High Self-Esteem Isn't Always Healthy?

June 9, 2008 by gbrown

From my reading list this week
Read the full article here

Shared by Graham

Donald Trump has long been criticized for maintaining an ego that punches above his weight. But, give him his dues he recognizes his own humility citing a new study that shows those that are over-confident can be aggressive and defensive.

The “self” is a construct that can both promote and hide an individual. The Buddhist concept of “no self, no problem” is easily understood, but challenging to implement in daily life.

Trump makes the useful division between self-esteem and ego, the latter being the culprit for so many of our problems. Self-Esteem can often be misinterpreted - where one sees servility, others read humility. Often ego displays and big statements hide a personality that is very fragile and insecure.

by Donald J. Trump

Personally, I’ve never had a problem with self-esteem. I always say that you have to believe in yourself or no one else will.

Now a new study has come out suggesting that high self-esteem isn’t necessarily healthy. The researchers, who of course are psychologists, say that sometimes people who are overly confident and proud of themselves can lash out at other people and believe that everyone else is wrong except them.

They concluded that there was “good” high self-esteem and “bad” high self-esteem. With the good people well-grounded and the bad ones too aggressive and defensive.

That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I say that if you are confident in yourself and what you do, that’ll be reflected in your work and in how you treat people. I’ve always been one to say that you have to blow your own horn and let people know about your accomplishments. But rarely should that be at the expense of others - other than your worst competitors.

So keep your self-esteem high and there’s no need to have your ego in check as long as you can back up that confidence with success.

Donald J. Trump is Chairman of Trump University.