This is a fine delivery of the bad news. Plus, I share your belief in the 'good enough' standard, whose corollary is 'better than you'd get on the street' standard, which is just above, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass." :)
As a counsellor who works in the extreme end of the addiction spectrum, once you hear those stories, and comb through those events, it's baffling to see the narcissism, attention-seeking, entitlement, and self-proclaimed righteousness ringing through our society en masse. Maybe if people listened to those stories and the things these individuals endured through childhood, they would shut the fuck up and give their parents some love for doing what they could.
'Affirming' the feeling of the moment, damn near by law at this point, is crumbling our society day by day. We are living in Generation Soft. God help us all.
Absolutely correct. Part of the issue is the innate laziness of our intellectual and educational classes. End government subsidies and bring back patronage. I am serious. The most successful of my children rolled up their sleeves and went after their passion. The ones that are struggling are the ones who are trying to "figure it out." Human beings are experiental learners. Period. The more you try things, the more you find out what you are good at. I retired after a successful career in IT because I kept trying things and went after that which interested me the most. Failure is good for us, and if we stop sniffling and get about life, we learn and get better... and we are secure in our own skin.
Excellent essay and says what needs to be said. You've nailed why I stopped reading "women's" magazines (except when I'm at the hairdresser and then it's to poke fun at the ludicrous fashion). I'm currently experiencing a self esteem crisis - I'm learning karate. My kids are black belts. I've always been good at whatever I put my mind to, but this is tough, really tough and I'm failing regularly 😂😂😂 ill keep at it though. Maybe it should be on the school sport curriculum as it would introduce some much needed discipline too....
Greetings from the great state of California, the first state in the world (far as I know) to have established a Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem. We hit it first!
My thesis (doesn't everyone have one?) is just as the 19th-century German Ideology crafted the culture, scholarship and ideological battles of the 20th century (Marx v Freud v Nietzsche, The Battle of Stalingrad fought by Right Hegelians vs Left Hegelians etc), the 20th-century California Ideology is doing the same for the 21st century. And what is the California Ideology, more or less? Economic Libertarianism and self-help self-esteem New Age psychobabble (I'm OK You're OK we're all OK!)
But New Age self-esteem babble is really just a pretext or a game board to give people what they really want: a chance to talk about themselves, to ease their pain by sharing their pain (even better to a captive audience). With all the other gods dead or in jail all roads lead to the last great shared ritual of this thing called "Western civ": discussing, parading, monetizing etc The Self and its pain and victimization.
Think of it like prayer in Church, except you get to be priest, pilgrim, parishioner and God, and you may even get a cut of the collection plate. One-stop shopping!
Mr. Gage, I have never been a fan of the self-esteem movement. When I was growing up my elders talked about self-respect. Self-respect was earned. Self-esteem is demanded.
Positive affirmations also work for dogs.
This is a fine delivery of the bad news. Plus, I share your belief in the 'good enough' standard, whose corollary is 'better than you'd get on the street' standard, which is just above, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass." :)
As a counsellor who works in the extreme end of the addiction spectrum, once you hear those stories, and comb through those events, it's baffling to see the narcissism, attention-seeking, entitlement, and self-proclaimed righteousness ringing through our society en masse. Maybe if people listened to those stories and the things these individuals endured through childhood, they would shut the fuck up and give their parents some love for doing what they could.
'Affirming' the feeling of the moment, damn near by law at this point, is crumbling our society day by day. We are living in Generation Soft. God help us all.
Absolutely correct. Part of the issue is the innate laziness of our intellectual and educational classes. End government subsidies and bring back patronage. I am serious. The most successful of my children rolled up their sleeves and went after their passion. The ones that are struggling are the ones who are trying to "figure it out." Human beings are experiental learners. Period. The more you try things, the more you find out what you are good at. I retired after a successful career in IT because I kept trying things and went after that which interested me the most. Failure is good for us, and if we stop sniffling and get about life, we learn and get better... and we are secure in our own skin.
Excellent essay and says what needs to be said. You've nailed why I stopped reading "women's" magazines (except when I'm at the hairdresser and then it's to poke fun at the ludicrous fashion). I'm currently experiencing a self esteem crisis - I'm learning karate. My kids are black belts. I've always been good at whatever I put my mind to, but this is tough, really tough and I'm failing regularly 😂😂😂 ill keep at it though. Maybe it should be on the school sport curriculum as it would introduce some much needed discipline too....
Greetings from the great state of California, the first state in the world (far as I know) to have established a Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem. We hit it first!
My thesis (doesn't everyone have one?) is just as the 19th-century German Ideology crafted the culture, scholarship and ideological battles of the 20th century (Marx v Freud v Nietzsche, The Battle of Stalingrad fought by Right Hegelians vs Left Hegelians etc), the 20th-century California Ideology is doing the same for the 21st century. And what is the California Ideology, more or less? Economic Libertarianism and self-help self-esteem New Age psychobabble (I'm OK You're OK we're all OK!)
But New Age self-esteem babble is really just a pretext or a game board to give people what they really want: a chance to talk about themselves, to ease their pain by sharing their pain (even better to a captive audience). With all the other gods dead or in jail all roads lead to the last great shared ritual of this thing called "Western civ": discussing, parading, monetizing etc The Self and its pain and victimization.
Think of it like prayer in Church, except you get to be priest, pilgrim, parishioner and God, and you may even get a cut of the collection plate. One-stop shopping!
Mr. Gage, I have never been a fan of the self-esteem movement. When I was growing up my elders talked about self-respect. Self-respect was earned. Self-esteem is demanded.