When you get right down to it, the idea of self-esteem is just that, an idea, and a pretty modern one as well. Self-esteem is very difficult to define in terms of pluses and minuses, etc. Most people would define self-esteem as feeling good about oneself; feeling confident about oneself; knowing that one is "okay"; etc. So far, so good-these are nice states to achieve. But the question of whether high self-esteem is an advantage when it comes to achieving goals is way, way up in the air. After all, some of the greatest achievers in history (Abraham Lincoln, for example) had dreadfully low self-esteem, even in the moment of victory.
What is the point of starting out negatively like this? Well, "starting out" on any venture is negative by definition-you're at the bottom, not at the top; you're the runt and not the giant; you're the slowest not the fastest; you're definitely not the smartest; and so on. But starting out means you want to get somewhere, and that's positive, and can be built on, and even the negativity of your lowly status can provide enormous motivation to achieve goal after goal after goal.
"Ways to build self-esteem and use motivation to achieve goals" »
