So what's the difference?

Self-confidence is a measure of our belief in our own abilities, whereas self-esteem relates to our sense of self and how we interact with the world. 

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Self-Confidence

Self-confidence refers to the confidence that we have in specific areas of life and is about trusting yourself and your abilities to achieve goals and succeed at challenges. Self-confidence is outward facing and is often easier to build than self-esteem. Confidence comes from knowledge and practice; therefore, the more experience we have in something, the more confident we become. Being self-confident typically leads to successful experiences, which further builds self-confidence in those areas. 

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Self-Esteem

Self-esteem refers to how we feel about ourselves and helps to guide our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Self-esteem is inward facing and often dictates the way we engage with the world and others. Self-esteem is formed through our life experiences as well as our relationships with others. 

 

Is it possible to have one without the other?

Self-esteem and self-confidence do not always occur together. It is entirely possible to be confident in your abilities but have low self-esteem. For example, a professional athlete or celebrity may have a lot of self-confidence in their abilities but may suffer from low self-esteem and doubt their worth.  However, when we are confident in areas of our lives, it may help to increase our overall sense of esteem, allowing us to work on both at the same time.

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So how can I help?

We will look at your current thought processes and look at how they are affecting your confidence and self-esteem and work at changing these to be more helpful and positive.  Past experiences can play a big role in how we feel about ourselves and those around us, so again we will look at any possible past experiences and challenge the thoughts and beliefs behind these.  Learning to change your thought processes can be really empowering and in itself help with building confidence and self-esteem.

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