It's Always Uncomfortable to Grow

Many of the things that are required to build and maintain healthy self-esteem can be uncomfortable, but the truth is they are essential.  The good news is, with practice, uneasiness subsides and they become part of who you are.

Saying ‘no’ and asserting yourself, asking for what you want, expressing your true feelings, saying positive things about yourself, letting someone love and nurture you…these may all be the things that are uncomfortable.  But, only at first.

One sure way to conquer discomfort is to simply do what is uncomfortable.  Step away from complacency and dare to grow and develop yourself today.  Start by choosing something that you have been putting off.  Then, just do it!

© Meditations for Women

When a Woman Believes She is Equal, She is Called Uppity

“When a woman believes she is equal, she is called uppity.  When we stand up for what we know and what we believe, we are called aggressive and unfeminine.  When we state that women are wonderful and that we are proud to be a woman, we are told that we are anti-male.  When we put forth our perceptions, we are told that we don’t understand reality.  When we put forth our values, we are told that we are crazy and we just don’t understand the way the world works.  Is it any wonder that we sometimes have trouble with self-esteem?” – Anne Wilson Schaef, Author/Lecturer

A Reality We Cannot Avoid

There are realities we cannot avoid.  One of them is the importance of self-esteem.


Regardless of what we do or do not admit, we cannot be indifferent to our self-evaluation.  However, we can run from this knowledge if it makes us uncomfortable.   We can shrug it off, evade it, declare that we are only interested in "practical" matters, and escape into baseball or the evening news or the financial pages or a shopping spree or a sexual adventure or a drink.


Yet self-esteem is a fundamental human need.  Its impact requires neither our understanding nor or consent.  It works its way within us with or without our knowledge.  We are free to seek to grasp the dynamics of self-esteem or to remain unconscious of them, but in the latter case we remain a mystery to ourselves and endure the consequences.


~ Nathaniel Branden, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem