Overly positive self help books that promote positive thinking as a panacea for all human woes can be grating (think, “The Secret”).

But the jotion of self esteem posited by Nahon and Lander (2005) is one that sticks. They suggest that self esteem is a global rating of the self and stems from having self respect. We develop self respect from honouring our values in our actions, not repeating positive mantras to ourselves.

Simply put:

Daily value driven beahviours = self-respect = self-esteem.