When you have healthy self-esteem, you feel good about yourself and see yourself as deserving the respect of others. When you have low self-esteem, you put little value on your opinions and ideas. You might constantly worry that you aren’t good enough.

Here’s how to tell if your self-esteem needs a boost and why it’s important to develop a healthy sense of your own worth.

Factors that shape and influence self-esteem

Self-esteem begins to form in early childhood. Factors that can influence self-esteem include:

• Your thoughts and perceptions
• How other people react to you
• Experiences at home, school, work and in the community
• Illness, disability or injury
• Age
• Role and status in society
• Media messages
• and more

Benefits of healthy self-esteem

When you value yourself and have good self-esteem, you feel secure and worthwhile. You have generally positive relationships with others and feel confident about your abilities. You’re also open to learning and feedback, which can help you acquire and master new skills.

With healthy self-esteem you’re:

• Assertive in expressing your needs and opinions
• Confident in your ability to make decisions
• Able to form secure and honest relationships — and less likely to stay in unhealthy ones
• Realistic in your expectations and less likely to be overcritical of yourself and others
• More resilient and better able to weather stress and setbacks

Self-esteem affects virtually every facet of your life. Maintaining a healthy, realistic view of yourself isn’t about blowing your own horn. It’s about learning to like and respect yourself — faults and all.