Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Do you have good self-esteem?

  • Do you have good self-control?

  • If you were posed the question as to which of the two is most beneficial and most important

  • for success in life, what kind of response would you give?

  • Let's look first at self-esteem by way of definition.

  • Self-esteem is defined as: "confidence in one's own worth and abilities,"

  • where self-control is "restraint exercised over one's own impulse, emotions or desires."

  • It would seem when one simply looks at the definitions, self-esteem appears as positive

  • while self-control on the surface might come across as negative.

  • A paper titled "The Psychology of Self-Esteem" published by Dr. Nathaniel Branden

  • founder and Executive Director of The Branden Institute for Self-Esteem, strongly supports self-esteem

  • where he states the "feelings about self-esteem were the key to success in life."

  • But today many people are rethinking the value of self-esteem; especially in our school system

  • coming to the conclusion, that what is even more important is self-control.

  • In 2008 the National Post published an article by Barbara Kay on the subject of self-esteem

  • She writes: "The self-esteem movement began in the 1970s,

  • when ideology-inspired social engineering -- the aim to "construct" a happy, confident

  • person -- replaced knowledge-based learning as an educators' mandate."

  • She goes on to say: "These students are the product of a decades-long,

  • therapeutic educational culture in which personal self-esteem is privileged over knowledge,

  • coherence of expression and academic integrity."

  • So through social engineering practice a person would be developed and constructed -- one

  • who is happy and self-confident and that in itself would propel one through life.

  • The idea was to replace the traditional knowledge based learning process of reward for achievement

  • with the thinking that if you just completed the task that was more important than the

  • task itself -- where everyone receives a gold star just for trying or showing up in class

  • and where there are no failures.

  • After all the persons fragile self-esteem was most important,

  • and it needed to be protected and nurtured.

  • At least, that was the thinking of many.

  • Roy Baumeister psychology professor at Florida State University and one of the leading experts,

  • in comparing self-control to self-esteem stated, "Both have been touted as ways to reduce crime,

  • obesity, school underachievement, teen pregnancy, drug abuse etc."

  • He concluded however "that one prescription is snake oil while the other is as close to

  • penicillin as psychology is going to get."

  • His takeaway?: "Forget bolstering self-esteem.

  • Concentrate on building self-control.

  • Self-control is good for the person who has it, for the people around him or her and,

  • in fact, for society as a whole."

  • Dr. Baumeister goes on to say that "Self-control resembles intelligence: It is a powerful benefit

  • across a wide range of circumstances.

  • Whatever you do, you're likely to do it better if you're smart and have good self-control."

  • In contrast, self-esteem overall has proven to be a profound disappointment where many

  • have been persuaded to get off the "self-esteem bandwagon."

  • In one study that was conducted on self-esteem, students who received a C

  • or worse on their midterm exam were selected to receive a weekly

  • "self-esteem boost" for the remainder of the semester.

  • What they discovered was that their grades on the final exam actually went down,

  • since feeling good about themselves led the students to come to the conclusion that they simply

  • didn't need to study and apply themselves as much.

  • Self-control as some might think is not some kind of negative behavior.

  • When self-control is applied in life situations, used wisely and with common sense, it becomes

  • one of the most important and powerful tools for self-improvement and for achieving success.

  • An ancient Proverb written by King Solomon states, "Whoever has no rule over his own

  • spirit is like a city broken down without walls."

  • So for success in life what has shown to be the most important and most effective?

  • Does self-control trump self-esteem?

  • --- many seem to think so!

  • I am Winston Gosse for Tomorrow's World Viewpoint.

  • To subscribe to our channel click here.

  • To access articles, telecasts and booklets from Tomorrow's World visit our website TWCanada.org.

  • Many today struggle with deciding what is right and what is wrong.

  • Morality has come to be viewed as a fluid notion, where what is right for you, may not

  • be right for me.

  • Click here and ask yourself "Am I a good person?"

Do you have good self-esteem?

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it