Having strong self-esteem depends on being proud of yourself—on feeling proud of the things you do, the values you hold, and the principles you stand for. But for that pride to be genuine, you must know that you deserve to be proud of those things. If you know, even vaguely, that you don’t, it will hurt rather than help your self-esteem.
Unfortunately, many people don’t achieve this kind of evidence-based pride, in part because they have not. . .