The 6 Weight-Loss Tips That Science Actually Knows Work

When it comes down to it, the things we know to be true about weight loss are relatively simple, and certainly few. They’re also extremely effective when actually carried out. So, from the researchers who have studied this stuff for decades, here’s pretty much everything we know about weight loss today, whittled down to six points about how the body actually gains, loses, and maintains its weight.


1. Dieting trumps exercising
We hear a lot that a little exercise is the key to weight loss – that taking the stairs instead of the elevator will make a difference, for instance. But in fact it’s much more efficient to cut calories, says Samuel Klein, MD at Washington University’s School of Medicine. “Decreasing food intake is much more effective than increasing physical activity to achieve weight loss. If you want to achieve a 300 kcal energy deficit you can run in the park for 3 miles or not eat 2 ounces of potato chips.” It’s as simple as that. Of course, both together would be even better.

The problem is that when you rely on exercise alone, it often backfires, for a couple of reasons. This is partly because of exercise’s effects on the hunger and appetite hormones, which make you feel noticeably hungrier after exercise.

The other problem with exercise-without-dieting is that it’s simply tiring, and again, the body will compensate. Some of the calories we burn come from our basic movements throughout the day – so if you’re wiped out after exercise, and more likely to sit on the couch afterwards, you’ve lost the energy deficit you gained from your jog.


2. Exercise can help fix a “broken” metabolism, especially during maintenanceWhile exercise may not be as important for weigh loss as calorie restriction, it’s important in another way: It begins to repair a broken metabolism. Within a couple of days of non-activity, the metabolism becomes inflexible. You start moving again, and it does start to change.” Your metabolism may not ever go back to “normal” (more on this below), but theevidence indicates that it can indeed pick up again, in large part through moving your body every day.

This is a large part of why exercise is critical in the maintenance phase, which is well known to be more difficult than the weight loss phase. We think it’s partly because in the extra calories burned from physical activity, you have a bit more flexibility in food intake, so you’re not so much relying on ridged changes in eating habits; it makes it more tolerable.”


3. You’re going to have to work harder than other people – possibly forever
Though exercise can help correct a metabolism that’s been out of whack for a long time, the grisly reality is that it may not ever go back to what it was before gained weight. So if you’ve been overweight or obese and you lose weight, maintaining that loss means you’re probably going to have to work harder than other people, maybe for good. Building muscle can help your body burn a few more calories throughout the day, but it’s also likely that you’ll have to work harder aerobically in the long run.


4. There’s no magical combination of foods
There are low-fat diets, low-carb diets, low glycemic diets, Paleo diets, and a lot of iterations of all of these. There doesn’t seem to be any “right” diet, and there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that one particular diet will work better with an individual’s specific metabolism. We know pretty much that any diet will help you lose weight if you follow it. There’s no magic diet. The truth is that ALL Diets will work if you follow them.”


5. A calorie IS a calorie!
And for energy balance, it’s the number of calories that matters. You can gain weight eating too much healthy food as well as unhealthy. From the standpoint of health, it’s better to eat your veggies…. It’s just a lot easier to overeat calories from junk food than healthy food. But the source of calories obviously matters for other reasons. First of all, no one overeats veggies, so on a practical level, that’s a non-issue. In fact, the food industry has carved out a whole new area of food science to study the “bliss point,” in which foods are created to increase the amount it takes to feel satiated and full.

It’s true that types of foods you eat may, over time, affect your metabolic profile, so they may also matter in this way, but when it boils down, sticking to any reduced-calorie diet will create the energy deficit needed to lose weight.


6. It’s all about the brain As my colleagues have reported, it’s not the body or the metabolism that are actually creating overweight or obesity – it’s the brain. We all know intuitively that poor decisions are what make you gain weight and better ones are what make you lose it. The problem is that over time, the poor decisions lead to significant changes in how the brain governs – and, amazingly, responds to – the hunger and satiation processes. 

While there may be some degree of “damage” to the brain, particularly in how hunger and satiety hormones function, it can correct itself to a large degree over time. The key is that the process does take time, and like any other behavior change, is ultimately a practice.


So boiling it down even further: reduce calories, eat better, exercise, and most of all, remember it is a practice that has to be repeated over time – months or years. The fact that you’ll have to work harder at maintenance than your never-overweight best friend is depressing, but it’s worth coming to terms with. And, most important to remember, your brain (the organ behind all this, after all) is plastic, and it will respond to the changes you make – better than you think. And so will your body.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2013/09/04/the-6-weight-loss-tips-that-science-actually-knows-work/

5 Ways To Become A Better Thinker

We're seduced into believing that brilliant thinkers are born that way. We think they magically produce brilliant ideas. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Do you want to come up with more imaginative ideas? Do you stumble with complicated problems? Do you want to find new ways to confront challenges?

Of course you do. So do I.

But when is the last time you thought about how you think?

Do you have a process for making decisions? Are you using mental models and connecting big ideas from multiple disciplines? Are you taking steps to reduce cognitive biases? Have you defined the problem and do you know what success looks like?

Just as with any skill, some of us are better at thinking than others. Why?

We're seduced into believing that brilliant thinkers are born that way. We think they magically produce brilliant ideas.

Nothing could be further from the truth. While there are likely genetic exceptions, the vast majority of the people we consider brilliant use their minds differently.

Often, these geniuses practice learnable habits of thinking that allow them to see the world differently. By doing so, they avoid much of the folly that so often ensnares others. Eliminating stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance.

"It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent." — Charlie Munger

I came across The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, authored by Dr. Edward B. Burger and Dr. Michael Starbird, which presents some practical ways for us to improve our thinking.


They make a pretty bold claim in the introduction.

You can personally choose to become more successful by adopting five learnable habits, which, in this book, we not only explain in detail but also make concrete and practical.

1.Understand deeply
Don't face complex issues head-on; first understand simple ideas deeply. Clear the clutter and expose what is really important. Be brutally honest about what you know and don't know. Then see what's missing, identify the gaps, and fill them in. Let go of bias, prejudice, and preconceived notions. There are degrees to understanding (it's not just a yes-or-no proposition) and you can always heighten yours. Rock-solid understanding is the foundation for success.


2.Make mistakes
Fail to succeed. Intentionally get it wrong to inevitably get it even more right. Mistakes are great teachers — they highlight unforeseen opportunities and holes in your understanding. They also show you which way to turn next, and they ignite your imagination.


3.Raise questions
Constantly create questions to clarify and extend your understanding. What's the real question? Working on the wrong questions can waste a lifetime. Ideas are in the air — the right questions will bring them out and help you see connections that otherwise would have been invisible. 

4.Follow the flow of ideas
Look back to see where ideas came from and then look ahead to discover where those ideas may lead. A new idea is a beginning, not an end. Ideas are rare — milk them. Following the consequences of small ideas can result in big payoffs.

These are the four basic building blocks for effective thinking. The fifth is change.


5.Change
The unchanging element is change — by mastering the first four elements, you can change the way you think and learn. You can always improve, grow, and extract more out of your education, yourself, and the way you live your life. Change is the universal constant that allows you to get the most out of living and learning. 

If you're stuck, need a new idea, or just want to improve your thinking, The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking will help you on your way.

http://theweek.com/article/index/248412/5-ways-to-become-a-better-thinker

Why Bragging Is Not A Bad Thing

I used to think bragging was bad. That it was arrogant and was evidence of an overly-developed ego.

That idea was reinforced growing up. The message I got was that it was better to appear humble and not make a big deal of your achievements. The underlying Greek superstition was that if you talked too much about something good, you were going to give it the evil eye and everything would go to hell in a hand basket.

I've always been such a good student that I carried what I learned through most of my adult life. What that meant in my career was that as good as I was externally promoting my value, I wasn't as good internally in the companies I worked for. In my naïveté, I believed what had been ingrained inside of me from childhood: that I didn't have to. My value would be recognized. I would be rewarded without having to point out why. Plus, I was a woman. Bragging was something men did. Nice girls don't brag.

I can almost LOL reading that line back to myself.

My opinion about bragging changed 10 years ago when I met Regena Thomashauer. Bragging, in her book, is a celebration of who you are and what you create. It's owning those milestones, big and small, and allowing yourself to physically feel the full effect of what you've accomplished.

The Internet is full of so many people touting and promoting themselves that its easy to see why bragging is still seen as a bad thing to so many.

But when you brag from a place of truth and not made-up hype and gobbledygook jargon, it lands differently.

You get to feel your worth.

You're reminded that you actually have accomplished an awful lot -- even though you were not taking the time to notice.

You get ready for more.

It's not easy to do in the beginning, but like so many exercises, the more you practice, the better you get.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-tombrakos/why-bragging-is-not-a-bad-thing_b_3784732.html

How To Really Work Out Your Brain -- And Why You'll Want To

You know (if you even read one out of every 10 of our columns) that we believe daily exercise is next to tooth brushing and flossing for keeping you looking good and keeping your body fit and working right. But it is even more important for the one part of your body where size matters: your brain. Powering through a Zumba class or hiking for an afternoon does as much good for your noodle as for your muscles and blood vessels. But that's not the only kind of workout that will beef up your brain.

A group of scientists from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago published a study in the July 2013 issue of the journal Neurology showing that greater cognitive activity in childhood, middle age and in old age makes your brain better later.

So what does that mean for you? If you want to be “all there” for your children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, there's plenty you can do right now to prepare. And just because it has to do with challenging your brain cells doesn't mean it has to feel like homework.

Think that you're too old to spend time playing games? Nonsense! Just think of it as doing a mental workout. Doing word puzzles, playing card games and reading your favourite trashy novels all count as ways to keep your mind active. Yoga engages your core and a riveting whodunit engages your grey matter. In fact, there are any number of fun, natural activities that might seem frivolous, but give you the lasting benefits of psychological circuit training. Write in your journal or email with an old friend. Turn off the TV for a while and have a chat with your next-door neighbour. Simple social interaction might not seem like a mental workout, but spending time with your social network is associated with better health and happiness and less dementia later in life. The same is true of taking part in your favourite hobbies. Not a bad way to work out, huh?

Just like any good exercise regimen, you have to target different areas of the body for the full effect. Physical activity is among the other good habits that support mental acuity and stave off cognitive decline as you get older. Yes, exercising your body enlarges your brain, not just your biceps. As does eating right, including getting enough omega-3s from fish. Here's another easy one to check off the better-brain to-do list: Get plenty of sleep.

When you look back with your crystal clear memory decades from now, you’ll be glad you did.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/17/brain-games-_n_3756854.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living

5 Easy Ways To Get Happy

Pursuing your dreams can have its challenges and sometimes be very emotional. However, it's important to stay focused on your goals and put your mind on the positive to fuel your drive to achieve. Guard your thoughts and emotions by intentionally taking action to keep your spirits high. In my office, we have a saying, "If anything can go well, it will!" Expect good things to happen for you and you'll see that more good will come your way! Below are five quick ways to help you the next time you're feeling down and out. Dig yourself out of the dumps with these proven strategies to a happier life.

1. Meditate 15 to 20 minutes every day. 

Meditation can be a life-changing force in your life. The act of solitude can solve many problems. For example, when I was going through a rough divorce in my 20s, I would rise early and escape to my sweet spot where I just cleanse my mind of negative thoughts and visualize a happy future.

2. Guard what you listen to. 

Surround yourself with positive people, have positive conversations and take a break from negative news. To protect your positive mind and atmosphere, refuse to say, hear or agree with any negative words, especially about your life, day or personal economy.

Instead, flip the switch and replace all negative expressions with positive ones. Say statements that create joy in your life. I challenged my clients to take a positivity challenge. For 30 days, speak positive about every situation. They used my personal positivity calendar to chart their progress. You can create your own by recording at least one positive thing that happens each day for 30 days. This challenge will shift your perspective and help you keep a watch on your words while charting a path to a much happier life.


3. Use goal cards.

If you focus on what's possible, your passion to accomplish goals will increase dramatically. Goal cards make this process very simple. Studies show people who review and visualize their written goals are more apt to manifest what they see. There's no better feeling of happiness than to achieve something that you really desire in your life.

4. Eat energy-producing foods. 

Eat lots of proteins and greens and drink water daily. When you feel healthy and alert, your confidence level goes up and makes you a much happier person.

Unhealthy eating and a sedentary lifestyle can have a negative affect on your mood. When you upgrade your body image by eating better and working out, you will immediately begin to upgrade your outlook and feel better about yourself.


5. Surround yourself with things that give you a happy outlook. 

Pictures of fond family memories, artwork, quotes, a happy screensaver on your computer or even fresh flowers. Often, I have my clients create happiness sticky notes where they write messages to affirm their goals, or simple words of encouragement like, "You can do it!" "You're loved!" "You're beautiful!" I tell them to post it to their computer, stick it on a desk or vision board so they can see it often.

Hold on to happiness
Take 10 minutes each morning to see yourself in a happy situation.Be grateful
Look for something to be happy about
Keep a happiness journal

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacia-pierce/happiness-tips_b_3750932.html

Start Building A Healthy Self-Esteem Today

Building a healthy self esteem can do wonders for your life. The way you deal with people on a personal and professional level are all affected by how you perceive yourself. Having a low level of self confidence may greatly affect your life; you end up having a harder time performing at work, maintaining healthy relationships, and enjoying life.

Your perception of yourself will dictate how you live life as a whole. You may feel unable to confidently face problems and make sound decisions. You may also begin to notice that the people around you are also losing confidence in you and your skills; the way you perceive yourself will dictate how people will see you and interact with you. Yes, your self esteem means so much more than you realise.

Having a healthy concept of yourself must come from within you and not from what others say about you or your physical appearance. Self-confidence is learning how to appreciate and accept yourself as you are. If your self esteem is only dependent on how people see you and what they think about you, then your confidence will be short-lived. You will have self doubts the moment people start saying negative things about you. You need to learn how to be happy and proud of yourself, your achievements, and experiences even if others are not there to cheer you on. Once you learn to do this, then you will have a healthy self esteem no matter what the situation is.

You never know what life will throw at you, but you need to start building your self-confidence to face life's toughest challenges. You need the self-assurance to make sound decisions and navigate through life on your way to success.

Here are a few simple tips to help build your self-esteem:

• Recognise your strengths, talents, and abilities and empower yourself with them. Learn to accept your weaknesses without allowing them to pull you down into a spiral of depression. Instead, work on developing and improving yourself.
• Conquer self-defeating thoughts. Stay positive and fill your mind with good things about yourself, people, and the situation you are in. Even if things seem really bad right now, focus on how things could be better and the small steps you need to take to make that happen.
• Be honest to yourself and others. Don't try to put up an image of yourself that's not real; don't project someone you're not. Allow people to accept you for who you are and not someone you just created to please others. No one is perfect, even if sometimes they appear to be. Perceptions of people can be deceiving as you only ever see a fragment of the whole person.
• Take responsibility for your actions and decisions. Empower yourself to make important decisions about life and your future. Stop allowing others to dictate the course of your life. Think about what it is that you really want to achieve. Even if that means you need to do something that would normally make you feel a little selfish. Remember that it's your life, not theirs. Who will suffer if things go wrong because you let others run your life? In all likelihood, you will suffer the most. The people who keep trying to control your life won't be directly affected by what happens to you.

Building self confidence isn't something that can be done over night. You need to work on it every day and the best way to do that is one step at a time, the smaller steps the better.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/paul-bailey/self-esteem-building_b_2971836.html

Simple Ways To Prevent Dementia In Old Age

Currently, an estimated 5.3 million elderly Americans live with Alzheimer's dementia and many more live with other forms of dementia, impairing a person's physical and mental abilities, including Huntington's disease and vascular dementia. Cognitive functioning and behavioral development begin to falter as the damage to brain cells disrupts a person's psyche, says the Alzheimer's Association.

(Photo : Ian MacKenzie) Prevent the risk of developing dementia in old age with six easy ways that will improve your brain health.

According to Alzheimer's Society in the U.K., the number of people with dementia is expected to double because people are living longer. As one downside to having longer lifespans, women have a higher lifetime risk than men of developing Alzheimer's, which may be precipitated by a drop in estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, experienced during menopause.

Gains in average life expectancy are not the sole driver behind the increase in Americans with dementia; other illnesses have been shown to increase risk. If a person has diabetes before the age of 65, their risk for dementia doubles. In a study published in the issue of Neurology, researchers examined the relationship between diabetes as a risk factor for dementia in a group of 1,301 community dwellers 75 years and older in Stockholm, Sweden. They found that diabetes is indeed associated with an increased risk for dementia, especially vascular dementia — when the brain's blood supply is interrupted — in very old people.

Furthermore, the risk for dementia significantly increases when diabetes occurs simultaneously with severe systolic hypertension and cardiovascular disease. "People who know they are at risk of vascular dementia can act to help delay or even prevent symptoms if they eat well, take exercise and don't smoke," Dr. Charles Alessi, an adviser for Public Health England, told the BBC. While there is no known cure to dementia or specific treatment sufferers can follow, there are easy ways to prevent and alleviate symptoms of the disease in old age.

Eat A Mediterranean DietConsuming fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids, can help reduce inflammation of the brain. The rich fatty acid is seen as a dietary intervention to reduce the risk of dementia with regular consumption. In a study published in the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, researchers examined the relationship between the Mediterranean diet and the likelihood of incident cognitive impairment to evaluate race and vascular risk factors. A total of 17,478 individuals with an average age of 64 participated in the study. The study showed that higher consumption of the Mediterranean diet was associated with a lower likelihood of cognitive impairment.

Get 8 Hours Of Sleep
Dementia and sleep are closely associated with one another; the lack of sleep can increase your risk of dementia later in life. Sufferers of the disease tend to have a sleep pattern that is irregular, generally feeling sleepy during the day with difficulty falling asleep for long periods at night, reports the Sleep Health Foundation. The organization that raises awareness of sleep health suggests that dementia sufferers get into sleep and wake patterns that reflect sleep habits prior to diagnosis of the disease, with the help of their loved ones. To get people living with dementia to develop a healthy sleeping pattern, 45-minute naps can vastly improve memory, according to an article by Matthew A. Tucker, PhD and William Fishbein, PhD.

Get Out There and Socialize
Socialization has been been shown to help people sharpen their mental acuity. In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers followed women who were free of dementia symptoms and at least 78 years old. Over the course of five years of follow-up interviews, there were 268 new dementia cases out of the 2,249 women who began the study.

After analyzing the effects of socialization, researchers found that 80 out of 456 women who did not socialize much, or 18 percent, developed dementia. In contrast, 188 out of 1793 women who confided in a number of friends and family members, or 10 percent, developed dementia. Remaining as an active member in society and socializing with those around you can help improve your cognitive functioning and behavioral development to reduce the risk of dementia even at old age.

http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/17469/20130716/dementia-alzheimers-prevent-old-age-memory.htm

6 Ways to Keep Your Family Healthy

“Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!” said Albert Einstein. An inspiring exhortation. But before we can fill our homes with smiles, we need to fill our lives with verve and good health. Some simple but essential steps in this direction can help you create a healthy, happy home. Here are some suggestions:

1. Have two apples a day: and I am not talking about ‘Apple’ appliances! The old saying of an apple a day has now changed to two a day. Scientists at Florida University have found that two apples can significantly reduce bad cholesterol, thus protecting you from stroke and heart attack. Get the family to enjoy apples, be it just on their own or in non-sugared cobblers. Make sure they’re organic!

2. Plan your daily meals: it is not always possible or easy, but worth trying to do. Before you go grocery shopping, try to chalk up a health-boosting menu—even a rough one will do—for the coming few days at least. This will help you ditch impulse buys such as cookies and chips, and shop for healthier ingredients and create a more balanced meal plan for the entire family.

3. Don‘t eat late dinners: eating a meal after sunset places a strain on the digestive system. As far as possible, eat together, and eat light at night. Not only will you sleep better, but also avoid putting on weight. Big bonus: shared meals bring you closer and promote emotional harmony.

4. Play! playing together helps you stay together. Besides, riddles, puzzles and brain-sharpening games can help ward off degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

5. Encourage early bed time: and that is not just for the kids in the family. Sleeping early is perhaps one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself. It helps you wake up refreshed, balances the emotions and promotes good digestion. Stay off those late night TV shows and put away the crime thrillers that lie by your bedside. Create a peace-promoting ambiance in your home post twilight.

6. Talk: Sharing promotes caring. In these days of online networking, it is easy to be distracted and disconnected from those who live with you and love you. It is not uncommon to see children messaging their parents from within the same house! Switch off the Internet, get off the phone, and have a cosy chat. This can go a long way in restoring emotional balance within your home.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/6-ways-to-keep-your-family-healthy.html

Personal Development Tips For Real World Situations

It can be difficult to know what you should do for bettering your personal development. With personal development, you should find something that works for you. Everyone is different and what works for them won't necessarily work well for you. There are always tips, like these, that can allow you to improve yourself.

Stress can be the opposite of happiness a lot of the time. When we have to deal with stress, it takes its toll on the body in a physical and mental sense. You have to tackle the stress that's bothering you before you can meet your goals. Take the time out of your day to sit down and clear your head. A calm, refreshed mind is essential to inner peace and self-assurance.

There are plenty of great books on personal development available. A good book can help you find new ways to reach for your goals and improve yourself. Pick out a book that has gotten good reviews because there are some books about personal development that are not written very well.

Give yourself a boost of confidence by reciting all the things you like about yourself. List the things that you love about yourself on a postcard. Keep it handy, and when you need a little motivation, read it. Better yet, record your qualities on video or audio and listen to it often. "Why would I want to do this?", you may be asking.

www.mechanictomillionaire.com

Do what it takes to create an emergency fund and add to it even if you can only add a few dollars at a time. Many people handle every unexpected expense with a credit card, building up debt. Even a few dollars per week can quickly add up to a nice savings. This money can help out in the short and long term because debt continues decreasing.

Your pastor or counselor is there to help. Not only have they been trained to deal in personal growth, their experience in these issues is what makes them a good choice to speak with. They will help you figure out what things are bothering you and what you can do to sort them out. Speaking with a professional is a great step toward personal development.

Many people are unaware that diet can affect feelings of depression, as an increase in consumption of complex carbohydrates can help. Serotonin can lower if you don't eat enough carbs. Eat more vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts and beans.

It's possible to teach yourself how you can deal with difficult situations without becoming too emotional. If you learn to stay calm during stressful times, you will have the confidence you need to face almost anything in your life. Take the time to reflect on the situation, breathe deeply and relax.

Demonstrating selfless behavior shows remarkable progress in any personal development program. You can cultivate a strong, positive character, by learning how to make sacrifices for the sake of helping others. You will soon become the person you envision for yourself, when you have mastered the ability to personally sacrifice without harming your own well-being.

Taking a few small risks may just be where you should start on your path towards happiness. Most people don't want to risk feelings of rejection or failure, so they never travel from their comfort zone, eventually causing dissatisfaction. Taking risks shows courage, which is a component that can help you on the path of happiness.

Each person has strengths and weaknesses; therefore, put into practice the techniques which speaks to you. As the old G.I. Joe cartoons used to say, "Knowing is only half the battle." You need to apply what you learn to make any progress. Share this article with anyone in your life that you believe will benefit from it, and help yourself as well as others grow and develop. 

http://www.examiner.com/article/personal-development-tips-for-real-world-situations

Impact Of Self-Concept And Self-Esteem On Life

The idea or concept one has about the self is related to one's self-esteem and one's outlook on the future.

The self-concept is a set of personal beliefs a person has about who they are as an individual. These include salient personal characteristics as well as ethnic or professional awareness and any other desires or future goals that resonate strongly within the individual.


The Effects of Self-Esteem on the Self and on Mental Health
In order to have a healthy and balanced self-concept, one needs to have positive self-esteem. Self-esteem does not only include one’s characteristics, strengths and flaws, but it makes a judgment on each of those by putting value on them. It is an evaluation one makes of oneself.

People with high self-esteem have not only a clear sense of their personal qualities, but also value them in a positive manner and use self-enhancing strategies; they think well of themselves, set appropriate goals about the future and feel confident about coping with different and difficult situations.

Low self-esteem may contribute to having unrealistic goals or shying away from potential opportunities due to a negative image of the self. They also tend to be pessimistic about the future, be oversensitive to criticism and any kind of negative feedback. In addition, they are also concerned about the social impression and impact they make and have upon others.


Theories about the Development of the Self
According to Erik Erikson, the self is developed through what he calls the stage theory of ego development. Forming an identity does not happen overnight, but it is rather a lifelong task, which passes through a critical phase during adolescence and young adulthood. After acquiring and forming a firm and clear sense of identity, the young adult can make plans about the future with a consistent sense of self and a belief in his or her personal skills and abilities.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that the sense of self does not start during adolescence but has its first stage in infancy with the recognition that one is a separate individual. Even very young children develop conceptions of their personal qualities and have their own equivalent self-concept and a notion of self-esteem. In fact, there is a possibility for changes of the self-concept during middle or late adulthood that may drastically challenge and adjust beliefs about who one is.

The definition and development of the self implies both personal beliefs as well as social influences. It is a continuous procedure that starts in infancy and is moderated and shaped throughout life in a dynamic fashion. Various events or experiences at any time may alter the concepts one has about the self.

Sources:
Taylor, Peplau & Sears. Social Psychology. Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 2000.

http://suite101.com/article/impact-of-selfconcept-and-selfesteem-on-life-a125628