Self Esteem

"Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of her or his own worth."  It seems to me that some people come with a healthy dose of it instilled in them, and others seem to need more reassurances.   I know for myself, that a "Great job!", "Wow! You look great." or "That was so clever." goes a long ways in boosting how I feel about myself.  However having a good sense of self worth is about more than just feeling good about yourself.

Psychologists agree that "Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you. Perception is reality — the more self confidence you have, the more likely it is you’ll succeed."

With this in mind it is critical that our kids understand their own self worth--thus giving them the ability to succeed in what they choose to do.  It seems to me that the adults in kids lives are the keys to building a child's self esteem.


We had a couple moments in the past month where our kids self confidence shone and it made my heart smile. 


Marissa works at Antigravity.  She is a really hard worker and has a knack for helping people.  They tapped into one of her true talents when they put her over parties.  This past week she had the opportunity to watch another employee do a party.  As she retold the story of her fellow employee's mistakes, and her struggle to fix it for the party attendees, I was struck by her complete self confidence in her own abilities.  :)

This is Gavin recieving his "Excellence in Math" award.  When they announced his name in the assembly he jumped up and with two hands above his head gave the "rock on" symbol, said "All RIGHT!" and ran to the front to receive his award.  The lady in front of me laughed out loud and then said "Having that kid around must be a lot of fun."  Yes, it really is.

Below Tiffany is giving the "Farris Family gang sign" from the sidelines at the State swim meet.

(Now you know what the Farris gang symbol looks like, watch for a later post explaining how it all began.)

Tiffany was one of 9 freshman in Utah 3A high school swimming to swim the 200 IM this year.  This is quite an accomplishment for any freshman, but considering she hasn't really swam competitively, except for this year, this is a huge deal.  

Tiffany swam her best ever time at state, cut 2 seconds from her personal record and finished 5th in her heat.  As she finished her event, I saw her look to the time boards.  I braced myself for the look that might follow, considering she placed 5th in the slowest heat.  Alternatively, after seeing her time, she turns towards her teammates and signaled the Warrior victory.  Then, after the recognition from her teammates, she looked toward her family among the spectators.  Jumping up and down in the water she signaled with two fingers above her head, her triumph over her own time.  She was pumped at her accomplishment, and so were we.  Shawn and I have termed this her "Olympic moment".   

Way to swim Tiffany. :)