High Self-esteem, good or bad?

Taking an online social psychology course these days, I find it very interesting to talk about self-esteem when it comes to self-esteem. Self-esteem is usually translated as self-esteem in Chinese, and the common perception (especially in Western society) has always been High self-esteem is a positive quality that should be cultivated. People with high self-esteem are usually more confident and optimistic, and perform better in all aspects. Education departments and experts have studied some projects to try to improve students' self-esteem by improving self-esteem. Their academic performance even improves problems such as teenage smoking, drinking and drug abuse, but the results are disappointing. Psychologists have found through research that people are actually reversing causality, not because of high self-esteem. performance, but because excellent performance promotes personal high self-esteem.

Anyone who has read a little bit of psychology should know that we generally overestimate our abilities when we make self-evaluations. For example, ask "Do you think your ability to interact with people is above or below average" or " Do you think your risk assessment and prudence are below or above average", most people think they are above average. According to statistics, more than 70% of people think they are Above the average level, this obviously cannot be the truth, and there is a general over-estimating of the public. When we have good results, we usually attribute the reasons to our own personal characteristics, and when bad results appear, we will We will look for external reasons more, such as bad luck and external interference, etc. The long-term accumulation of this self-perception bias will make us have an unrealistic confidence in ourselves.

People with high self-esteem tend to be more serious at over-estimating. They recognize their own abilities and performance, are always optimistic about the development of the situation, and are more firm in their judgments or beliefs. Such people are more Tendency to take risks and be difficult to persuade. In contrast, people with low self-esteem develop more self-doubt, they are more cautious in making decisions, are less risk-averse, and often respond when asked for their opinion is "I'm not sure".

So what about the benefits of high self-esteem? There are two biggest benefits: one is initiative, that is, such people are suitable to lead a group or initiate certain activities, their optimism and self-confidence can make others follow them, and they are more Have an innovative spirit, after all, many new ideas and new technologies appear under the condition of willingness to take risks. The second is happiness. There is no doubt that people with high self-esteem have high self-confidence and self-affirmation because they are more optimistic about the situation , they generally feel happier and happier than people with low self-esteem in life and work.

Most people are between extreme high self-esteem and extreme low self-esteem. The ideal situation is of course to maintain a moderate amount of optimism and self-confidence, but not to overestimate yourself. A book I read recently <Thinking, Fast In and slow>, the author classifies the human way of thinking as the operation of two systems, System 1 relies on emotion and experience to make judgments quickly, and System 2 is responsible for prudent analysis and reasoning before reaching conclusions. Unfortunately, System 2 does not So diligent, when we encounter a complex problem that needs to be judged, system 1 will automatically find a relatively simple and familiar problem to replace, such as asking "how do you think this company will operate in the future?" Many people will replace it with "Impressions of the company's products or management". The latter is a question that the brain is familiar with and can easily give an answer to, and after answering it because the process is easy and not uncomfortable, the answer becomes the answer to the complex question, System 2 did not participate at all. Therefore, in many cases, showing ease and self-confidence does not mean that the judgments and decisions given are accurate. This is in the face of professionals with high self-esteem - confident and unquestionable , you need to be extra careful.