Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is the reputation we acquire with ourselves. ~ Nathaniel Branden
Self-esteem is the emotive valuation of oneself. It is an unhealthy exercise in which the Collective indulge, though in a self-deceptive way.
Life is the art of being well-deceived. ~ English writer William Hazlitt
Most people readily update their self-image upon being complimented. In contrast, to preserve self-esteem, criticism is met with internal resistance.
The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely. ~ Carl Jung
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The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself. ~ Mark Twain
Beyond knowing one’s functional abilities and limitations, self-concept is superfluous. People trap themselves within their own self-constructed cages of who they think themselves to be.
Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul. ~ American author Henry van Dyke
Sense of identity also obscures the ecology of existence: that we are, at every moment, solely and only what we are doing or thinking. There is no self – there is only being.
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You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. ~ Buddha
The critical step to building better self-esteem is to abandon the effort altogether. Stop thinking of yourself as a piece of meat that gets graded.
All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become. ~ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Simply do what needs to be done as best as you can. Evaluate performance for improvement, not as a grade. Think functionally, not normatively.
Pay failure the tiniest toll toward self-improvement and move on. The past is immutable. Its only value in memory is as a reference for what may work better in the future: the acquisition of skill.
Your burden is of false self-identifications – abandon them all. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
