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Wednesday, December 17. 2008

Maybe I'm not as good as I thought I was...

Cornell Medical Center's Dr. Richard Friedman on the crisis of confidence for financial workers. One quote:

...the relationship between self-esteem and achievement can be circular. Some argue that that the best way to build self-esteem is to tell people at every turn how nice, smart and talented they are.

That is probably a bad idea if you think that self-esteem and recognition should be the result of accomplishment; you feel good about yourself, in part, because you have done something well. On the other hand, it is hard to imagine people taking the first step without first having some basic notion of self-confidence.

Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss in Psychology, and Dr. Bliss at 13:37 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

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Isn't that why we send people to school (or Boot Camp) before starting a career?
#1 NJSoldier on 2008-12-17 14:02 (Reply)
Talk about circular logic. Read carefully - "...tell people at every turn how nice, smart and talented they are." '...at every turn'? Ridiculous.

Yes, self-confidence may be necessary for a 'first step', but other factors work as well - pride, rebellion, genius, knowledge, curiousity, and any thing else that might cause one to search. Recognition causes them to take the second more often than self-confidence causes the first step.
`
#2 Meta on 2008-12-17 19:19 (Reply)
Recognition...

But really, too complicated a subject for 'sound bites'.

Though that is an excellent starter list for 'first steps'. Sound point on motivations for the second. Agree on the order and reasons for that first step though, very much so.
#3 Luther McLeod on 2008-12-17 20:07 (Reply)

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