Dyslexic people can be seen as a vulnerable group in terms of intellectual self-esteem. Dyslexia made me distrust my intelligence. This in turn made me lack confidence in my judgement. The problem came from feeling inferior and stupid as a child.
I had to bang it in to my head that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s. Once I did I realized it was my lack of confidence that had caused my bad judgement in the first place.
Important: If you are about to read this page them please make sure you have a look at Lack of Confidence First. As this page is basically a sequel. It is of up most importance you believe you can be as intelligent as anyone else.
Dyslexia and Vulnerability:
As a child I had low self-esteem and lacked faith in my judgement. Whenever it came to voicing my opinion I always had the preconception it would be wrong. This led me to put too much trust in the opinions of others, which made me easily misled.
Negative influences:
My lack of confidence made it very hard to dismiss other people’s opinions when I thought they were wrong. This made me an easy target for criticism. I believed what people said about me be it good or bad. It’s hard not to take negative comments to heart when you think everyone else’s opinion is more valid than yours.
This made me continually vulnerable to negative people. They would Lower my self-esteem, and make the hole I was in constantly deeper. I didn’t realize then that some people can be nothing more than a burden.
I now have a personal rule to treat people the way I wish to be treated. I also expect other people to treat me with the same respect. It sounds cheesy I know but it’s a great rule of thumb for judging whether or not someone is a negative influence on your life.
My opinion:
I eventually banged it into my head that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s. I found my lack of confidence had been the cause of my bad judgement. Now I always try to think things through logically with a clear head.
No one's opinion is ever going to be perfect, that’s why it’s an opinion and not fact. No one is ever right all the time. However when I didn’t have confidence in my judgement I was wrong most of the time.
Sometimes I make the right decision and sometimes I mess up. Just because I make mistakes doesn’t mean I’m wrong all the time.
Conclusion:
For me dyslexia caused me to distrust my intelligence which in turn resulted in a lack of faith in my opinion. Not having confidence in my judgement left me open to negative people and influences. This meant my self-esteem was constantly being lowered.
My lack of trust in my judgement came from a fear of making mistakes. The only way to trust your judgement is to have faith in your intelligence. Click here for more motivational help.