Tim Cork's Thought for the Week

Look in the Mirror ... reflect on your reflection

"A person's worth in this world is estimated according to the value they put on themselves.”
– Jean de la Bruyère

Your self-esteem comes down to the value you put on yourself. If you feel good about you, so will the people around you. The person you see in the mirror is the person others see based on how you feel about yourself. You can never fool the person in the mirror. They know what you’re all about. So be honest and take responsibility. Don’t blame anyone else … take responsibility for you, every day.

Self-esteem and performance

People who feel great about themselves expect great things of themselves. People with high self-esteem push themselves. They have tangible goals, take risks, and achieve their goals. Like Michael Jordan, they want the ball with three seconds left and the game on the line. Those with low self-worth are generally unfocused, scattered, fragile, underachieving, and lacking in discipline. They tend to avoid getting the ball at all – and they definitely don’t want it when the game is on the line.

My son Geoffrey always says, “The best thing anybody can do better than anyone else is to be themselves.” You can bring one thing that is truly unique to any situation and that is you. This is so powerful because once you are confident with yourself and feel good about yourself, you have taken care of first most important element of self-confidence.

It’s also important to remember that you can fool others some of the time about how you feel about yourself, but you will never be able to truly fool yourself. Deep down inside, you know how you feel. Many people have perfected wearing a mask of calmness while being a swirl of emotions inside. You will never be able to truly fool yourself about your own emotions. So get in touch with the way you feel and express it. Channel your positive emotions into your work and personal life and success will follow.

Your self-esteem, self-acceptance, self-worth, self-confidence, self-assurance, and self-respect are the foundation of your fulfillment, happiness, joy, and success. It all starts at the core, below the surface, in the huge reserve that lies within all of us.