The Selfs

Self-esteem, self confidence, self-respect are all related to how we feel about ourselves. They are thought of as interchangeable, used like synonyms but they are not the same. I can feel worthless, hence low self-esteem, but treat myself with dignity and not let some one dishonor me which would reflect a good level of self-respect. A person might have little regard to how they’re treated, representing little self-respect but be very sure of their abilities showing high self-confidence. When we don’t recognize the difference among these words, we aren’t able to do the work on the ones that need improvement or atonement.

self-es·teem
noun
confidence in one’s own worth or abilities; self-respect.
self-con·fi·dence
noun
self-re·spect
noun