Skills Guide
Teaching: Positive Self-Image
Positive Self-Image
Why This Skill Matters
Positive self-image is foundational to resilience because it shapes how students see themselves, interpret setbacks, and approach challenges. Students with negative self-image often disengage, act out, or avoid effort to protect themselves from perceived failure. Teaching positive self-image helps students separate who they are from mistakes they have made and recognize their strengths, effort, and potential.
Student Challenges This Skill Helps Address
- Low self-esteem or shame
- Acting out linked to negative self-beliefs
- Avoidance of challenge
- Fear of failure
How WhyTry Builds This Skill
WhyTry teaches positive self-image directly through the Positive Self-Image unit, where students learn to replace negative labels with strengths-based identity. Facilitators guide reflection on actions, effort, and character rather than past mistakes. This process helps students build confidence, self-respect, and resilience.
Positive Self-Image
(“Labels”)
In Positive Self-Image, facilitators guide students to examine the labels they carry and replace them with strengths-based identity. Processing emphasizes that mistakes do not define who they are. This unit builds resilience by helping students develop self-respect, confidence, and belief in their capacity to grow.