Self Esteem

"Self-esteem" is a  much overused compound word that doesn't have a place in anyone's vocabulary except our own personal and silent one.  Nobody can GIVE us self-esteem. We earn it on our own through our own actions. Why else would the word "self" be incorporated into the phrase?  We think well of ourselves when we have accomplished something we didn't think we could do and no amount of outside praise equals the feeling from within of a job well done.

We think well of ourselves when we have contributed or succeeded and no one but us is in charge of that. Look at what has happened to many children in recent years.  They were rewarded every time they did anything at all positive and, consequently, they became dependent on praise in order to feel worthy.  

Now you put them in the marketplace where no one cares to praise their every move and what happens?  They get paralyzed, not knowing how to act on their own merit.  They can't make decisions because they are dependent on someone else's praise to motivate them.  They don't compete in the present because they haven't been required to compete in the past. Their expectations are exhaustingly high and yet their output does not merit the praise they thrive on.

To me, hearing  the catch phrase "good job" is like fingernails on a chalkboard.  It is such a patronizing statement, filled with false motivation and a brand of praise that magnifies the smallest accomplishment to absurd proportion.

Let's help our young ones to develop a respect for accomplishment that is generated from within.  It'll produce more self-confidant people in a world that needs them, for sure.