I just read a post about where people get their self-esteem from.

For me, self-esteem comes from personally meaningful accomplishments and being able to make a difference in people's lives and the world around me, in ways which respect my own system of values.

I like being that way, it just makes sense to me. But my issues ... primarily social anxieties and learned helplessness ... get directly in the way!

Some people would argue that self-esteem is an inherent unchangeable quality, a sense that you are a good person. I can say that I am a person who tries to be the best "me" I know how to be, and that I do possess aptitudes and qualities I like when I see them in others. That's all fine and dandy ... BUT SO WHAT!? It's not like I often DO anything with them!!!!

If I cannot USE these aspects of myself in the world, then I am a brain in a jar on a dusty shelf. Would you rather be an eagle flying free, or a stuffed eagle adorning the wall in a taxidermist's shop? They are both eagles, inherently and unchangably, so what's the problem? *laughter*

I'm feeling buried under the weight of my own sins of omission, disconnected from my own self.