By definition, when someone has a low personal evaluation and a less than adequate assumption of their own self-worth, then that person has low self-esteem. How we feel about ourselves and the view of our own self-worth is formed in early childhood and stays with us throughout our life. The initial seeds of our self-esteem are planted by our parents. Our parents have the ability to either provide us with a stable and fortified sense of self-worth, or they can implant a negative and questionable belief in ourselves.