Posted by pinkeye on February 15, 2005, at 16:18:48
In reply to Sense of self, posted by vwoolf on February 15, 2005, at 12:45:22
What everyone else has said is wonderful. In addition to that, I want to add this. What Doctors mean by a strong sense of self esteem is, you know who you are and what you want in life and what makes you happy, what makes you not happy, and you are not disturbed by anything that happens outside to a large extent.
Maybe you can think of being a liquid as opposed to being a solid. If you are like water and a liquid, you just mold into the shape of whatever vessel you are poured into. But if you are a solid and have your own shape, you remain what you are. Apparently this is better for human being's self identity. I however think, too much of either is bad. You need to be somewhat of a solid gel kind of thing. You need to have your own identity, but you should also have the capability to mould into something if needed and if you so chose. Being a bar of iron is not something we should aim at.
Remember also that, in this world of current days, a sense of self worth and self esteem and finding meaning for your own self is highly emphasized. I feel it is being done a little too much. In the olden days, people were not forced to have a high sense of self esteem and self worth. They were more taught to belong, and they lived in a society and derived their values and sense of well being from one another and participating in a community and living for something larger than yourself. In the current days, with individualism being focussed on too much, we are all asked to find meaning for ourselves in our lives which is not always correct. Human beings are not an end in themselves, and nor can they have a strong sense of identity and self worth just by themselves. It is practically impossible to derive a strong sense of what you want in life and who you want to be without participating in/ and living for a society to some extent. You should have a blend of both.
poster:pinkeye
thread:458175
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050211/msgs/458281.html