Session 7
Session 7
EXERCISES
Exercise 1. WHAT IS SELF ESTEEM?
WHAT IS SELF ESTEEM?“Self-esteem” is something probably everyone wants and which everyone definitely needs.
We want self-esteem because it increases our chance of finding happiness in life and makes it possible to cope with life’s disappointments and changes. We need self-esteem because nothing is as important to psychological well-being. Our level of self-esteem affects virtually everything we think, say and do. It affects how we see the world and our place in it. It affects how others in the world see and treat us. It affects the choices we make - choices about what we will do with our lives and with whom we will be involved. It affects our ability to both give and receive love. And it affects our ability to take action to change things that need to be changed.
(Sandord & Donovan, 1985, p. 1)
Exercise 2. "My Declaration of Self-Esteem"
Exercise 3. Workshop Reflections:
3a. Connecting to Self
Have you learned new things about yourself?
Have you learned new ways to care for yourself?
Are you more aware of yourself and your strengths?
Have you made progress in connecting with yourself and caring for yourself in the past 7 weeks?
3b. Connecting with Others
How do you feel about the progress you have made in the area of connections and reaching out to other people?
Have you noticed a difference in the way others respond to you?
How do you feel about your progress in your relationships and connections with other people?
Has anything helped or hindered you from enhancing your sense of connectedness?
3c. Goals and Action Plans
How do you feel about the progress you have made with the goal(s) you set for yourself at the beginning of the workshop?
What has helped you or hindered your efforts to reach your goal(s)?
Do you think you may need to modify your goal(s)?
If you reached your goal(s), what new goal might help you in the future?
Exercise 4. Planning For the Future
- Remember there will be times of connection when you feel close to other people and there will be times of disconnection when you feel isolated and more alone. What is important is that you maintain a sense of yourself as a whole woman with rich internal resources to get you through these difficult periods. These internal resources will allow you to contact external resources to reach out for support such as contacting this center or a family member.
- When selecting goals, select only one goal at a time. Make sure it is definable and that you will have some way of clearly knowing you have obtained it. Remember to be patient and understanding with yourself.
- Remember your materials on this workshop. When times are difficult, you may want to use it to review some of the helpful ideas you learned here.
- Take time to nourish and nurture yourself. Remember that it won’t help to “run on empty”.
Weekly Action Planning Form
Feel free to reproduce this form so that you can continue creating weekly action plans for yourself.
Action PlanThis week I will:
How much or how long:
When:
How many times during the week:
How confident are you that you can accomplish this?
1____2____3____4____5____6____7____8____9____10
not at all extremely
confident confident
Weekly Action Plan Progress Report
For every day this week, please make a note of whether or not you did what you planned to do on that day. Add any comments about the experience, such as what encouraged you to do it, any barriers you encountered, or how you felt at the end of the day.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Session 7, Page 1