Self-esteem is a form of inner alignment. It is the moment you stop asking the world to confirm your worth and remember that your value was never given from the outside. When you are rooted in this knowing, you no longer chase approval or fear rejection, because neither adds to nor takes away from what already is.
From this place, you meet life with humility and steadiness. Praise does not inflate you, and criticism does not collapse you. You act with sincerity rather than performance, and with trust rather than anxiety. There is a quiet dignity in this state, a sense of being held from within, where self-respect becomes an expression of peace rather than proof.