The Price of Personal Worth (Part 1)

So what is your value set at? What determines that worth? Who can change those factors?...

Well, if you're like me, you don't really have an easy answer to those questions. And your answers may change depending on who is asking: your pastor during a group meeting, a potential boss at your interview, your bestfriend on late night phone conversation.
So what comes up when you reach deep down inside and fish around for the most honest answer?...hopefully more than just a handfull of worn inspirational cliches. "Just believe in yourself" "You can be anyone you want to be" "Everyone is special" "Be the best you you can be" "No one take away your dignity" "Follow your heart and you can achieve miracles"

Ok, well most of those sayings are derrived from advertisments or movies with agendas for receiving funding. And it worked. Around the late 80s and 90s popular educational psychology begin to place the blame of poor scholastic achievment and behavioral issues on low self-esteem. So public schools got to be the testing grounds of required programs aimed at increasing childrens self-esteem. And consequently childrens media programs also received the face lift. There are good results, like greater cultural awareness and acceptance, also more opportunites for disabled children to interact in equal environments...and ofcourse, the value of affirmative words as motivators.
But did it accomplish all that was hoped?
...More on that coming up.

The self-esteem era wasn't limited to children. I'm sure you can remember the positive self-talk tapes. Daily pop in the tape and repeat after the soothing confident voice that you are a valueable and unique person who can do anything! (And in the likely case you fell asleep, even better!...because your "subconcious" was the one who needed to hear it the most anyway.) A rash of books broke out pronouncing the "7 highly effective characteristics of ..." just about whatever classification a person can fall into.  And in those lists, self worth was vital to success.
(Find yourself not succeeding, buy our tape!)

So what about the self-esteem generation? Are we now composed of mainly highly effective people who accomplish whatever we set our heart on?
Hmmm...part no, part yes.

What have we set our heart on? What is the price?
And are we really in possession of our value?

(End of part 1...turn over the tape to continue)