By Krish Jhurani
There is one specific quality in humans that gives us the power to achieve sky-high goals. The one virtue that emperors over millennia have manipulated to cause the downfall of many empires. This, my friends, is the power of self-esteem, the evaluation of one’s self-importance. It is one of the few qualities that is easily broken, but difficult to rebuild.
Self-esteem, in a way, can be thought of like trust. When someone takes advantage or lies, the bond of trust between two individuals is broken, and hence, it is hard to believe the person again. Similarly, due to disturbing experiences, one’s self-worth can diminish, and this can create a wall of sorrow and misery. In order to conquer this dejection with bliss, it is of utmost importance to understand the two main qualities that contribute to self-esteem, which are confidence and self-respect.
As I stated before, throughout history, many kings and rulers intimidated their enemies with unfriendly letters, malicious threats, and rumors. This caused the ruination of many big empires, since the subjects’ and soldiers’ morale decreased, therefore letting their emotions get the best of them. Mind games were played and self-esteem crashed.
Likewise, experiences in life do the same with us. They attempt to destroy our confidence and self-respect by causing anxiety and stress and making our minds heavy. The natural human response would be to just keep tolerating all of it until the difficulty goes away. But how long can one face the same problems again and again?
There is always a limit, and to reduce the stress on the mind, several methods exist. The most popular is meditation. Unique styles of meditation are taught, such as mindfulness, spiritual or transcendental. From my experience, the most effective has been spiritual. It aims to silence the mind and send vibrational energy (comes from your mind and thoughts), to each of the chakras, or power points of the body. Being easily done, an individual does not have to sit in a specific posture but can do it while doing everyday work. However, the ideal way is to sit, close your eyes, and turn on some peaceful music.
Imagine all your tension flowing out of you like water from a fountain, and your mind emptying all its thoughts into that “flowing water”. Power is being filled within you, as you send positive energy to your mind and organs. Finally, as you open your eyes, try to maintain that stage of silence, and watch as your day goes by blissfully.
Personally, my work gets done quicker after meditation, and I feel less distracted. Other forms such as mantra meditation involve chanting or praying. These methods of de-stressing yourself help boost confidence, and hence self-respect. These two “sub-qualities” make up what is known as self-esteem. So, if you often feel inadequate or demoralized or have low self-esteem, try meditation and work on your thoughts and feelings to achieve this peaceful state of mind. You can do it!
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