I like it that this turned out to be the final Other Perspectives for the year. It cuts to the heart of what this blog is about. The sentiment in this is beautiful. Whoever wrote it wants more people to not be hurt or undermined by other people. That part is great. But it’s the sort of advice that confuses the issue because of the way it is written. Because it refers to the very false reality that has so many people suffering. Look, the word is self-esteem. Meaning it is esteem we provide to ourselves. It doesn’t come from other people and they have no ability to take it away from us. Your identity—insecure or confident—is made entirely of your own beliefs about yourself. Sure, if other people are attempting to undermine you they’re demonstrating their lack of spiritual health. But that still doesn’t mean they are responsible for your confidence or self-esteem. You were born perfect, exactly the way the universe wanted you to be and no individual commenting on that really matters. So let’s rewrite this quote to say something like, don’t replay in your head the uninformed ideas people have about you in their heads. They’re welcome to their opinion but that doesn’t mean it has to be your opinion too. Now go be confident because that’s what you were born to be, and anything else is just your own thoughts interfering with your being. Love you.
peace. s
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Note: Everyone who posts or shares a quote does so with the very best of intentions. That said, I have created the series of Other Perspectives blog posts in an effort to prevent some of these ideas from entering into people’s consciousness unchallenged. These quotes range from silly to dangerous and—while I intend no offense to their creators—I do use these rebuttals to help define and delineate the larger message I’m attempting to convey in my own work. I do hope you find them helpful in your pursuit of both psychological and spiritual health.
I help people achieve better mental health by teaching them about reality.
