What follows is the toughest part for understanding this series: When one’s self-image makes one like oneself, why isn’t that self-esteem?
Self-image
We like and appreciate ourselves daily. Some victory, accomplishment, or memory generates feelings of elation and appreciation for whom and what we are. We temporarily have a good picture of ourselves.
We also dislike and feel bad about ourselves daily. Some incident or memory triggers feelings of dissatisfaction, doubt, and guilt about whom and what we are. We temporarily have a negative image of ourselves, and we’re glad when it doesn’t develop into a picture viewable by others.
Both the daily ups and downs are temporary and based on our conscious thoughts. They remain part of our self-image; they’re merely several of the pixels* that light up or dim when cued by an incident or memory.
Our current self-image includes the ups and downs of daily life; they’re temporary and easily changed. In fact they’re as changeable as the various environments we pass through each day: work, mealtime, travel, home, entertainment, relaxation, waking up in the morning.
We work diligently to make ourselves feel good about ourselves. We primarily do it with accomplishments (males), associations (females), and lessons learned. That is, we work constantly to generate a better picture of ourselves in our mind’s eye. Self-image develops throughout life.
Self-esteem
Self-esteem, on the other hand, is already developed and operates in background. It’s the subliminal super-opinion one has of Self that the daily ups and downs of self-image don’t change.
Perhaps you love yourself regardless of what happens. Perhaps you hate yourself regardless. Or, more likely, you’re somewhere in between and neither hate nor love yourself. But you have a definite sense of your overall worth as a person—e.g., good, adequate, inadequate, bad, average, better than acceptable. It’s yours for life, because your brain was wired that way in infancy.
This sense of one’s worth in and to the world doesn’t change, but it can be replaced by a new super-opinion of yourself. Committing one’s life to Jesus Christ immediately smothers one’s faults, defects, and demons with a soothing blanket of His love. Living such a life heals the discomforts of self-loathing and even self-hatred.
Self-interest
Self-interest concludes this series tomorrow with #732. An examination of wrongheadedness about self-esteem follows with 734 – Adult Mistakes due to post Saturday am.
* Pixel: A tiny dot of light that is the basic unit from which computer and TV screens are made and pictures built.
