On Self Esteem

A while ago, the Ririan Project posed an article on 22 tips for high self esteem. It’s a pretty good read and is generally free of feel-good hokum. Most of it is stuff that seems to come naturally to those lucky people who have “natural” high self esteem, but the rest of us could use a few tips.

Unfortunately, it’s also the kind of thing that can turn some people into excruciating bores. Tip to those who want to improve their self esteem: keep it to yourself. You don’t need to advertise it or draw other people into it. It’s an internal dialog; keep it that way.

Frankly, anyone who takes a Web article and turns it into a personal program for self actualization is missing more than self esteem. Building confidence, self esteem, and reaching a state of self actualization is not something you get from a Web site; it’s a life-long project that, again, some people do naturally, and others need to apply themselves to deliberately. Articles like this are really just boosters, not the thing in itself.

For those starting out, a good place to begin is to make a pledge to (a) not be an ass, and (b) be sincere about things. If everyone embraced those two things, the world would be a much better place and we’d all be a lot happier.

5 thoughts on “On Self Esteem

  1. there is a thing that has always bugged me about these kind of “self help” diatribes be they books or preachers or websites. It is that they are telling you what you already know. You already know you feel bad about yourself because you compare yourself to someone you know is better. Saying, “Well, don’t do that,” doesn’t stop that inner monologue from happening. I know everyday a ton of things I shouldn’t do but habit and personality lead me to do them anyway.

  2. and don’t forget, a good mattress from soandso.com to relax your low-esteem muscles can work wonders!

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