The concept of self-esteem is often misunderstood with the false belief that compliments can raise it ("You're really smart!" "You're really pretty!") being widely believed. Actually, self-esteem reflects the ego's sense of whether a person has big problems or not with higher self-esteem being associated with having fewer problems. But false concepts linger because of the powerful unconscious, causing one who has behaved badly long before to retain a bad self-image ("I'm no good!") even after years of doing good works. Telling yourself that you are good in contrast to your past behavior will help but only if your words to yourself are as insistent as are those of your powerful unconscious.