Is It Possible?
I was wondering if it's even possible for a person to have really really grotesquely high self-esteem - sincerely, I mean. I feel like our natural response to someone who's really full of himself or herself is that he or she is compensating for some insecurity - in effect, that the person has low self-esteem. But now I'm wondering if the opposite could be true. If so, what would high self-esteem look like? Would it manifest itself in the same way as low self-esteem, such that we would be able to confuse them? Or does it look completely different, such that I haven't even learned how to recognize it yet?
On the other hand, I do find it doubtful that a person could have no insecurities.
On the other hand, I do find it doubtful that a person could have no insecurities.
posted by Rex at 6:06 PM
3 Comments:
I hear a love of Jeff Buckley is a sign of unusually high self-esteem. But it could be a rumor, I'm usually wrong.
Unless you're being flip (I can't tell sarcasm in writing) this theory makes a lot more sense than the Jeff Buckley = depressing. I had a hunch that high self-esteem would probably be manifest in the person's not talking about himself or herself, somehow. It would also explain why the Jeff Buckley fan is not attracted to the off-beat girl.
On the other hand, my two encounters with the Jeff Buckley fans were striking because of their uncanny resemblance to the Morrissey fans; ie, instead of saying, I like so and so and so and so and Jeff Buckley, they immediately announced "Jeff Buckley!" like it was a way of life. And if there's one thing I know about Morrissey fans, it's that they're very insecure...
Although I suppose this doesn't preclude them from also being arrogant bastards. Morrissey fans can be contradictory.
I doubt that's it's possible for a non-mentally ill person to have complete self-esteem without any insecurities or self-doubt. In fact, I'd say that a truly emotionally mature adult is a person who understands his or her insecurities and knows how to manage them. There are some manifestations of mental illness that have outward symptoms of grotesquely high self-esteem - megalomania, narcicisstic personality disorder, psychopathy, etc. However, those disorders (usually?) have a strong internal low self-esteem component that acts as a motivation for the behavior.
(Disclaimer: Not a psychologist, etc.)
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