ramateshkolian- You said it!!
SELF CONTROL BUILDS SELF RESPECT , Yes that is soo powerful. A couple of months ago I was struggling (and sometimes still am) with my own self esteem.
There wasnt much in me I felt could be respected or that I could feel good about.
Hashem had given me soo much- he gave me loads of talents, alot of charisma and a pretty face. But, I just didnt see it!
None of that meant anything to me..
I really was struggling…
Until someone pointed out to me to start working on my Self control.Every time I wanted to say something hurtful, or yell at the other person (and oh yes , they did deserve it) I would fight back the urge and instead I would take a deep breathe and count till 10 and the urge would slowly go away)
Once I started mastering it once, twice and several more times, the feeling that I am in control was the best self esteem booster there could ever be. Once I started feeling better about myself I started appreciating all the things hashem gave me.
Also, Push yourself to go out and volunteer. When an oppertunity arises dont say no! Fight that urge!!
Good Luck,
Hatzlacha!