In the tradition of authors like Judy Blume, Dr. Holstein pushes the envelope in covering the challenges girls really face, without sugar coating it or downplaying the feelings or passions young girls experience, regarding things that are important to them at this stage of their development.
Building resilience and self-esteem is absolutely crucial for girls, and for women of all ages, as it empowers them to navigate challenges and setbacks with confidence, fostering mental and emotional well-being. High self-esteem enables women to advocate for themselves and their rights, breaking down barriers and stereotypes. Resilience helps women to bounce back from adversity, making them more adaptable and better equipped to pursue their goals and aspirations.
In a recent article on her site, bestselling author Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein offered 7 ways girls and women can develop these all-important traits. In that article, she said in part:
Intuition. We all are intuitive at times. Research suggests that our brain has picked up on a lot more information outside of ourselves than we realize. So if your gut feels uncomfortable at times, you may want to further check what the circumstances are that you are dealing with. Of course only you know when something is exactly right for you, so it is questionable decisions that I am suggesting you listen to your own feelings when necessary. After all, who is your best friend? You are.
Staying alert. Recognizing your talents and potential even if you are the only one doing so. Never give up on your own talents and potential. Take time every once and awhile to sit down with yourself and think about all the talents you have even if they are not developed and your untapped potential. You may be amazed at all you can still do even if some doors are closed. For example you may not be able to ski anymore, but you can still enjoy watching the sport or maybe giving pointers to children about skiing.
Overcoming fears. We all get scared about new things to do or changing our behaviors in any way. Welcome to being human. Best to try to be less afraid so you don’t spoil chances for yourself. There are endless suggestions on the web as how to be more courageous and of course there are many mental health professionals who can help you feel stronger about yourself and your decisions.
Take advantage of help, as in reality you are unique. Just think about this: Kleenex may never have been invented if the inventor wasn’t willing to get a patent on it. After all, hankerchiefs had been good enough for hundreds or thousands of years. I sure glad someone had the courage to patent Kleenex.
Being generous and sharing. We all have had something happen when we were in the dumps that made us feel better. Let’s never forget to pass on goodness and kindness to others. It is so easy to do so. Most people admit that once they do a good deed even when in a bad mood they feel better. So join the crowd.
Believing in what you have to offer the world. This is a tough concept. Usually us women put ourselves down and see ourselves not in the best light. Believing in ourselves means we understand that all of us struggle to meet and handle the issues that come up in our lives. Men often hold in to themselves more of their difficulties than women do. We often have friends or family members where we will share our problems. But the truth is we bring just as much to the table of success as men do. In the end of all difficulties, some are solved and some remain failures of a sort, no matter who we are. We can only offer to do the best we can. So practice seeing yourself in a positive light. it will bring you pleasure and a more honest positive look at your offerings to the world.
Realize there is enough success to to go around for all. My dad always said that there is enough success to go around. I believe he was right. Every time one person opens the door to success then there are more doors that need to be opened to make another dream come true. So don’t lose out on your chance for your dreams to come true.
In 2015 my first selfie film, A Short Film, was selected to be shown at the Garden State Film Festival. It won an award for the best song, written by Critelli and sung by Lindsay Lucas. That was the start of an amazing part of my life. I have added Filmmaker to my resume. It took another few years and more selfie films to have the joy of experiencing almost all of my films being accepted wherever I sent them and many of them to win awards of one sort or another.
As the calendar enters the year 2025, I can account for more than 200 times that a film of mine was accepted somewhere and/or won recognition beyond being accepted. It took another few years and more selfie films, documentaries, fantasy films and Zoom films to have the joy of experiencing almost all of my films being accepted wherever I sent them and many of them to win awards of one sort or another.
What does my success have to do with your success?
The full text of the article is available at https://www.enchantedself.com/seven-ways-women-can-build-resilience-and-self-esteem/.
Dr. Holstein hopes to bring parents, teachers, librarians, grandparents and media together to accomplish one goal: Change in the lives of young people who suffer from anxiety and a growing sense of hopelessness and despair, and help women of all ages build resilience and self esteem
Dr. Holstein wraps Positive Psychology concepts in forms of media that people find engaging, relatable and inspiring. These include:
Four bestselling, award-winning books (perfect for school libraries)
Four self-esteem workbooks for girls 8 and up
Award-winning films and coming of age selfie films
Podcasts
Dedicated websites
Stage plays
A library of articles
Ted-style talks
As a school psychologist and in her private practice, Dr. Holstein has worked with many children and parents, helping them to develop life skills in decision-making, recognition of their own talents, feel more courageous, and helping both kids and parents develop more successful inter-generational skills. Her last book, ‘Conflict and a Bit of Magic’, helps kids build self-esteem though reading the journal of a girl, identifying with the girl, and understanding they have more courage and resiliency than they thought they had. The book is based on the experiences of the already famous “girl” from 'The Truth, Diary of a Gutsy Tween' and 'Secrets, Diary of a Gutsy Teen', and achieved bestseller status in the multi-generational families category.
Dr. Holstein’s latest workbook for kids, ‘Secrets’ achieved bestseller status in the ‘Teen & Young Adult Nonfiction on Depression’ category.
Dr. Holstein's cutting-edge presentations, most recently based on the Covid-19 pandemic issues, can be found on both YouTube, Vimeo and on the Roku channel and Amazon Fire TV, titled as 'The Enchanted Self Presents'.
Dr. Holstein recently created The Selfie Showcase, a new project emerging from The Selfie Project, that allows young people to voice their opinions on subjects that matter to young people, including the pandemic.
The Selfie Showcase allows kids, teens, and young adults ages 13 to 18 to candidly express their concerns, worries, observations and possible solutions by creating selfie videos or films around important subjects using a smartphone. Dr. Holstein's mission is to help rectify, in several ways, some issues young people face by giving them a chance to engage with others in meaningful ways about the anxiety and stress they must grapple with constantly.
Dr. Holstein is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below or by email at barbara.holstein@gmail.com.More information about the Selfie Showcase is available at http://www.selfiefilmmakers.com. Selfie videos and selfie films can be uploaded at the site. Potential podcast guests can contact Dr. Holstein by email. More information is available at her primary website at http://www.enchantedself.com.
Profile:
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein, internationally known Positive Psychologist is the creator of The Enchanted Self ®, a positive psychology method for happiness and a pioneer in Selfies as Film. Dr. Holstein's Enchanted Self website was included as one of the best websites in positive psychology. She is in private practice in Long Branch, New Jersey with her husband, Dr. Russell M. Holstein.
Dr. Barbara can be found on the web, interviewed, writing articles and posting video 'TED' style talks on Happiness, Positive Psychology, Relationships and Parenting. Her Roku channel is: The Enchanted Self Presents.
She has been a contributor to Your Tango, Heart and Soul, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Honey Good, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Redbook, Real Simple, Women’s World, The Wall Street Journal, Psychcentral.com, Time online, Readers Digest, Parade, the Today Show and Family Circle Magazine.
Contact:
Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein
barbara.holstein@gmail.com
http://www.enchantedself.com
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