13 Steps to Boost Your Self-Esteem

Nope, these steps don't come from a self-help book. They are from the Sage of Kikuyu, my favorite teacher of all time, a great friend and my mentor, Peter Ayiro! I took these notes on self-esteem in August...I hope you can incorporate them in your life as I endeavor to do in mine.

1.  Hang out with Mr. Ayiro or other person like him? :)
2.  No one can boost or lower your self-esteem until you allow them to
3. Appreciate everybody around you; get used to seeing what’s in other people
4. Genuinely do things for other people
5. Set out to be a blessing to at least one person, everyday
6. Ask yourself what you feed your mind with, because a lot of it goes into your subconscious mind. Take care of what you watch, listen to, read etc.
7. Draw your satisfaction from your own line e.g. I'm a writer, not a painter
8. Make it a habit to genuinely boost the self-esteem of others, although at the end of the day, only they will choose to allow you to do so.
9. Accept that there are things about yourself that you can’t change. Only then can you allow yourself to be vulnerable to people. You can’t be self-sufficient. We all need each other.
10. You’re not that important in this life. You’re just as important as the next person, and even maybe the person next to you is more important than you. When you accept that about yourself, very few things will even bother you.
11. Reach the point where you are at ease even if someone doesn’t say thank you to you, so that whatever else they say shouldn’t matter to you. Essentially, you are not important to them. What they can or can't do shouldn’t matter, because you frame your own world. You wake up everyday and you decide on purpose to have a nice day. Even if you hurt your toe, you still purpose to have a nice day. You wake up in the morning and wear your clothes, and say that the clothes will look good because you are wearing them!
12. Don’t base your life on another person's assessment of you.
13. Let your life be defined by God not by others. Although there are others who can define your life on the basis of the word of God, take care that it’s the people who have the right to do so.

Will You?

Will you wait for me on the other side
be patient as I hesitate
reach out for me
hold my hand
help me cross the bridge of love...?

Will you accept me as I am
put up with my strange notions
my strange beliefs
traditional fixations
and the occasional irrational behaviour...?

Will you please understand
my dark moods have nothing to do with you
my bright moods have everything to do with you
my sarcasm is not meant to hurt
that my teasing is only friendly jest...?

Will you accept the fact
I will always love Chelsea
but after the argument with the boys
all I wanna see is you
that my 'vodka' will never take your place
Because I'm only addicted to you...?

That when I'm absorbed in my novel
I can hardly hear you
But I will feel your hands on my shoulders
I will spot the cup of coffee
and when I'm through,at whatever time
I just wanna be in your arms...?

Will you please look me in the eye
and gently bring me back
when I delve into Russian literature
archaic poetry and philosophy
or weird principles of physics...?

Will you please remember
the little boy in me will never grow up
I will always be naughty
I will always be up to mischief
always need your love,care and affection...?

PS:
I wrote this note because love and and reality can never be separated...they complement each other...
So,if you love me,as a friend or otherwise...this is for you...

©Yves M. Dushimimana.