We can overcome fear and learn to love ourselves by following President James E. Faust’s six keys to strengthening self-esteem.
Photo by Ed Gregory
Loving ourselves can be even more difficult than loving others. Although we are sons and daughters of a Heavenly King, we are imperfect. Rather than allowing our weaknesses to discourage us, we can choose to improve ourselves by working hard and relying on our Savior. In the talk “The Value of Self-Esteem,” President James E. Faust shares six essential keys to understanding our divine potential and maintaining a strong self-esteem.
- Keeping our agency. We should avoid life-consuming habits and addictions that ensnare the mind and body and should expend our energy in following righteousness rather than in escaping evil.
- Being humble. We can find joy in life by accepting our flaws; humility comes from “inner strength and peace” and makes us teachable.
- Being honest. There are few things more powerful than accepting who we are. According to President Faust, “being true to one’s own self is the essence of honesty and the keystone of self-esteem.”
- Valuing hard work. We can refine our temporal and spiritual talents through personal determination and effort.
- Extending love and service. The Savior taught us to love our neighbors and ourselves. This means respecting ourselves enough to admit our imperfections and overcome them.
- Loving God. We are children of our Heavenly Father, created in his image. We will recognize our innate divine heritage and eternal worth by serving others and repenting of our mistakes.
President Faust emphasizes that “each of us has a potential, in this life and beyond the grave, that exceeds our fondest dreams.” As sons and daughters of God, we can overcome the fear of imperfection and love the divine within ourselves as our Heavenly Father does.
Listen to President Faust’s full talk: “The Value of Self-Esteem.”
Source: LDS.org
—Jess Verzello, Mormon Insights
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Find more insights
Learn more about increasing your confidence before God by reading Alison Brimley’s Mormon Insights article “How Do I Know If I’m Good Enough?”
Read Jessica Porter’s Mormon Insights article “The Atonement: The End to Addiction” to learn how our Savior can help us overcome addiction.
Discover more about self-esteem in Mindy Raye Friedman’s article “Truth, Lies, and Your Self-Worth.”
Read “Finding Self-Worth in a Selfie World,” by Henry Unga, and learn how a changed perspective can cultivate a sense of self-fulfillment.
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