The Esteem Health KPI: What Empowers Our Dreams

Jul 6

6 min read

Our Esteem Health Key Performance Indicator is the final KPI we must master on our path to self-actualization. At the pinnacle of personal growth lies self-actualization, but before we can reach that summit, we must first conquer our self-esteem. This vital aspect of who we are encompasses our desire and ability to embrace and value who we are in totality. When I speak of totality I mean our personal holy trinity of mind, body, and spirit. To optimize our Esteem Health KPI we must actively nurture each of these facets, ensuring they contribute to our best selves.

Foundations of Esteem Needs

Strong self-esteem isn’t just about feeling good; it’s about finding fulfillment within ourselves intrinsically, independent of external validation. It’s the confidence to recognize our worth—whether that’s feeling attractive enough, intelligent enough, strong enough, or compelling enough. Everyone channels their self-esteem differently, and understanding this can help us develop a strong Esteem Health KPI, positively impacting our overall self-esteem. Here are some essential principles that lay the groundwork for controlling and enhancing our Esteem Health KPI:

Find Purpose
Be Audacious in Your Vision of Self
Set SMART Goals
Nurture and Protect Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

Find Your Purpose or You’re Wasting Air!

As the late great Nipsey Hussle famously said, “Find your purpose or you’re wasting air!” I firmly believe that everyone has a unique purpose in life and that it should be our chief aim to identify it before we die. Identifying and living out that purpose is crucial for without it life becomes a series of accidental, rather than intentional, experiences. This journey begins with understanding who we are and what we feel most compelled to do. When we align our self-esteem with our purpose, we unlock a powerful connection that fuels our personal growth.

Try this experiment: ask ten people, “Who are you?” Most will respond with their occupation or familial roles, revealing how our identities are often tied to what we do. This connection directly drives our self-esteem. When we feel we are doing well at being 'who we are' we tend to have higher self-esteem. When we feel we are not doing so well, this causes our self-esteem to suffer.

I like to think of self-esteem as the bridge between who we are and who we want to be and the security we feel in crossing that bridge indicates the strength of our Esteem Health. When we live a life of purpose it means we are intentionally taking steps along our bridge between who we are and who we are called to be. We may not all know our purpose in life at this very moment, and that is ok. So long as we know that we have full control of our pursuit to discover it!

The Audacity It Takes

Finding purpose is only part of it, though. The other piece is having the audacity to act on it. I believe that one's purpose should feel expansive, even daunting. This belief allows me find empowerment in the saying, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.” and I hope that you can, too. Being audacious means pursuing your dreams boldly, despite the fear of failure. This mindset is not just about dreaming big to achieve big; it’s about taking broader strides to grow and reach self-actualization overall.

Everyone won't be the face of the NBA or on billboards or leading a boardroom full of millionaires and that is ok because that isn't where the audacity lies. Those are only the results. The real audacity is forged when we show up in every moment with intention of being the very best version of ourselves. It looks like trying our hardest no matter the outcome and doing so with consistency. It's easy to do what is easy, but it takes real perseverance and belief in one's self to do the hard things. The beauty in doing hard things, though, is that life has a way of getting easier and thus, our self-esteem feels stronger. So on top of pursuing a purpose, you must control your ability to be audacious enough to face challenges and bring your best self wherever you go.

SMART Goals: Your Blueprint for Success

When I was younger I struggled with feeling audacious and confident. I knew I possessed gifts but unless it was in private, I had a hard time building up enough courage to showcase those gifts. I feared failure because I only recognized it as am embarrassment. One of the ways that I overcame this, though, was by setting SMART goals.

SMART is an acronym that stands for:

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound

Setting goals that are SMART is one sure way to not just ensure you are setting and achieving your goals, but by nature of what they are, setting SMART goals allows us to quantify our growth. What happened for me when I was able to quantify my growth was that it gave me a level confidence that I could really hang my hand on. Whenever I set a SMART goal I proved to myself that I was capable.

With each goal that I set I left the mindset of vague and unwarranted fear and moved closer and closer to a mindset that was clear and strong. I started to break my goals down into specific plans that I could measure over a finite amount of time or at a precise level and they became more purposeful because they were relevant to the overarching goal. Knowing how well I did at accomplishing one piece of that larger goal enabled me to become very confident in how achievable the next goal. I would start by saying something like I wanted to be good at shooting free throws. I would then break it down into slices by saying I want to be able to make 10 free throws in a row within 5 minutes. When I accomplished that I would increase the number to 20, then 30. Maybe I would decrease or increase the time depending on how well I did at accomplishing the prior goal but whatever I did I made sure that it was relevant to my broader goal of getting better a free throws.

Whether it was free throws, being better in class, managing money, or progressing through my career, overtime this practice of setting SMART goals became vital to my self-esteem. It allowed me to find courage in myself and belief because it gave me a sure way of tracking my progress and aligning my actions with my purpose. This made all the difference in my ability to feel confident in myself and thus strengthen my self-esteem and I believe it can do the same for anyone. This method not only clarifies your aspirations but also creates esteem needs that, when fulfilled, uplift your self-esteem. Every goal becomes a need that your Esteem Health relies on to be met. If you fail, it's ok. You just adjust your SMART goal until you succeed and then you build on top of that success.

Nurturing Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

Just as you care for your favorite possessions, you must nurture your mind, body, and spirit. A healthy mind enables problem-solving and boosts self-esteem. A well-cared-for body provides strength and resilience, while a grounded spirit empowers you to face life’s challenges with grace. Together, these elements forge an unbreakable self-esteem that isn't reliant on external forces.

To maintain this holy trinity, be intentional about what you allow into your life. Surround yourself with positivity, practice self-care, and cultivate your spiritual well-being. Focus on what uplifts you and aligns with your purpose. Remember, your self-esteem thrives on the quality of your inputs so controlling your Esteem Health KPI won't ever be possible without you paying attention to and nurturing your mind, body, and spirit.

Final Thoughts

In a world overflowing with distractions, especially from social media, it’s crucial to intentionally focus on what truly matters. It's my personal opinion that the uptick of depression, anxiety, and people lacking self-esteem is strongly impacted by their lack of intentional focus. What ends up happening is they fill the void that results from not focusing on what matter with focusing on things that don't really matter at all. Most times they do this unintentionally. But when fail to move with intention, we intentionally set ourselves up for failure.

By discovering our purpose, being audacious by setting SMART goals, and nurturing the mind, body, and spirit, you’ll not only enhance your Esteem Health KPI but also unlock the full potential of who you are meant to be. Beyond following the principles I just laid out above, some more tactical things that we can do to improve our Esteem Health KPI are: