Quote Originally Posted by NatalieD View Post
One thing I've found can help, and that hasn't already been mentioned, is simply doing something that you're good at. The best way is to have a useful, productive job that you do well, but that's not always feasible to arrange. If it's not, you might think about taking up some sort of hobby or craft that interests you and spending enough time on it to do it well.

Being good at something is a surprisingly effective way to not feel good for nothing.

I totally agree, Natalie. Having to fit to others' ideas (parents, schoolmates, authorities, a too narrow-minded church, bureaucrats) of what you should be and what works to do is a surefire way to grinding down your self-esteem, especially when you're actually trying to bring something into the world that hasn't been made a hundred times before. Of course that's not just an "interior" thing, it can be damn much built on making money, getting an education or being able to move to another part of the country and in doing so, being in a position to tell some of those other leeches to keep at a safe distance. But just like Natalie put it, one way of creating that inner space of self-esteem and stability is to pick up something you enjoy doing and which you may not have to see in pro terms if you don't want to. It may be more or less closely wired to your long-term goals, the thing that matters is that you don't have to defend it to others or follow others' rules.

Unfortunately, we live in an age that forces many people to walk around hunching for idiotic reasons.