Building Self Esteem

If you have never accomplished anything in your life, chances are you have low self-esteem. You don't know the challenge and you don't know the great feeling you get from meeting the challenge. You're not alone. Life doesn't always afford everyone the opportunity to actually accomplish anything.

Most individuals find themselves lumped into a certain category, following a predestined path. Get a good job. Start a family. Work toward retirement. Raise your kids the right way. Nothing at all is wrong with a life like this. It's solid. It's stable. It's reliable.

But, it has its pitfalls. Psychologically as you grow older, you realize you may have missed a true calling. You might start wondering if there was anything you could have done better. You look at the handful of people who have achieved great things and you wonder why that couldn't have been you. This is not positive thinking. But, it is normal.

Pick up a brush and stare straight at a blank canvas. Get the feel for an image you have in your mind. If you have to, use this negative thinking that you have for the good. Imagine yourself running across a finish line first. Imagine yourself climbing a mountain. Now, paint that picture that's in your mind.

You're on your way to achieving a great thing, the greatest thing. You are creating. Not only that, you are learning that life isn't over. You haven't missed a thing. And you did your best, nothing to regret. Instead of wondering why it couldn't have been you, it is you. Look at your canvas. You've achieved.

Kids who start out early in life loving art have a better chance at moving right past those awkward years where they begin to question themselves. Normal childlike thinking has the ability to set kids back and keep them from trying something where there is a chance they might fail. Kids who love art know that there is always another blank canvas and they start to look at life that way. They learn early that you can't always succeed. The glory is in that you tried.

Adults also benefit from picking up the brush even if they have never done it before. They might catch on to this great benefit a little later in life, but it's never too late to learn such a great life's lesson. The sense of achievement proves to us that we can do anything. The loss or failure is taken as a calculated risk, often an enlightening one. Artists are less likely to be depressed although there are a few instances that exist to the contrary. Art breathes life into them. The next conquest, they love the challenge.

There are so many benefits to art that it is too numerous to try to count. Building a sense of self and a high self esteem is one of the better ones. Everyone should feel the feeling of being proud, enjoying life's challenges rather than cowering to them.