Be Builders Rather Than Destroyers

Developing the art of building self-esteem in others may take time. We live in a very critical society and old habits often die hard. We must first believe in the divine nature of every human being and also learn from those around us who have become builders of people.
Mother Teresa has shown us that we can develop the art of building others by simply caring about them. "Mother Teresa, 81, a cotton veil rimming her wrinkled face, told...about sheltering a dying derelict crawling with worms. 'It took three hours to pick from his body all the worms,' she related in mellow tones. She said the emaciated man murmured gratefully that he had lived like an animal but now could die like an angel. He went home to God with a joyful heart because he had received tender love and care, she said. God was with him. We must thank God for the beautiful way in which we sense God in the poorest of the poor." (Daily Herald, 16 August 1992.)
We can help others grow in their self-esteem, and thus strengthen our own self-esteem as well, by following examples of Christlike people such as Mother Teresa and applying the following points:
1. Put people UP and not DOWN.
2. Help others not to fear failure, change, or success.
3. Help people to never fear the truth.
4. Stop calling people names and labeling them with damaging verbal barbs.
5. Talk to family members and others as you would to a guest in your home.
6. Help others learn to accept a compliment.
7. Teach others to be the best they can be.
8. Recognize that abnormal or unruly behavior is often a cry for help or a sign of insecurity.
9. Help people have a sense of belonging.
10. Recognize the difference between adolescence and an adolescent.
11. Make a valiant effort to learn and use people's names.
12. Help others to keep the commandments of God.

This list is not all-inclusive or necessarily in order of importance. The last point, however, is the key to self-esteem. Without it, true self-esteem, that deep, inward feeling of divine worth, cannot be fully felt.