A core belief is a belief you hold deep inside. Much like a moral, core beliefs are your centrifuge and lead the direction you take in your life. If you don’t know what your core beliefs are, and your life seems in total disarray right now, that could be why. Let’s take a look at how core beliefs are formed, and what they mean.

A core belief is created when you do something that goes against your personal values. It becomes an inner message you play over and over to yourself, until you begin to believe it—whether it’s true or not.

One simple example of this is an abused woman. She starts out in a great relationship, and then one day out of the blue, her husband slaps her out of anger and calls her stupid. Later, he apologizes, but then the next week this same scenario is played out again, only he gets more physically violent with her.

This scene continues playing out, each time the husband telling her how worthless and stupid she is. Eventually, the woman has heard this same message again and again: “You’re stupid. You’re worthless.” And she begins to believe it. It becomes a core value.

Every time she does something and fails, she reminds herself, “I’m stupid. I’m worthless. That’s why I can’t do anything right.” Another core value is taking shape: she can’t do anything right.

As you can see, these core beliefs start taking on lives of their own. Sometimes this happens and you don’t even realize it because these are inner messages you play in your mind. But they become real to you and govern the way you think and live. They also become a deciding factor. You decide if you’re good enough, smart enough, sexy enough…

Learning to release these negative core beliefs and define better ones is recommended. In order to do this, you have to reprogram your way of thinking. This can be done with positive affirmations. Sometimes counseling and therapy are necessary to help purge all the negative input you’ve experienced that formed your current core beliefs.

The idea of a gratitude journal was made popular when Oprah proclaimed on her talk show that she keeps one herself. The gratitude journal took the world by storm, but seems to have died down over the last few years. If you don’t already keep a gratitude journal, you should. It is a great way to record daily blessings and will motivate and inspire you to look for the good in everything.

Step 1: Choose a journal. First, purchase a journal to write your gratitude lists in. It can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like. You might even want to buy a blank journal and decorate the front cover yourself.

Step 2: Write your gratitude list daily. The most important thing about keeping a gratitude journal is to write in it every single day. There will be days when you don’t feel like writing anything. Those days are the most important ones to write a gratitude list.

The beauty of a gratitude journal is that it becomes a fun habit once you write in it for a few weeks. You’ll begin to look forward to writing your daily gratitude list. Here are some tips to keeping you going:

• Ask yourself every day, “What am I grateful for today?”
• Write in the present.
• Think about the little things you’re grateful for that you usually take for granted.
• If you’re traveling, bring your gratitude journal along. Write in it at the end of the day.
• Write a list of things you’re grateful for about yourself.

Poor self-esteem is something that hundreds of thousands of people deal with on a daily basis. This article will give you four common causes of low self-esteem and some tips on what you can do to improve your self-esteem.

What are the Causes of Low Self-Esteem

Low self-esteem can be the product of a variety of situations. Here are four common causes of low self-esteem:

1. Drug addictions – The abuse and addiction of any drug can be horrible on a person’s psyche. Addictions can lead to immense depression as well as plunging self-esteem levels.

2. Lack of interaction with parents as a child – Quite possibly the number one cause of low self-esteem in many adults is the poor or lacking positive interaction with one or both parents when they were a child. This positive interaction with children is extremely important in fostering a healthy self-esteem.

3. Negative socializations – Another common cause of self-esteem issues has always been negative social situations. Children can be horribly mean to each other. Likewise, adults in certain social circles with agendas can seriously hurt a person’s self-esteem.

How to Improve Your Self-Esteem

If you are experiencing a plummeting self-esteem, there is hope. You can begin to take measurable steps towards healing and elevating your own self-esteem. In fact, that’s why it’s called self-esteem…because you are the one who controls it. Here are some things you can do to improve your esteem:

· Remove yourself immediately from negative situations.

· Surround yourself with positive people.

· Keep a gratitude journal to record all the wonderful things about yourself.

· Use positive affirmations.

· Ask for help from friends and family.

· Seek professional assistance.