Building Sound Self-Esteem
How we feel about ourselves impacts every part of our lives: our romantic relationships, our career, our finances, our family life. It determines our satisfaction with life and our psychological health and resiliency. This four-week workshop teaches you how to build your self-confidence and learn to trust yourself, so that you can cope with difficult situations, create relationships that have less conflict and more love, and begin to genuinely enjoy life. Presented by Robert McGarey, M.A.
Built on the self-esteem theory of Lilburn S. Barksdale, this workshop challenges the belief that we have to win First Prize and out-perform everyone else before we can feel good about ourselves. When our self-worth is based on what we HAVE -- our possessions, accomplishments, actions, thoughts and feelings -- we are always at risk of failure, because there's always somebody who possesses more, performs better, or accomplishes something more impressive than we are able to. As a result, we are never able to feel truly confident and secure, and are always uncomfortable with the prospect of really being ourselves.
In this workshop, we'll examine what self-esteem is and what it is not; we'll tackle guilt, blame and anger (three major blocks to feeling good about ourselves); and we'll examine how self-esteem has affected our relationships and the rest of our lives. From these building blocks, we'll construct a foundation for feeling good about ourselves regardless of
- how well we perform
- how much we possess
- how intelligent we are
- how attractive or sexy we look, or
- what kind of car we drive
Photo by Lauren Slusher
We'll also demonstrate how much more highly-motivated, creative and productive we can be when we feel good about ourselves, because then we don't need to prove ourselves to anyone else. Sound self-esteem helps us be relaxed and far-sighted enough to see and do whatever is most helpful to ourselves and others, and to do it in the most effective, productive and fun way imaginable.
I have been fascinated with self-esteem for decades, because it has long been a major challenge for me. That's why I selected self-esteem as the focus for my thesis in graduate school; I knew first-hand how profoundly it can affect our lives and the joy and freedom that we feel (or don't). This workshop is a compilation of the best and wisest ideas about self-esteem that I've been able to garner over the years, and I hope you can join us in this journey towards living a more satisfying, joyous, fulfilling life!
Here's whot one attendee has to say:
Just over the past week I utilized what I learned and absorbed in the Self-Esteem workshop. As a result, I felt more capable, accomplished, and I avoided all kinds of anxiety. It was in a group setting of approximately 30, and I noticed I was one of the only people in the group able to use this skill to make life easier and to have more time for joy and efficiency. It helped me 'clear the decks,' and I started using my energy and creativity for what really mattered for myself and the other persons involved! When I did that, I was noticed & appreciated. It freed up everyone indirectly, actually. I knew at the time exactly where I had gained that ability to communicate and act.
-- Rosiland, Austin, Texas