William Fergus Martin

One of the biggest problems I see in the Self Help field are the lack of clear definitions for commonly used terms such as 'self esteem', 'self worth' and so on. The meaning seems to vary from author to author and often no definition is given.

This lack of clarity is a fundamental problem as it creates and supports muddled thinking in areas of life in which clarity is essential. Clarity in defining these commonly used terms offers many benefits to understanding and communication.

My mission is to create and promote clear definitions of these terms and to offer them as a simple model of human nature which anyone can understand. This model can be used to help people understand themselves better and therefore to be more fully empowered.

The definitions are:

Self Respect: is feeling good about our purpose and direction in our lives.

Self Worth: is feeling good about ourselves and our relationships with others.

Self Confidence: is feeling good about our ability to achieve our purpose, connect with others, and express ourselves.

Self Esteem: is a sense of wellbeing which naturally arises when we have sufficient and balanced levels of Self Respect, Self Worth and Self Confidence.

By suggesting these clear and specific definitions of these terms (Self Esteem, Self Respect, Self Worth, and Self Confidence) I offer a simple and powerful model of human nature which can be used by anyone who wants to understand themselves better. This model of Self Esteem can be used to help empower people and improve any aspect of their lives. 

We could think of this model of the Self as being like a three-leg stool where Self Respect, Self Worth, and Self Confidence are the three 'legs' and the 'seat' of the is Self Esteem. 

For the sake of giving this a name, we could refer to the model as the InnerPower System.