Virginia Satir wrote a book titled People Making. In it she described her own "Declaration of Self-Esteem." I decided to write my own statement. Below is "My Declaration of Balanced Self-Worth." It includes the spiritual dimension which I feel is important. I hope you will write your own statement of self-worth.
My Declaration of Balanced Self-Worth
I am me. I am a child of God. There is a particle of the infinite in me. I have a rich history and heritage both mortal and eternal. I recognize my dependence on God. I acknowledge my indebtedness to him for all that is good. I humbly seek his will for me through obedience to true principles.
In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me. There are persons who have some aspects like me, but no one adds up exactly like me. Therefore, everything that comes out of me is authentically mine because I chose it. How grateful I am for the principle of agency, the right and power to make choices. I recognize that I have the power to choose, but once I make a decision I then receive the consequences of my decision whether wise or foolish.
I am steward over everything about me -- my body, including everything it does; my mind, including all its thoughts and ideas; my eyes, including the images of all they behold; my feelings, whatever they may be -- anger, joy, frustration, love, disappointment, excitement; my mouth, and all the words that come out of it, polite, sweet or rough, correct or incorrect; my voice, loud or soft; and all my actions, whether they be to others or to myself. God has given me gifts: strengths and talents. He shows me my weakness and allows me to experience both opportunities and challenges. I accept all of these things.
I own my fantasies, my dreams, my hopes, my fears, my expectations, my commitments. I own all my triumphs and successes, all my failures and mistakes. Because I own all of me, I can become acquainted with me. I can come to know myself. This can make it possible for me to achieve my goals, to extend myself to others and to understand others.
I know there are aspects about myself that puzzle me, aspects that I do not know and aspects that I want to change. But as long as I am friendly and fair toward myself, I can courageously and hopefully look for the solutions to the puzzles, for ways to find out more about me, and for ways to change those things I want to change. I can influence others, but I cannot control them. I cannot control many situations. I can decide how to respond to what is. I can endure that which is difficult and cannot be changed. I can change what can be changed. I can find peace and joy and growth in much of life.
However I look and sound, whatever I say and do, and whatever I think and feel at a given moment in time is me. This is authentic and represents where I am at that moment in time. When I review later how I looked and sounded, what I said and did, and how I thought and felt, some parts may turn out to be unfitting. I can discard that which is unfitting, and keep that which proved fitting, and choose something new for that which I discarded. When I sin, I can gain complete forgiveness through complete repentance because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Repentance is authentic change. I can feel the love of God restoring and comforting in this process.
I can see, hear, feel, think, say, and do. I have the tools to survive, to be close to God and to others, to be productive, and to make sense and order out of the world of people and things outside of me. I can learn from others, so I don't have to make all the mistakes myself. I can look to a loving God for strength and to the Holy Spirit for comfort, direction and guidance. Thus, I need never be alone. As I seek to know God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son, I also learn much about myself and about my eternal possibilities.
I am responsible for me and therefore I can choose for myself. I recognize that I may be influenced by others: influenced by God, by the adversary and his followers, by family, by friends, by situations... but I alone am responsible for my choices.
I am me. I have strength and weakness. I thrill in the gifts God has given me and strive to magnify my talents. I recognize my weakness and make positive steps to grow. I find much joy in the developmental process of life.
inspired by Virginia Satir (1972) and
modified by Dennis Karpowitz (2025)