Self-Esteem. Use of English В1+

How do you usually respond to bad experienses? Do you explode in anger? Do you         [shrink, hide, put, dive] into yourself emotionally? Do you           [subtract, detach, approach, neglect] yourself from the experience as much as possible? Do you ignore it?

Each time we            [spread, encounter, sneak, burrow] a painful experience, we get to know ourselves a little better.

Pain can stop us dead in our tracks. Or it can cause us to make decisions we would like to            [acquire, obtain, put off, encounter], deal with issues we would rather not face, and make changes that make us feel uncomfortable.

Pain               [is prompting, prompts, had prompted, was prompted] us to face who we are and where we are. What we do with that experience defines who we become.

Turn negatives into positives! Good management of bad experiences             [is leading, had led, lead, leads] to great growth.

If you don't realize that you have genuine value and that you are worth                      [to invest, investing, have invested, have been investing]in, then you will never put in the time and effort needed to grow to your potential.

I believe all people have the seeds of success within them. All they need to do is to            [sell, cultivate, water, purchase]those seeds, water them, feed them, and they will begin to grow. So why do many people         [manage, fail, happen, hope]to grow and reach their potential?

I've concluded that one of the main reasons is low self-esteem. Many people don't believe in themselves. They possess a hundred acres of pos-sibilities, yet never cultivate them because they are convinced that they won't be able to learn, grow and            [fluctuate, blossom, worsen, aggravate]into something wonderful.

If you want to be successful with people you have to be real! Be authentic. Be YOU!

Don't play any roles. Let people         [to feel, feel, feeling] that what they see is what they get. It might be difficult at first because we're all afraid that people might not like us the way we are, but that's just another mind movie. Another creation of our mind-the world's greatest producer of soap operas and drama. Know your strengths, know your weaknesses, embrace vulnerability and take                [control, responsibility, effort]for your mistakes. That's all you have to do. Not more. Not less. People will connect with you on a deeper level! You don't have to fear the judgment of others.

They will love you for being real.

Somewhere, in some city, a miracle is happening at this very instant: a child           [had been, was, is, is being]born.

This child is pure spirit, pure potential            [acquire, cast, subdue, reinforce] into a human mould as a manitestation of infinite intelligence.

Immediately, however, the child is impacted by a myriad of external stimuli-sights, sounds, smells and sensations—          [find, found, finds, finding] in its new environment. And in the process, its subconscious memory is being formed, its knowledge of itself is being forged, its sense of self is being shaped: a child is being born.

There is something both very wonderful and very sad in this process. Wonderful because the infant is free to think its own thoughts, to explore its own potential, to decide its own future. Sad because its knowledge of its True Self is being thwarted by the mere fact of it being alive—by its experiences in an often               [beneficial, harsh, subconscious, virtual] and cruel physical world.

A fortunate           [little, a few, a little, few] find happiness and fulfillment from this process, whereas a great       [much, many, lots] find only disappointment and despair. Yet there can be no other path to self-awareness, no other path to self-direction, no other path to self-actualization.