good! Hang in there! It's normal! [Low self-esteem] Often it's a sign of intelligence (but don't let that go to your head haha) ~ Patrick Stump

The idols of today are unmistakable -
self-esteem without achievement,
sex without consequences,
wealth without responsibility,
pleasure without struggle and
experience without commitment. ~ Jonathan Sacks

The false pride of perennial celebration, of wearing flag lapel pins while betraying the values that the flag stands for, is like the self-esteem curriculum for toddlers, where everything is praised and no achievement ultimately has meaning. ~ Anne-Marie Slaughter

I never had a low self-esteem that would make me gay. At one point, though, the reverse happened. Being homosexual led me to have a loss of self-esteem when I first became aware of society's attitudes about homosexuality. ~ Aaron Fricke

Only the fact that we are unaware how well our nearest know us enables us to live with them. Love is the most impregnable refuge of self-esteem, and we hate the eye that reaches to our nakedness. Edith Wharton ~ The Touchstone ~ Edith Wharton

Putting someone down with name calling reveals your own low self-esteem. ~ Stephen Richards

My self-esteem had been crushed through years of childhood bullying and serious abuses, which would take me decades to overcome. ~ Bryant H. McGill

Involvement in the arts engages kids in their community, improves self-esteem, reclaims at-risk youth, and builds the creative skills that are required of a 21st century workforce. ~ Gavin Newsom

I was called fat and ugly in the press almost my entire life. I understand that being judged by others comes with the territory, but it broke my heart and ruined my self-esteem. ~ Kelly Osbourne

When I was 19 years old, I came down with anorexia. I had it for about a year before it became public. And it had a lot to do with my self-esteem. ~ Tracey Gold

The highest in God's esteem are the lowest in their own. ~ Thomas A Kempis

No one can keep you down except yourself. ~ Andy Gilbert

Jesus did not die to increase our self-esteem. Rather, Jesus died to bring glory to the Father by redeeming people from the curse of sin. ~ Edward T. Welch

You'd be surprised how addicting high self-esteem is. ~ Fergie

Let's remember that our children's spirits are more important than any material things. When we do, self-esteem and love blossoms and grows more beautifully than any bed of flowers ever could. ~ Jack Canfield

You your own best thing, Sethe. You are. ~ Toni Morrison

Don't let anything morph you or push you around or have you be something you're not. ~ Christina Aguilera

Girls' inner critics are starting to reveal themselves at a younger and younger age. And body image issues are an aspect of their lives which is causing them low self esteem and day-to-day suffering. ~ Elizabeth Berkley

Productive achievement is a consequence and an expression of health and self-esteem, not its cause. ~ Nathaniel Branden

Well, we all know that self-esteem comes from what you think of you, not what other people think of you. ~ Gloria Gaynor

I did some pretty embarrassing modeling, like catalogs and QVC. I know there's probably a stereotype where all pretty girls think they're unattractive, but modeling is the worst thing for your self-esteem, because you're never pretty enough, you're never thin enough. ~ Whitney Cummings

I have really low self-esteem, and it's not easy for me to put myself on an album cover. ~ Bradford Cox

It was something she didn't want me to do because she thought the rejection would ruin my self-esteem. My father was, like, 'If she wants to try it, let her try it.' ~ Ellen Muth

We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new. We have to adjust ourselves, and every radical adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem: we undergo a test, we have to prove ourselves. It needs subordinate self-confidence to face drastic change without inner trembling. - Eric Hoffer ~ David Allen

The first act of violence that patriarchy demands of males is not violence toward women. Instead patriarchy demands of all males that they engage in acts of psychic self-mutilation, that they kill off the emotional parts of themselves. If an individual is not successful in emotionally crippling himself, he can count on patriarchal men to enact rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem. ~ Bell Hooks

Self-esteem is made up primarily of two things: feeling lovable and feeling capable. ~ Jack Canfield

I wish I had more confidence. ~ Seann William Scott

The root of humanly caused evil is not man's animal nature, not territorial aggression, or innate selfishness, but our need to gain self-esteem, deny our mortality, and achieve a heroic self-image. Our desire for the best is the cause of the worst. ~ Sam Keen

We all know that girls who compete in sports perform better in school, are physically healthier and have a stronger self-esteem. ~ Louise Slaughter

If I am not I, who will be? ~ Henry David Thoreau

When you are in the grips of low self-esteem, it's painful, and it certainly doesn't feel like pride. But I believe that this is the dark, quieter side of pride - thwarted pride. ~ Edward T. Welch

There is a direct relationship between our personal experience with the Lord and how we see ourselves. The closer we grow to him, the more clear and complete becomes our vision of who we are, who we have always been, and who we may become. ~ Sheri Dew

My narrators tend to be women with low self-esteem, so I can send them to charm school. ~ Elinor Lipman

People from both political parties have long recognized that welfare without work creates negative incentives that lead to permanent poverty. It robs people of self-esteem. ~ Mitt Romney

Don't be afraid of your own strength. ~ Diane Von Furstenberg

If your self esteem really does depend on how you look, you're always going to be insecure. There's no way you can get around it. Even if you get the perfect body, you're going to age. At some point, you have to take control, shift the focus, and decide that who you are, what you can contribute to the world, what you do and say is so much more important than how you look ~ Portia De Rossi

With fear come the lies and the justifications that, no matter how convincing, lower our self-esteem. ~ Azar Nafisi

Would that there were an award for people who come to understand the concept of enough. Good enough. Successful enough. Thin enough. Rich enough. Socially responsible enough. When you have self-respect, you have enough. ~ Gail Sheehy

I understand how important hair is to a woman's self-esteem and confidence. ~ Cat Deeley

Bragging is often merely a ladder we build for ourselves out of words when we are afraid we are not tall enough in the eyes of the world. It is an unwitting confession to low self-esteem. ~ P. M. Forni

Girls tend to attribute their failures to factors such as lack of ability, while boys tend to attribute failure to specific factors, including teachers' attitudes. Moreover, girls avoid situations in which failure is likely, whereas boys approach such situations as a challenge, indicating that failure differentially affects self-esteem. ~ Michael Lewis

Sticking to a diet required me to have a permanently low self-esteem. But happily, I developed other skills beyond a fluctuating weight, eventually building up a different source of self-worth. ~ Arabella Weir

Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. ~ Albert Einstein

Self-esteem means knowing you are the dream. ~ Oprah Winfrey

If you want to be respected by others, the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you. ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

One possible sign of low self-esteem is suppressing parts of yourself so you can fill someone else's expectations of what you should be. You try to fill someone else's (or your own) prescription of perfection, instead of being yourself and embracing your originality. ~ Robin Meade

To listen to critics, pro or con, and take their words to heart is to subcontract your self-esteem to strangers. (from Workbook) ~ Steven Heighton

Colonialism deprives you of your self-esteem and to get it back you have to fight to redress the balance. ~ Imran Khan

Rejection is a big part of show business. It can be tough on anyone who doesn't have fairly good self-esteem. Especially kids, as they try to discover who they are. ~ Angela Cartwright

After my second-to-last record, 'The Greatest', I had gone on tour for a while, and I didn't play an instrument for about five years. And I got kind of - it's not self-esteem or whatever, or anger toward myself - but disappointed in myself that I hadn't been challenging myself to learn musically. ~ Cat Power