Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a person's overall attitude toward their own worth and significance. In sport, stable self-esteem helps you get through setbacks without identifying yourself with the result.
Definition
Self-esteem is a generalized emotional evaluation of yourself, a sense of your own worth that is relatively stable over time. It draws on many areas of life, not only sport. Healthy self-esteem rests on several supports, whereas fragile self-esteem depends entirely on external success and approval.
How it shows up in sport
When an athlete's self-esteem rests on wins alone, a defeat strikes at their sense of worth and feeds fear of making mistakes and loss of motivation. Stable self-esteem lets you separate the result from the person: "I lost the match" instead of "I'm a failure". That footing matters especially for young athletes under pressure from parents.
Related tests
Overall self-esteem is measured with the classic self-regard scales. Suitable instruments are available in the tests section. It is best to explore where your self-esteem comes from, and how much it depends on sport, with a specialist.
Exercises
What helps is widening the supports of your self-esteem beyond sport, working with a self-critical inner dialogue and practising self-compassion. It is useful to separate judging an action from judging yourself as a person. The exercises are in the exercises section.
Related terms and issues
Self-esteem is closely tied to athletic self-esteem, self-confidence and a growth mindset. Its fragility deepens fear of making mistakes and loss of motivation.
FAQ
How is self-esteem different from confidence?
Self-esteem is a stable attitude toward your worth as a person overall, while confidence is the expectation of succeeding at a specific task. You can be confident in a skill and still have fragile overall self-esteem.
Why is it bad for an athlete to build self-esteem on results alone?
Because then every defeat strikes at your sense of worth, which deepens fear of mistakes and burnout. Self-esteem that rests on several areas of life is far more durable.
Related topics
See also
When you need a personal review
If the challenge recurs, affects results, or causes strong tension for the athlete, it is better to discuss it with a specialist. Sports Talk helps you find a psychologist and a format that fits the sport, age and upcoming calendar.