The more marks you found yourself making under “most
of the time” or “sometimes” the more likely it is that you strug-
gle with low self-esteem and possibly depression.
It is important to understand whether low self-esteem is a
result of a subjective negative view of yourself, which is not
based on reality. If this is the case, your harsh inner critic, inap-
propriately and in a distorted fashion, affects your view of
yourself.
The following exercises help you become aware of dis-
torted negative thinking about yourself. Through your first step
toward self-awareness in Exercise 1, your critical perspective
might have already started losing its power. Watching movies
in which the characters experience similar struggles can help
you think even more realistically, and therefore positively,
about yourself.
In order to distinguish between negative beliefs that are
based on subjective distortions and those which result from
objective mistakes or shortcomings, imagine yourself sitting in
a restaurant and overhearing a person at the next table talking
negatively to a friend about a third person. But instead of it
being a conversation about someone else, the conversation you
hear is the same one that goes on in your head when you are
hypercritical of yourself. If they sound too harsh and unrealis-
tic, it is very likely that your negative thoughts about yourself
and your low self-esteem are based on unhealthy thought pat-
terns.
The following are explorations of the origins of your neg-
ative thinking. They will help you understand the specific rea-
sons why you might have developed such thinking patterns and
the consequent low self-esteem. They will also direct you to the
films that serve you best.High Standards
Negative thinking and guilt can be seen as the price paid when-
ever our behavior violates some standard or belief we hold.“All you need is already
within you, only you must
approach yourself with
reverence and love.
Self-condemnation and
self-distrust are grievous
errors.”
Sri Nisargadatta98 E-Motion Picture Magic