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Random Story #1

Imagine that you are giving a report on your company’s annual growth of profits tomorrow. You are nervous, since you will be doing this report alone with only your handy dandy computer acting as a helper. Your presentation will be in front of ten high level board members who have come to asses whether or not it is worth their trouble and billions of dollars to invest in your company. After mentally assessing your attributes and your faults, you decide that you will be able to do a fairly good job with the presentation. You have a pretty high opinion of yourself and your abilities or as the book calls it, good self-esteem.
After finishing your preparations for the presentation, you decide to grab some coffee in the break room. Two of your colleagues are sitting there chatting as you walk in. They abruptly stop when they see you. The one with hair, but no beard gives you a disarming smile. The one with a beard but no hair just ignores you, as if you’re part of the wall. After successfully obtaining your coffee, you decide the atmosphere in the break room is too stuffy. As soon as you step out the door, loud laughter comes from the break room. You stop and listen. The guy with hair, but no beard says, between bursts of giggles, “ Did you see that? Did you see that! ” He stops here to gasp in some air and you hear the high-pitched voice of the guy with beard, but no hair.
“Heeheeeheee, Chap really thinks he’s something! He’s going to melt like Jell-O not ten minutes into the presentation,” he squeals. Suddenly, your coffee doesn’t smell
so inticing. Your stomach squirms uneasily. With heavy, staggering steps you totter back to your cubicle. You stare at your prepared presentation rather doubtfully. Now it looks too plain, the information jumbled and confusing and you begin thinking to yourself. Is what the guy with a beard, but no hair saying true? Am I really that badly suited for this presentation? Maybe if I would be better if I melted in to a puddle of Jell-O right now. At least that way, no one can watch me fail. Right now you are exhibiting the qualities of a person with low self-esteem.
Just then, your beautiful boss walks in. She gives you one of her rare gorgeous smiles. Instantly, you sit up and smile back. “How are your presentation preparations going?” she asks, blinking those long beautiful lashes. You open your mouth to answer. Who cares if she doesn’t know your name? She’s actually talking to you! Before you get a chance to speak her equally stunning voice cuts you off, “Listen, one of our subsidiaries is in need of a new manager. If you do well on the presentation you could get the job. And I’ll take you out to lunch.” You can’t believe your ears. Managing to push your jaw back into place, you call thanks at her retreating back. She turns and gives you a heart-stopping wink. In the space of minutes, you have become the king of the world!!! Nothing will stop you; nothing can, from giving the most superlative presentation ever! You have just been influenced again. This time internally, in a positive way. Your self-esteem has skyrocketed.
That night, you eat a superb can of chicken noodle soup for dinner. As you kick back to watch your favorite soap opera of all time, you see a commercial for a beautiful pair of diamond earrings. You decide that as soon as you get time to go shopping, you will buy the earrings for your boss. If she reacts in any way like the beautiful chick on the commercial, you just might finally hook yourself a girl. Soon you’ll become a pompous windbag of self-esteem, nice career, a beautiful girl, you’ve got it made. And you have just fallen under the influence of the media. They probably used fancy graphics and gorgeous looking people to put you under their spell. This is usually their favorite method to get you to notice their commercials. Well, you find out that your soap opera was actually on an hour ago, too bad. After going through all the proper hygienic procedures, you call it a day. Tomorrow you will wake up bright and early to review the key points of your presentation and eat a nutritious breakfast of donuts and coffee.

Just for the sake of an ending, the guy did an excellent job on his presentation, his high self-esteem helped quite a lot. He got the manager’s position, but he didn’t quite manage to evoke feelings of affection in his beautiful boss. This little story was used to illustrate some ways one’s self-esteem can be affected by the people and situations around them. This situation can also be applied to other settings, like at school or at home.