Although Western society has emphasized the importance of high self-esteem, the more important thing may be to have self-compassion, the ability to treat oneself kindly in the face of failure, rejection, defeat and other negative events. |
Negative emotions are often functional. They tell you when things need to change about the environment or yourself. |
The more accurate you are about how others perceive you, the better you fare socially. Think of a person who thinks he's really funny but isn't. He interprets polite laughter as genuine laughter, but everyone is on to him and annoyed by him. |
The paradox about narcissism is that we all have this streak of egotism. Eighty percent of people think they're better than average. |
You filter the cues that you get from others through your self-concept. |