Self-Esteem and Business

A very interesting thing happened to me this week and I want to use it as learning event!


As, you all know, I do the Mom’s Time Out video. As a marketing tool, I send the video to my twitter and Facebook accounts. On Monday, a friend of mine posted a comment on my Facebook after my video post that said, “A vision statement – how visionary.”

This sent me reeling! I was so embarrassed. If my friend thinks my video is silly, are there others that don’t speak up??!! I was beside myself. I was just crushed. His opinions mean a lot to me, I truly respect the success he has made for himself.

My first instinct was to send a sarcastic comment back but I thought that didn’t seem professional. I’ve always taught people that if an email makes you upset don’t do anything until you’ve had time to cool off. So, I cooled off and decided to look at it from his point of view.

My friend and I have a teasing kind of relationship. We are always ribbing each other about this and that. I realized that he was just doing and saying things he always says. The difference this time was that instead of making fun of my personal life, (which is ok!), he picked something I did professionally. He probably really didn’t think my video was silly, he just wanted to say hi and that he watched it.

Then, I got very bothered by the fact that I was bothered by it. I decided to send him an email because I did want to address it. I asked that he refrain from teasing me on professional posts because others might not understand our friendship or the comment. I also admitted that my self-esteem isn’t always the best when it comes to my professional life.

I feel confident in my personal life so, I’m comfortable with being teased with my kids or how I look. However, career and business are different for me. Naturally, he told me it wasn’t meant that way and he would remove the comment. He also, gave me a compliment, which felt good even though I forced it on him by obliquely asking: “Do you think my posts are silly?”

I felt good that I addressed the situation. It shows growth on my part. In the past, I would have jabbed back, or made some self-deprecating statement and suffered quietly. Instead, I decided to own what I feel and address it with my friend. My self-esteem took a boost and I ended up with a very productive day!

Next time someone says something that makes you question yourself, have the courage to talk to them about it. Don’t wallow in self-pity. You might have misunderstood or they may just not know how to give good criticism, or as in my case, they meant to harm at all. Make sure you are open, honest and friendly about it and not accusatory so, that you can have productive conversation that lifts you up!