I'M NOT A... BUT I CAN BECOME A...: My Journey from Low Self-Esteem to a Positive Self-Concept

By Edna Moore

Words of encouragement help children become the person God created them to be. Changing the words "i'm not a ..." to "i am a ..." is critical to building a positive self-concept.

Children are less likely to focus on their imperfections, negative thoughts, and shortcomings when they have talents, skills, hobbies, and special interests.

Children paint a mental picture of themselves from the words significant others say to them: parents, teachers, ministers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885052764

Book preview

Preface

Dear Reader,

It is my belief that children need to develop a positive self-concept, discover their talents, learn new skills, explore their interests, and choose hobbies. The goal is to keep children actively engaged in living their hopes and dreams, realizing a brighter day awaits them as they wake up each morning. When you enrich children’s lives, they will learn to trust their intuition, believe in themselves, and invest in positive thinking. This book hopes to address boredom, teach children how to use their leisure time wisely, and reduce idle time spent alone. We must address issues of depression and low self-esteem by providing children with numerous alternatives to fulfill their leisure time and idle time. Juvenile delinquency and committing suicide should not be our children’s first option when thoughts of confusion and depression cloud their minds.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to God who caused me to write this book in the midst of listening to the media discussing statistics about too many young people are committing suicide or becoming depressed because of negative information on social media sites. Suicide does not happen overnight because a child saw or heard something on social media. Suicidal thoughts happen when our children have been traveling down the wrong path for years without a sense of purpose in life and with low self-esteem, negative thoughts, and loneliness. I could have very easily been one of those children if social media existed when I was a child because negative thoughts encompassed my soul until my mom handed me a Bible at the age of ten and said, You will enjoy reading this book. The stories in it are better than the romance novels you love reading. This book changed my life. We must love our children into reality, introducing them to activities that will help them develop a positive attitude. Hopefully, this book will engage parents and children in positive conversations and help young people discover themselves.

Introduction

Talents, hobbies, skills, and interests erase these words from a child’s memory:

I’m not.

I can’t.

I don’t know how.

I wish I could.

When these words are erased from children’s vocabulary, they can become proactive in choosing activities that inspire them. Children worry about what they will become when they grow up. They seek advice from adults and believe what adults tell them. Some children get frustrated, feel worthless, and think they will never contribute to society. Children suffer from a low self-esteem until they discover who they will become in life.

I’ve taught children who felt they were not going to have a bright future because they didn’t have a talent, hobby, or skill. I felt this way growing up until God told me in the third grade I was going to be a teacher. I told my minister, and he gave me my own Sunday school class and Baptist Training Union class. I started tutoring children at my school who were having difficulties. I felt like my life had real purpose and has been teaching ever since. When children don’t discover their talents, interests, skills, or hobbies, boredom, loneliness, and depression consume their leisure time. Children’s negative thoughts or worthless views of themselves reside in their minds, allowing suicidal thoughts and low self-esteem issues to take over. My mother recognized this and planned activities, trying to find what would put a smile on my face. She was overjoyed when I discovered my talent and provided as many activities as possible for me to explore my new interests, helping me to become my best self and a happy child. Talents, hobbies, and special interests can reduce idle time and replace it with quality time. Quality time leads to