Self-Esteem

No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect.

George Bernard Shaw

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The hardest thing, for any of us who have tried and failed at one thing or another, is to get up off the ground and to try again. This is true whether it is in our vocation or in our relationships. Sometimes the greatest failure wasn't where we think it was because that failure is usually in the despair of never dreaming again. I remember doing that when my marriage failed and I gave up my career for the sake of self-pity. I sank into further despair when I stopped all chances of any love or success in life for the future by obsessing on the past. I didn't give myself credit for what I had tried to accomplish. I could only see what I failed to create for myself and my loved ones.

One of the saving graces in my life was the day I took a lowly job as a temporary day laborer on a construction site at the age of 48. I put my back into every task that was asked of me and strove to do it well. I made no excuses for my work and found myself looking forward to going to the job each day and coming home at night satisfied for an honest day’s labor for an honest day’s pay. That temporary job I was hired on for, that was supposed to last only about a week, lasted seven years. I most probably owe my life to taking that job.

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