Self Esteem
Definition: the confidence in one’s own merit as an individual.
I guess this is a concept that my generation has screwed up, as we have done with other theories of parenting that appeared in the 70's & 80's. If our kids didn't have high self esteem they wouldn't be successful in life, so we started to artificially enhance self esteem. But it seems that artificially raising self-esteem actually lowers performance. Oops. Check this out.
I have always wondered at the statement, "He/she has low self esteem." What did that mean? Why is it used when a child hasn't been successful in his/her life? We are so quick to find labels, especially when life doesn't go according to plan. Sometimes I think we have too much time and try to label everything.
I think you can only build that confidence in your abilities with time and maturity. Plus it might make us, as Americans, who are here due to the fortune of birth, think too highly of ourselves. Like we are entitled because we were born on this ground and not in Darfoor. Can't imagine how that works. Lucky, is what we are and we should really look to see how we can improve the world from our position of fortune.
I thought it was neat in the Olympics last night when the British women got their first metals in swimming. I know they beat out the USA swimmer (well, she only got silver) but the Brits were soooo excited. Unfortunately I think we are trained to look at the medal count and winning. The pressure to perform must be incredible for those athletes.
I wonder what we can do to turn this artificial high self esteem into something that helps rather than hinders our growth as individuals.
I guess this is a concept that my generation has screwed up, as we have done with other theories of parenting that appeared in the 70's & 80's. If our kids didn't have high self esteem they wouldn't be successful in life, so we started to artificially enhance self esteem. But it seems that artificially raising self-esteem actually lowers performance. Oops. Check this out.
I have always wondered at the statement, "He/she has low self esteem." What did that mean? Why is it used when a child hasn't been successful in his/her life? We are so quick to find labels, especially when life doesn't go according to plan. Sometimes I think we have too much time and try to label everything.
I think you can only build that confidence in your abilities with time and maturity. Plus it might make us, as Americans, who are here due to the fortune of birth, think too highly of ourselves. Like we are entitled because we were born on this ground and not in Darfoor. Can't imagine how that works. Lucky, is what we are and we should really look to see how we can improve the world from our position of fortune.
I thought it was neat in the Olympics last night when the British women got their first metals in swimming. I know they beat out the USA swimmer (well, she only got silver) but the Brits were soooo excited. Unfortunately I think we are trained to look at the medal count and winning. The pressure to perform must be incredible for those athletes.
I wonder what we can do to turn this artificial high self esteem into something that helps rather than hinders our growth as individuals.