Your Leadership is Key

You are the thermostat of your center. You set the tone for the staff, parents, and children. If you don’t hold them in high esteem and give them opportunities to improve their personal self-esteem then you are letting them down.

You need to provide opportunities to build their personal sense of value.

4 Thoughts People with High Self-Worth Have

The most confident and happy people we know are the ones who have high self-worth. But how did they get that way? Are some people just born with a better sense of value? Or do they make a practice of acting a certain way, which helps to keep them feeling positive about who they are?

When you talk to people with high self-worth, you find that they have a lot of things in common. Those who feel good about themselves tend to think a certain way. Let’s look at a few of the ideas which keep people feeling worthy even when life might be difficult.

They Understand Where Mistakes Fit

Everyone messes up now and again. The person with self-worth recognizes this. They take responsibility for the action and understand that just because something went wrong, it doesn’t change who they are as a person. They still value themselves even when they make a mistake.

By creating situations where people can try something new and it is OK if they don’t succeed the first time you support their self-esteem. Allowing them to try, fail, and try again is how children learn to walk and teachers learn to lead.

They Don’t Get Caught up in the Trappings of Life

Who you are has a whole lot less to do with what you have than you might think. It doesn’t matter how much money is in your bank account, whether you are wearing the right clothes or if you have the “right” education. Your value has a lot more to do with who you are inside than who you are outside. You can still be worthy even if you have very little in the way of possessions or money.

As a director we can model this and support others in exploring this concept.

They Don’t Chase Happiness

You know who you are has very little to do with whatever emotion you happen to be feeling in the moment. If you are not happy, it does not mean that you are not worthy period. You’re going to feel what you’re going to feel. We accept this in children readily enough, but do you accept it in parents and staff members?

Individuals with high self-worth realize this and accept their emotions for what they are: a reflection of their emotional state and not of personal value.

They Take Responsibility for How They Feel

When you have strong feelings of self-worth, you do not need other people to define you. This also means people need to drop any victim mentality.

They say no one can make you feel anything without your permission. This is more true than you might realize. It’s not up to you help everyone in your center to decide who they are. They must do it themselves. No one else has this right.

Of course, there’re other things people with high self-worth do. They practice empathy, especially with themselves. They love their job and set goals that make sense to them. The common thread? They do things that honor them. They don’t make compromises or get caught up in doing what they think they ‘should’ but instead focus on what’s right for them.

Your community members can do this, too, and you can help by merely paying attention to your choices and holding fast to who you are.