Knowing yourself is the foundation of self-esteem, self confidence and personal development. Man has been seeking himself since the days of the Oracle of Delphi. "Know yourself" said the Oracle, but she spoke in riddles and the men who had come a long way to get a simple answer from her wise lips went away even more confused.

Yes, it isn't easy to really understand a human being. And, to understand others, we need first of all to understand ourselves and to gain self-esteem and confidence.

How can we do this? There are ways to work on this and we can do it in the comfort of our home if we don't want to attend evening courses in self confidence and self-esteem and meet others in similar situations.

Some tips: * Write down your positive achievements, all that you can remember; educations, jobs, loves and relationships (even if they ended, you still achieved them), friendships, children, driving licence... Look at what you already have and realize you have done rather well.

* Write down good things that others have said about you. Read through old documents from former employers or teachers that state all your strong sides. Maybe you forgot you had them?

* Make plans. Ask yourself what can be done. What can you change to make things better? Write down precise goals and write a step-by-step plan on how you intend to achieve your goals.

*Decision. Make a decision that tomorrow you will start dealing with the first step of your plan.

When you read what you have written you will realize that you have grown and developed over the years. That also means that you can grow and develop further.

Ingela Berger
Lifestyle Plans

Ingela Berger started her own Internet business Lifestyle Plans in 2003 out of a desire to inspire and encourage others to make reality of their dreams of a personal, healthy and fulfilling lifestyle. Ingela has studied theatre directing, history of art, and leadership psychology. After some years working with art exhibitions and the theatre she is now back at school to become a health and lifestyle consultant.