Self-esteem helps determine what you value, and in turn, what you value determines how you act and what you protect. Your value system helps determine how you treat others. If you identify yourself as a kind, caring, compassionate person, this aura will surround you as you interact with others. If you see yourself as cold, calculating, and rude, this aura surrounds you and guides your treatment of others as well.

What you value affects how you behave toward others. If you believe that education and learning are very important, you will react positively to your friend's announcement that she is going back to school to get her master's degree. You'll give her support and help her deal with the changes that this brings to her life. But if you think school is a waste of time, hearing your friend's news might cause you to react negatively — focusing on the money she's giving up by quitting her job or how much less time she'll have to spend with you now that she'll have tests to study for.

Closely tied to your value system is your own spirituality. Your self-esteem often plays a role in how you see yourself in the spiritual world. If you suffer from unhealthy self-esteem, you may feel that you do not deserve any rewards that spirituality can offer. But spirituality is about hope, and growing in your spiritual life can help you improve your self-esteem.

Spirituality and religion play vital roles in the way you live. Both have been proved to affect your health by lowering your stress level, lowering your blood pressure, increasing your tolerance of others, increasing your levels of joy and happiness, decreasing your use of controlled substances, and accentuating your wellness in general.

A strong sense of spirituality can also affect you in the following ways:

• A higher quality of life in general

• A greater sense of peace, purpose, and belonging

• A higher degree of hope and optimism

• A sense of personal empowerment to help others

• A more determined commitment to ethics and morality