The Politics of Self-Esteem
As I was watching the democratic convention last week I was struck by the wisdom of mother's! Now honestly, I am not trying to further any political agenda as I focus on the words of Joe Biden as he quoted his mother several times in his acceptance speech.
My favorite quote was, "My mother's creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. Everyone is your equal, and everyone is equal to you."
For those of you who struggle with low self-esteem this is an exceptional mantra when negative irrational thoughts sneak in and take hold. When a negative self-statement manifests it's imperative to have some kind of ammunition at the ready to fight back.
Let me give you an example: Recently, my partner and I were invited to a dinner. It was supposed to be a social gathering but many there were work colleagues who were vying to be noticed by their superiors. So my partner and I not being superiors were left in the dust as people scrambled to get the "best" seat. Now fortunately, we had each other as it would have been much harder in that environment alone.
And afterwards, we looked at each other and said, "No one is better than us. Everyone is our equal, and everyone is equal to us!" And suddenly, we felt better and it was a good lesson for both of us as the words of another famous political figure came to mind. "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission," Eleanor Roosevelt.
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Thank you very much as I needed to hear that about equality. I have BP and now on peritoneal dialysis due to a med I took over 20 years ago causing liver and kidney damage. Being in the privacy of my home, doing PD is much nicer than traveling to a center for treatment. This is a very interesting site.
By dovelady September 27, 2008 5:44pm
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hows that working out for ya, crikey? my lack of corpus collosum must not give me the insight as to how you could protect anything that way.
By J4A September 11, 2008 8:30pm
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We have to thank our corpus collosum. It allows women to think with both sides of the brain at the same time. It would seem to allow greater multi-tasking, insight, among other things. Anatomically, men have more long stringy "white matter" dividing the brain, which tends to allow thinking on one side or the other at any given time. I use this when confronted with hostility from a man: "Oh that's right you can only think with one side of your brain at a time." This may be different in gay men. Further research required. But it's attributed to a survival necessity of women as child-rearers and protectors, etc., all these years. Just more useless knowledge from the Queen of Minutiae.
By Crikey September 11, 2008 2:52pm
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well said, wendy53.
the ammunition to fight back are these mantras?
By J4A September 9, 2008 10:52pm
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I don't believe in the saying "no one can make you feel inferior without your permission." Alot of people in the world are mean and think they can step on you because of their job. Just because someone has a job doesn't make them a better person than one without. I've seen how jobs rob people of their patience and respect. They are great at their jobs but rude to people at home or with co workers. People can beat down another person mentally, and if you were raised with no emotional support it is hard to feel like you deserve better. Don't tell me you can't feel bad without your own permission.
By wendy53 September 9, 2008 10:10pm
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We are all equal, even when we are in the back :).
I don't like the stress of rushing to be first, it takes the fun out of the moment. We just go with it, and see it takes us. Sometimes we end up in the front, and sometimes in the back, but either way we have always gotten something out of where we were. It's kind of like life, where when you let go of your control, great things happen. Often times we wind up with the best seats in the house, and we don't even try! One recent example was when my daughter attended a live event. She was at the end of the line. When the stadium became full, she was place in their extra seats, front and center in the first row. : )
By rewind September 7, 2008 1:15pm
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yes, hoops, i meant that literally.
take the bad seats at the company dinner because were all equal. don't let it bother you, you know theyre no better than you. kim jong-il is equal to his people, right?
whoops! my leer jet is here. im important.
By J4A September 3, 2008 6:34pm
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While I agree that politics are full of it I'm more than a little shocked at the blatant rudeness of the first comment on here.
"your colleagues played the game, got the promotion, and bought that new benz-o. you and your partner enjoyed a clever saying together. then your colleagues became your superiors, and you got your pink slip. i think jimmy carter has a quote about that. the end."
I guess Eleanor Roosevelt didn't amount to much or accomplish much in her life time either. Being the first woman representative to the U.N. is nothing. It doesn't look to me like her philosophy was that much of a hinderance her ability to succeed in life.
Then there's also the question, do you really want to base your self worth on how much money you make and whether or not you buy an expensive car? The problem with this is that there is always someone with more and you will never be satisfied. You can't fill the emptiness you will ultimately face inside when you treat those around you like they are inferior by accumulating stuff on the outside to make yourself look important.
By hoops September 3, 2008 2:52pm
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sure joe, except you get better seats at the theatre, sporting events and eating establishments. that doesnt seem quite equal to me. politicians are full of it, plain and simple.
By straybluedog September 3, 2008 6:51am
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Thankyou, I so enjoy reading everythink you can give for me to read.positive affimations I feel is the only way to override all the negatives that are and have been thrown our way.
By gruesomegull September 1, 2008 11:28pm
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continued... your colleagues played the game, got the promotion, and bought that new benz-o. you and your partner enjoyed a clever saying together. then your colleagues became your superiors, and you got your pink slip. i think jimmy carter has a quote about that. the end.
By J4A September 1, 2008 11:22pm