Is low self belief linked to low self esteem?

[NotALoozerHonestly]

Not really sure what the differences are. I have failed at loads of stuff loads of times at stuff most other people achieve, on paper I look like a loser from a total lack of achievement, it's obviously less than ideal and embarrassing. Feeling massively daunted right now trying to write a uni thing, it's as if all the things I have failed at are making me think I just have nothing important to say - like my thoughts or opinions don't matter, so why the hell am I even doing this?

I feel like this must be something to do with self esteem. However I always thought self esteem was about thinking you deserve to have your needs met and I do believe this. I believe I deserve food and medical care etc, and human dignity and respect etc. So I wouldn't say I think poorly of myself in terms of self worth just for being a human being, if that makes sense.

On a human level I have worth, but in terms of a meritocracy...not so much.

Is this self esteem and how would I go about fixing it?

I'm not sure, IRL the 2 friends I know who have had counselling for anxiety/depression both have much better CVs than I do...my friend always feels like she has to be 'perfect' I think that might be low self-esteem.

Lots of people fail at stuff the first time round, you might just not hear about it.
I've had to do resits in my MSc for some modules, my DBro took 3 or 4 gos to get a C in GCSE maths - but we got there eventually, you can too! :)

I would say low self esteem and low self belief are the same thing. You hold yourself in esteem in the same way that you have belief in yourself - if you hold yourself in low esteem you have little belief in yourself (and what you're worth) and vice versa. Maybe you use esteem to mean respect? I don't necessarily hold every one in good esteem, but I respect everyone's rights.

But I bet you're wonderful at lots of things!

I think you can know, rationally, that you have value but if you don't feel you have the power or the control to construct your own life, then it takes you back down a rung or two.

I really recommend Nataniel Branden's 6 pillars of self-esteem as it breaks down different types of self-estimations. It was the first time id heard of self efficacy. It really helped me understand that bravery and being brave enough to take (sensible) risks was the missing piece for me. I listen to it on youtube as a refresher from time to time.

Goggle self-efficacy op. If you dont believe you have the power to control your own outcomes, then only some pieces of your self worth are healthy.

I also read a book by anne pearson phd which isnt about self esteem per se it is about what we identify with and it really helped me too. The heroine within/ the 12varchetypes. I know now i overidentified with being unlucky.

Ps, i valued myself. I knew i wasnt worthless. But i was super cautious because i felt unlucky and was never brave enough to take a risk. So i was stuck.

Discovering the difference between self efficacy and self esteem really helped me op.

I work on being braver now. Taking a risk now and then. Pushing myself out of my comfort zone. And this does make me feel i have control over my life. I feel like all those "other people," now. I used to feel. "It's ok for them. It will work out for them!".

They are the same thing. Self-esteem isn't about what you deserve, it's about thinking highly of yourself (or not). If you hold someone in high esteem it means you have respect and high regard for them.

Thinking you deserve basic human necessities is a pretty low bar. But you know what - the fact that you are continuing to try things and work to improve your life through studying at university even after you have suffered failures shows that you are definitely worthy of some esteem! People who just succeed at everything easily do not necessarily have the tenacity and resilience that you are showing. That's worth being proud of!

They are different.

Self-esteem is simply knowing your worth.

Self-belief is the confidence in yourself to bring about change. This harder than the first as it requires beavery and risk.

To me self-esteem is how much you think you are worth, self-belief is whether or not you think you can things (similar to self-efficacy).
You seem to have good self-esteem but low self-belief.

But I bet you're wonderful at lots of things!

I'm really not!

Honestly I perform so poorly at EVERYTHING I try nowadays I don't know how I can fix it authentically. All hard evidence points to not being able to do the things I try?

You're low in confidence because your experiences have included failure. I'd actually think that someone who wouldn't be a bit knocked by that is a bit unrealistic! However, what a person with self belief thinks is that they will eventually get there.

Does doing stuff and eventually getting there still mean as much as somebody who does it on a first, second or even third attempt though?

Multiple failed attempts (I mean like...a lot of them!) must have significance I feel?

I mean to succeed in any decent and interesting job you need to be able to learn quite quickly and be competent, there are limited chances for failing.

@RueCambon self-efficacy sounds interesting I am off to google!

Striking that you identified with being unlucky. I feel almost the exact opposite, I feel like I have an unfair amount of good opportunities that I continually fuck up and they just highlight how bad I am at stuff.

Sorry that's maybe confusing I mean I believe I have an uncanny amount of good luck and opportunities, that's actually unfair in that I have a big advantage. But then I continually screw things up.

I don't mean its unfair to me!

It'll take some thinking about, but your value as a person doesn't alter either way - that's where the good self esteem comes in!

Yes I agree that the value of a person doesn't change depending on what they can or can't do. I feel relaxed about this.

I can't bring myself to write anything. It just feels so pointless. I know I can't set the world on fire with my uni level work it's not that I think that...obviously everyone takes time to learn in their field and develop a skill set.

I just really doubt the value of anything I can contribute. I never used to feel like this, years of getting things wrong seem to have changed how I view myself, for the worse.