If our experiences have been unfavorable, our beliefs about ourselves are prone to be detrimental, too. As we grow up we take the voices of people who have been important to us as fact. We might criticize ourselves in these sharp tones and make the same negative comparisons.
Our experiences create a foundation for conclusions about ourselves; i.e., judgements about ourselves as individuals, our worth, adequacy, and degree of success. We might name these conclusions The Foundation. The Foundation is the view of the self that lies at the heart of self-esteem, and if it is mostly negative and shaped in childhood, it’s usually biased and inaccurate, sometimes to the extreme. It is prone to be shaped on the basis of misunderstandings about experiences rather than the true picture, an unhelpful and outdated lens through which the entire world is viewed.
Despite inaccuracies inherent in The Foundation, The Foundation can be very strong, long-lasting, and painful. It stands despite our attempts to knock it down with simple reason and occasional effort. One of our best solutions to this is to obtain the services of professional, licensed therapists, and in Denver and surrounding areas, therapy or counseling at a high level is very easy to obtain.