Article by Karl Perera Since our childhood, our parents and those older than us teach us to love others and think of others before ourselves. But as we grow old, we must realize that loving ourselves is as important as loving others. If you don't have love and respect for yourself, you can never achieve your greatest potential. Respect for yourself stems from your self-esteem, which, in turn, is detrimental to your emotional, intellectual and social growth. Lack of self-esteem gives birth to a number of problems. The biggest and most damaging problem is lack of confidence. If you don't have self-respect, you start believing that you're not capable of achieving anything. As a result, you feel unworthy of anything. Such thinking can not only destroy your career, but also damage your daily life.