Success at what cost?

The core of being human is the need to be significant to others, especially with significant others.

Our efforts to be successful feel empty and unfulfilling if we have no reason to believe that it positively impacts the lives of those around us.

So, we set out to be successful so that we can be valued, so that we can feel fulfilled or at least have reason to believe that we’re making a meaningful contribution towards the good around us.

But, what happens when we have an unhealthy self-esteem?

Our focus shifts from wanting to be of benefit, to being afraid of not being good enough.

To compensate for the fear of not being good enough, we focus on equipping ourselves as best we can to avoid failure.

Ethics and integrity become optional when what feels like survival overtakes our better judgement.

And in this way, our low self-worth becomes the basis on which we raise our children, convincing them about the importance of education, while setting loose boundaries for integrity.

Thus, by not understanding the state of their self-worth, we raise what appears to be narcissists while believing we’re raising responsible adults.

All because we exaggerated the importance of education compared to the emphasis that we placed on self-esteem and integrity.

No one intentionally or deliberately raises children with a low self-worth, but we cannot give what we don’t have.

That’s why, when we’re lacking in self-worth as adults, we compensae for it by focusing on equipping our children to fit into the world around them, rather than to define that world.

That’s how we place education and success above honesty and integrity, or sound character, while only intending good for our children. Or for ourselves.

This is yet another reason why the best gift you can give your child is not a good education, it’s a healthy self-esteem.

The rest will take care of itself.

#hope #expectation #sincerity #selfworth #selfawareness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #lifecoaching #zaidismail #loveyourself #lifegoals #motivation #optimism #purpose #education #parenting #narcissism