When you count people, they can become insignificant, like the Velt says: “I'm just a number", i.e. I'm not important, and my true essence and the details about my being are not mentioned. When you get involved in the details of a person, then you are making him important; the more details, the more Chashivus. So when you write your Maalos to give yourself a boost, make “Meforshim” and positive details about yourself, and you'll blossom more and more.
But counting numbers is the opposite. Your: עֶצֶם מ צ יאוּת very existence doesn't count; you're just a number. However, the Torah says: ש אוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ “lift” the “head”. These are two Inyanei Chashivus. "Lifting" means going upwards, and the “head” is the highest and most important part of the body. ל גֻל ג לֹתָם a “skull” is round, and the roundness plays a major role.
The Ran in Nedarim mentions a Yerushalmi which says that Hashem makes everything round, and only an Adam makes things with 4 or more corners. So counting a: גֻ ל גֹ לֶ ת “skull” is a symbol of being close to Hashem, since the roundness of the head means being spiritual and never-ending like a circle, and being like Hashem.
Every Yid has to realize that just as he's part of a big Klal, so too he is important as a Yachid (individual). In fact, a person who sees himself as a part of Klal Yisroel is exactly Chashuv for this very reason. And everything he does has much more Chashivus, since he's doing it all with a Tzibbur, and not alone. (Rashi)
