Self-esteem is a term that everyone is all too familiar with. We use this word to describe how we feel about ourselves in a social standing. It is the value a person gives oneself. It is governed by individual beliefs which are very difficult to change. If someone has low self-esteem, it can cause that person to be overwhelmed by the negatives and make it hard to see the positives about themselves. Self-esteem defines how we behave, if someone has high self-esteem, they will be confident and find more success in life. But there is a down side to this too, sometimes very high self-esteem or very low self-esteem can cause a negative attitude development. This development is more commonly called ego.
People often say that low self-esteem is the reason for a big ego, but I beg to differ. Yes, it is usually low self-esteem that causes an individual to be very defensive about one self. Ego is fake self-esteem blown up out of proportion, even though this occurrence is higher when self-esteem is low but can just as easily be present in high end of the spectrum. Some people develop a defense mechanism when they have low esteem, this is usually when they think whatever they think is right and want everyone to be like them. They develop the ego and use it as a shield to hide their insecurities. this development isn’t seen in high esteem but sometimes people on the high end of it can get cocky.
This cockiness can be a cause for the development of an ego in which it doesn’t act as a shield but as a display. A display of how you have achieved what you have achieved and brag about it. All this makes one feel like they are always right and develop an attitude problem. It is a thin line between low or high self-esteem and having an ego. Either end of the spectrum can have ego and cause people around them to be uncomfortable.
The difference is someone with a lower self-esteem will find the thin line between that and ego difficult to identify, whereas, someone who has a higher self-esteem can understand the difference more easily. Which is why there are more people with ego shielding their lack of confidence than the other way around. What we all need is to sit down and self-evaluate and understand ourselves. Low self-esteem can be turned the other way if you stop shielding it with ego. It will be a difficult process but it will be worth it in the end.
Jahnvi