The physical battle is only one of the four areas you use to determine how upstanding a person is. Do you need outside validation that much? You understand that constantly seeking the approval of your peers makes you a tool.
Self-improvement and trying to be an "upstanding" person can be (and, for me, is) completely independent of approval from others. Doesn't really matter what others think about you, as long as you're happy with yourself.
I think it does matter what other people think about you. The most important part of self-esteem is of course, the self (that is, how you perceive and feel about yourself) but I also believe a portion of our self-esteem is dependent upon the validation of others. The percentage of our self-esteem that that portion takes up is what creates the social awareness scale, ranging from sociopath (complete self) to co-dependent (esteem is solely dependent upon outside validation). This is not to say that we should take what people say and change ourselves accordingly, but we should take it in the same way we approach science. We look at what someone is telling us, verify if it is a problem or not and then check it with past trends and tendencies. From there we can form solutions.
On a personal note, I enjoy having friends, in that way outside validation is also necessary.
I agree. I interpreted your original statement as if your self-esteem depended entirely on what other people thought... so I decided to present the other side of the coin; self-esteem can also be what you think of yourself. Like everything else, neither black or white is the whole truth.
Self-improvement and trying to be an "upstanding" person can be (and, for me, is) completely independent of approval from others. Doesn't really matter what others think about you, as long as you're happy with yourself.
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On a personal note, I enjoy having friends, in that way outside validation is also necessary.
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"On a personal note, I enjoy having friends,"
... Was this some sort of insult? Low blow, man... low blow...
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