The Four Powers of Self Esteem

By Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.

There are four foundation concepts of self-esteem; that is, there are four aspects or qualities that contribute to its formation. I call them "Powers." In this case, each one adds to your total personal power.

I devised a test to measure your strengths and weaknesses in each of the four powers. You score yourself and use the scores to understand where you shine and where you don't.

Self-esteem is an epiphenomenon. What? It evolves from zillions of little experiences that make it up. I describe the process and how our self-images emerge. Self-esteem emerges in different ways at different times in our lives, and it manifests differently in different areas. You have to understand the process before the concept makes sense. You can't change self-esteem if you don't understand this.

The next section deals with the one concept and technique that makes the biggest and fastest changes to self-esteem. There are lots of techniques in the literature, but this one idea stands out and isn't presented elsewhere. I developed it over twenty years.

Then I write about resistance. There's always a bunch of "excuses" for not doing the work and I name them. There's a reason they are there and until you understand how and why they got there, your self-image won't change.

I write about what therapy is vs. what ebooks can do. My goal is to provide as much information as possible to fix a crummy self-image without going to a therapist. You'll be surprised how much you can do ... If you think "nothing will work," think again.

Next comes a discussion about some preventative strategies and the one technique that best immunizes against future "dings" to self-image problems.

Clients are very enthusiastic about this ebook, probably because everyone can use some work on self-esteem. This ebook has no fat. Its all laid out in everyday language, just like what you're reading now. Nobody has published what I present as the glue that makes these concepts work. I think this is why my ebook does a better job. It's process, not content driven. The theory I espouse is different from standard "behavior change" books. It works better. I know, because I've been using it with clients for years.

Now, you can do this yourself. I've put together a hard hitting, direct "How To" manual. My research has not turned up another ebook that does what mine does.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.
• Release date: May 12, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476282398

Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.

I'm a psychologist. I write no-fat, how-to ebooks on subjects and conditions I fix everyday in the office. These include relationships, being assertive, struggling with guilt and/or procrastination, children and teenager's behavior, anxiety disorders, anger management, kids and divorce, self-esteem, child visitation, weight control, forgiveness, ADHD, addictions, and my latest, mood disorders. I've written 15 ebooks, and most of them are translated into Spanish. Now, I'm starting to write a book, "The Other Side of the Couch." It's about my daily experiences as an outpatient psychologist and how I see the world through the lense of a shrink...

Book preview

THE FOUR POWERS OF SELF ESTEEM

(How To Fix A Crummy Self-Image)

by

Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D.

A PSYCHOLOGICAL CORPORATION

http://www.psychologyproductsandservices.com/page6.html

September, 2008

Published by Steven T. Griggs, Ph.D. at Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Disclaimer

Introduction

Self-Esteem Test

Definitions

-The Four Powers

--Worth

--Competence

--Ego Strength

--Self-Acceptance

Your Test Scores

The Genesis of Self-Esteem

The Anchor Concept

Objections (Eight)

Is This Therapy?

The Four-To-One Rule

Re-Framing

Conclusions

Appendix A

Other Publications by This Author

About The Author

And Last..

DISCLAIMER

You’ve likely purchased this ebook because you are feeling bad about yourself. I’m assuming this is not because of depression or anxiety, a come down (rebound) from a drug binge, alcoholism or some medical or major psychiatric condition. I’m assuming this is a longer-term psychological condition, so I’m going to talk about self-esteem in this context. If there are other conditions lurking in the background, these need to be identified and dealt with separately, possibly before reading this ebook, or maybe you can deal with them concurrently if you have approval from your therapist. If you have any doubt, ask your provider (Ph.D., M.D., D.O., etc.), or at least talk this over with friends. Let’s make sure we’re dealing only with your psychological space.

This ebook is not a substitute for psychotherapy or any treatment offered by a mental health professional. The information given is straightforward, written in ordinary English, and conforms to the general standards of the psychological professions in the United States. The attempt has been to present this information in a thorough, accurate manner, without being too technical (clinical) or overwhelming in detail. It is written for adults of reasonably sound mental states who wish to assess their own experience of self-esteem and to try some exercises to alleviate the symptoms. It will also function to help determine whether they might need a psychotherapist, or not. It is assumed the reader has an average level of intelligence and competence in reading, thinking about and understanding materials of this nature. The author of this ebook does not claim the enclosed information will cure anyone's self-esteem, only that it will help some people and give the reader a better sense of the range of symptoms, possible causes, and what to consider when seeking treatment.

The data, scales and charts are the product of the author’s years of experience in helping patients rate themselves in this subject. These have face validity but have not been formally compared to additional professional or academic instruments to establish other types of statistical, conceptual or concurrent validity.

INTRODUCTION

I’ve been a psychologist for over twenty years. Low self-esteem is one of the top eight complaints I hear every day. (The others are anxiety, lack of assertiveness, depression, children’s behavior problems, ADHD and learning problems, marital problems and various manifestations of addiction.) It’s pervasive and doesn’t limit itself to the young or old, rich or poor, and has no respect for race, religion, wealth or poverty, intelligence, personality or anything else. Of all the judgments you make in life, none is as important as the one you make about yourself. The difference between low self-esteem and high self-esteem is the difference between passivity and action, between failure and success, coping poorly or well, avoiding or approaching difficulties, accepting the status quo or having higher ambition.

You’ve purchased this ebook because you have a crummy self-esteem. Or, maybe you are a kind soul and know someone else who has a crummy self-image and you want to help. Millions of people have crummy self-esteems. I’m going to explore what that means, how that happens and how to think about self-image to repair it. Fortunately, everyone has some self esteem and everyone has the ability to grow in this area..

SELF ESTEEM TEST

But before I define the term, take the following test (and be honest).I want you to take the test while you are still naïve about what follows. It will provide a meaningful baseline to use later. Get notebook-sized piece of paper and a pen. I have to present the test in a slightly more difficult form because of eReader formats. Here’s how to take the test.

Read the five statements below that form the rating scale.

Rating Scale

1) I rarely think