Our self-esteem is a measure of our self-worth, self-value, self-image and self-identity. Having a strong self-esteem and self-confidence is a priceless asset; the better we feel about ourselves, the more effective our actions and our results will be on a day-to-day basis. The quality of our self-esteem in any given situation in our lives impacts the simplest of day-to-day activities and subconsciously influences our day-to-day interactions with ourselves and others. It can make us feel powerful, invincible or powerless.

How we feel about ourselves and, therefore, our level of self-esteem is detectable to others by how we present ourselves and the value that we place on ourselves as individuals. Having a strong level of confidence is often associated with arrogance and superiority but is based on a strong self-identity and giving and expecting to receive mutual respect.

Countless factors have positive or negative impacts on our self esteem: the effectiveness of our relationships with others, our work/non-work environments and our life structure. These factors influence our behavior, our language, our actions and our results.

Levels of self-esteem can vary in any given situation in life; a person who is happy, secure and confident at work may not feel the same in their non-work environment or vice versa. This means that the concept of one's self-esteem is affected by how successful that we feel that we are in each sphere of our lives. Though this concept is subjective for many people, success may be related to feelings of wellbeing as a result of positive feelings of self or self-esteem.

Our perception of success is often also affected by making social comparisons with others, either consciously or subconsciously. This may have either a positive or negative impact on our self-esteem. Our self-esteem level is our source of personal power and must be constantly kept in check. Self-honesty is essential to make a fair judgment on how to value your self-esteem and confidence. Testing your confidence by self-evaluation is often much more complicated than it seems because we all have certain blind spots.

Our levels of self-esteem are like the fuel tank of a car. A full tank and you can go anywhere; half full and you know that you still have some mileage to go; a quarter full you should really be planning to refuel before it gets too late; on the red, you're dredging all the dirt from the engine and risking long term damage. If you can identify with this view, read on for strategies to refuel your tank.

In order to test your self-esteem, Dr. Joe Rubino has made a quick, fun and easy preliminary self-esteem test which can be found at: www.successfactor1.com/selfesteem/. Most people will uncover some areas of their lives where self-esteem can be improved. Here are 10 ways to do so:

1. Get organized. Clean out your computer, your desk, your closet and your house. File and store everything logically and organized. Throw away what you don't need anymore. This clears up your head a lot!
2. Create a vision for your life. This is the most overlooked trait to feeling better. Your life's plan must be compelling!
3. List goals, make a plan and make baby steps to achieve them. List daily and weekly goals. Break them all down in small chunks. Take on the chunks one by one.
4. Take well-considered action. Take action upon your plan. Start and act fast—get things done ASAP.
5. Reward yourself when you succeed. Get disciplined. Always keep the score. Hold off rewarding yourself until you have created results by achieving your goals.
6. Exercise! Nothing outperforms physical activity. Inactivity makes you rust away. Breathe well and exercise. This will give you fresh oxygen in your blood and brain to make you feel better.
7. Love yourself. Judge yourself by what you already do well instead of by what's imperfect.
8. Help others. Helping others makes you feel extremely good.
9. Get rid of negative people in your life! This will be the best thing you can ever do to improve your self esteem.
10. Live a balanced life! Especially at a younger age most people tend to undervalue the power of living a balanced life in relation to optimized self esteem and confidence.

Bonus secret: Treat your body with respect. Support your body by healthy consumption patterns, good sleeping and deep breathing.