Do you believe in yourself and your abilities? Can you handle rejection and criticism in an objective and healthy way, or does one negative comment completely destroy your view of yourself? Self-esteem is an important part of personal happiness, satisfying relationships, and success. Self-esteem is used to describe a person's overall sense of self-worth. Research has shown fundamental differences between individuals with high and low self-esteem. So, what is self-esteem? Ray Baumeister defines it as “how you feel about yourself in general…whether you think you are good enough, so-so, or not so good, overall” (p. 20). Both high and low self-esteem have good and bad qualities. The most common view of self-esteem is that having high self-esteem is ideal and more beneficial than having low self-esteem. Researchers defined low self-esteem as the lowest score on the self-esteem scale (p.20). Very few people actually score at the low end of the scale, their scores are closer to the middle range. So, in a sense, people with low self-esteem don't see themselves as completely bad—rather, they lack a more positive view of themselves. High self-esteem includes self-confidence and appreciation for one's abilities and achievements; while low self-esteem includes not believing in oneself. The downsides of high self-esteem can be becoming conceited, selfish, arrogant, and narcissistic. High self-esteem can lead to irritating others by being self-centered. Individuals with low self-esteem tend to give up easily. Social anxiety and shyness are related to low self-esteem. People with high self-esteem have clear and coherent ideas about themselves, while people with low self-esteem do not. People with low self-esteem are more likely to be… center of paper… belittling others to make themselves feel better. People accept information that makes them look good, but reject and find fault with people who criticize it. For example, when people take a test and do well, the test is fair and valid. If they did poorly on the test, then the test was biased. These techniques are common. Not everyone uses them all the time, but most people use some of them. Self-esteem is the belief we have about ourselves. Healthy self-esteem exists when we believe we are valued, worthy, loved, and accepted. Unhealthy self-esteem exists when we believe we are incompetent, rejected, and unworthy. Not everyone is born with an innate sense of self-worth. It can sometimes be difficult to develop trust. High and low self-esteem have good and bad qualities, there must be a balance. You're not always great, but sometimes you are.