Defining
self esteem
Self esteem is a term commonly used in psychology to
reflect a person’s overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her self worth. It
is also referred to as one’s self image. In modern times, it is described as
how high or low one’s ‘’swagger’’ is. One can easily pick out similarities in
these descriptions like high/low, image/worth, etc. Irrespective of these different words, the
same question is asked- ‘’how do you see yourself?’’
Self esteem is your opinion about yourself. Self
esteem means knowing what you are good at and what you’re not so good at
without letting it diminish the way you see yourself. This is because your self
esteem creates part of your identity...
There are two major types or levels of self esteem: low and high self esteem. Low self esteem comes from a poor image of oneself. If you think anything of yourself asides good things, it could be that you lack good self esteem. This is often caused by negative thoughts of you that are further fuelled by demeaning statements from family, school, peers, among other things.
High self esteem on the other hand is thinking
highly of oneself. The exhibited thoughts and behaviours that people cannot ‘’run
you down’’ is a clear sign of high self esteem. It is having the right attitude
to life, but being too excessive about it. Here, there is always an iota of
pride, anger and arrogance.
With the above, we can infer that both levels
discussed, have their bad sides. Thus, it is imperative to have a good sense of
balance while dealing with self esteem issues. Good self esteem is neither too
low nor too high. It is a standard way of living life without looking down on
yourself irrespective of your weaknesses or thinking too high of yourself
because of your obvious strengths.
The Nigerian teenager/ youth and self
esteem
Teenagers are known to engage in series of battles
that either make or mar them. These are their true formative years, as the
imbibed characters, attitude, habits, and virtues are made permanent with
slight modifications as they grow to become youths.
The Nigerian youth (especially the teenagers) of
today is also faced with so many challenges ranging from economic, to societal,
to mental and emotional challenges. These, among others are the basic reasons
for the level of decadence and corruption in Nigeria today.
Be that
as it may, it is often said that in a moral being, before an action is carried
out, it would have first been processed in the mind. Thus, no matter how
spontaneous an action is it could, to a very large extent, be regarded as
rational. The question then again pops up ’’ what does the Nigerian youth think
of himself?’’. Researchers have shown
that the mind of a youth is only a more developed version of his teenage mind.
Therefore, what he does as a youth is what he has stored up in his mind during
his teenage years.
Taking corruption as a case study, those that engage
in it, are regarded as those with self esteem issues. You ask ‘’why’’? This is because they are either the type of
people that easily feel intimidated by other people’s success and believe that
they cannot achieve such, and so, they steal or cheat, no matter how minute it
may be, or they place themselves so high that they feel they are above the law,
and so, they do all it takes to succeed, even if it means hurting others in the
process. You may say ‘’well, at least, the latter feels high and nothing can
trample on him’’, but I say, he lacks a sense of balance in its entirety, and
his actions based on what he has imbibed into his subconscious mind.
Good self esteem shows a sense of balance and
caution not to over step boundaries, or under utilise. It has a good sense of
judgement about majority of things or people. It is however appalling that the
Nigerian youth, from his teenage years lacks a good sense of judgement about
things and people, that is why we see the youth following the dirty, low
esteemed footsteps of his fathers, and Nigeria remains, still, in a state of
shambles!
But with the emergence of a new and fearless teenage
breed, which possess a good sense of judgement, a sound mind, and a good level
of self esteem, Nigeria can indeed be assured of a brighter future, as there
will be all-round transformation because these teenagers, who will eventually
become youths, would have been embedded with right and positive thinking, that
will make them break away from the norm of evil, and pessimism laid down by our
fathers. This is what Nigeria needs.
On a final note, this team of visionaries before you
today believe that good self esteem begins from the transformation of the mind,
which eventually projects into the physical world. Thus, we say- ‘’nemo dat
quod non habet’’, which means you cannot give what you do not have. Good self
esteem has to be in place before desired results are exhibited. This shows the
level of improvement or damage that can be done as a result of the state and
thoughts of the mind. Thus, the necessity of the teenage mind being re-moulded to have good self esteem cannot be over emphasized as it would, to a very
large extent, contribute to building a better Nigeria.
Compiled by:
ONAGORUWA
AYODEJI AYOTUNDE
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