For some, confidence and self-esteem are a given. It is like they are born with a great outlook on life and nothing ever gets them down. However, for many more, self-esteem and confidence are sorely lacking, which can send a shockwave of negative ramifications throughout your life. People with low self-esteem tend to be unhappy and less successful than they would otherwise be. For these people, self-esteem and confidence do not always come naturally and they may need help in regaining their self-esteem and confidence. The wonderful guide, Raising Self-Esteem: A Step by Step Approach, provides a wealth of helpful information on how to turn your outlook around and become a more positive, confident person. The guide begins by touching on the power of a positive outlook. People who see the future as a bright place with a lot of potential for positive change tend to be a lot happier than those who continually expect the worst. While it may be difficult at first to remain positive, over time, you will notice that you are a lot happier, in general, when you do not expect the worst out of everybody and everything, including yourself. Positive outlooks and positive self-talk are a big focus of the guide. Positive self-talk is simply little mental pep talks that we can give ourselves to keep our confidence up and to help us get through difficult times. Positive visualization has proven to be incredibly powerful in helping people maintain a healthy, happy outlook on life, The guide then discusses how to break negative internal and external ties that are bringing down self-esteem. It is up to us to break free from any negativity in our lives that we have the power to get free from. We can change how we view the future, our circumstances, and so on, by looking towards the positives instead of the negatives. There will always be a negative if you look hard enough for it. By focusing on the positive, you are not only happier, but more primed for success. There are many things that we can do to help raise our self-esteem and make our lives more manageable and happier. The guide encourages finding things that you can feel good about doing, whether it be a creative or social endeavor, a sport, a community activity and so on. The more we can focus on and spend our time engaged in things we not only enjoy, but are confident that we are good at, the more we will raise our self-esteem. Things like this, coupled with changing that "I can't" attitude into an "I will " are some of the best ways to improve our self outlook and self-esteem. In addition to focusing on the positive, the guide discusses the importance of facing and overcoming negativity and fear in your life. While these are scary things to face, by doing so, you become stronger, more confident and better able to handle anything the future throws at you in an adaptive and positive way. It is not easy to overcome negativity, fear, doubt and so on, but it can be done and in doing so, you break free from one of the biggest things standing in the way of you and being a self-confident and happy person. Fear, doubt and negativity are some of the biggest roadblocks to happiness and success. Self-esteem and confidence are part and parcel to a happy, successful life. Unfortunately, this does not come easy for all of us. With Raising Self-Esteem: A Step by Step Approach, we are given the tools we need to change our outlook and slowly rebuild our self-esteem and confidence back to their appropriate levels. These changes will help to make you happier, less unsure about the future and to give you the confidence you need to make the most out of your life.