Self-Esteem

The following information is from a general discussion I had with some acquaintances today. The age range of those present was about 25 to 60 - so quite varied in terms of opinions and world-views. I thought it would be interesting to see how ATS members felt about this topic.

"There has been a major push in recent decades to focus on the topic of Self-Esteem (SE), especially for those living in Western countries. We have been conditioned to believe that having a high opinion of ourselves will lead to success and becoming better people. Children and young adults appear to be the ones who are most bombarded with this message, and it seems that education and critical thinking have taken a back seat as a result. But is SE really that important? Are there not potential negatives awaiting us for developing generations of those fixated on their level of SE?

Remember that Self-Esteem is different from Self-Confidence and Self-Respect. Self-Esteem is what you think of yourself; Self-Confidence is trust in one's own abilities; Self-Respect is showing dignity for one's own character. It's true that any of these qualities are troublesome in excess, but SE more so. While the latter two are very important attributes to maintain, SE is perhaps less important when you consider the bigger picture and the individual's place in humanity.

We all know the positives of maintaining a high level of Self-Esteem, but what are some of the negatives? Well, Narcissism is a popular outcome for those with an inflated sense of SE. People get so caught up in the excesses of feeling good that they fall in love with themselves and become egocentric. I'm sure the reader can identify at least a few people like this in their lives, and they are not pleasant to be around. More concerning, is that this lack of caring for others comes at a grave cost to our collective progress as humans."

I'll leave it as that so as not to bore the readers of this thread. I think you get the overall message that is being conveyed. What are your thoughts and opinions?

reply to post by Dark Ghost


It sounds as if 'self esteem' is what one thinks of themselves. But really how many are you? Is there really two of you? One judging the other? Who is this one that is measuring you? Is it not culture expectations that you hear?
What are you supposed to be? Can you not just be ok as you are right now and be ok as you are always?
Trying to be ok is not being ok. No need to become when you realize you are. You are beingness itself.

Is narcissism on the sociopath/psychopath spectrum? Because people who are conscience-defecit are physically-so, as it shows under MRI. None of those will be getting a conscience and introspecting about their self esteem. As long as people continue to reproduce non-empathy/sympathy brains into the populations, this world's unjust systems will stay the same. I didn't mean to derail offtopic, just wanted to reply about your mentioning narcissism.

Specifically it is a function of the brain in which the chemical dopamine is released from a receptor which is like a microscopic piece of electricity which sparks and transfers a signal to the mind's nerve cell. We can't just think about one receptor or just one nerve cell because there are 30 billion of them, and in each person there is 1,000s of unique transfers per second. Dopamine is the process that makes you feel accomplished about yourself, as if you have done something successful - that is the chemical released. They talk about serotonin with dopamine because serotonin is the chemical produced when you are thinking clearly and wise thoughts, so when you are thinking clearly and feel as if you are rewarded it will lead to self esteem, but we have to be producing these chemicals.

reply to post by Dark Ghost


Well Narcissism is truly false self esteem. Narcissists don't in fact, have good self-esteem and try to overcompensate for it by attempting to convince themselves as well as the world around them that they are of high worth.

And self esteem affects one's dignity and confidence, as without thinking much of yourself, one's confidence in their abilities, as well as strength to behave in a dignified manner is complicated. The three are heavily intermingled.

And I don't see where one can have an excess of confidence or self respect, as these are finite aspects of the human psyche. To have maximum confidence and self respect, is to acknowledge the full worth of your being. Anything in "excess" cannot be labeled as such, but rather a warped interpretation of one's worth.

And this is where the excess of self esteem is where such a warped interpretation of one's worth comes in. So I agree on that point, that in excess, it can be dangerous. And in excess, one no longer has true self respect or confidence. As their external behaviours may appear to be so, but the determining factor of self-respect and self confidence is intent.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost

"There has been a major push in recent decades to focus on the topic of Self-Esteem (SE),

This is big in the US but the conditioning predicates that self esteem must originate from support of a specific political agenda.
The great propaganda apparatus of the US politicotainment establishment also has an ongoing program to destroy the self esteem of any who do not toe the line and support the agenda.