Self-Esteem Contingency
A personal estimate of oneself (self-concept) as worthwhile and valuable translates into self-esteem. (Griffith, J., & Powers,R.L. 2007). An achievement & productivity driven society will often have us believing that our value and sense of worth or belongingness is attached to the ability to constantly achieve and produce materially for the financial benefit of self & others. That without these hollow contributions we are left inadequate and worthless. But esteem needs should reflect our humanness, our contributions to community feeling, and the common welfare of all.
When our sense of value is attached to extrinsic things, we can find ourselves relying on these external factors to assess our worth and determine our level of esteem. This can become quite the rollercoaster ride as our sense of self goes up and down with the rising and falling of our capability to achieve or meet social expectations. When having a more intrinsic centered self-esteem, our esteem needs are met by full acceptance of ourselves. Giving us a healthy buffer to the ever changing dynamics of life.
This calls for us to develop what I call an "Anchored I", which is a sense of self-grounding that allows us to hold fast when our individual worlds are in flux. Our sessions will aim at assisting you in developing techniques to build a strong sense of self that is internally anchored.