Reality, Self-Esteem, and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Reality and Self-esteem
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs postulates that people have different needs and must be satisfied in chronological order. At the bottom of the pyramid, needs must be fulfilled before fulfilling those needs at the top of the pyramid. As such, immediately the lower needs are met, another set of needs arises until self-actualization is attained. Self-esteem is the critical need before self-actualization. Self-esteem refers to an individual’s overall subjective sense of personal value or worth. One’s self-esteem is best defined by factors such as identity, feeling of competence, sense of belonging, feeling of security, and self-confidence. People with positive self-esteem are more committed to their principles and values, and when opposed, they portray confidence and stability. With positive self-esteem, one grows without worrying about life’s uncertainties. However, we live in a world that is advancing technologically and slowly threatening our self-esteem both positively and negatively. According to Jean Twenge in his book "An Army of One: Me," people have become so much intrigued with self-esteem to the extent that boosting self-esteem even among children has become the norm. Factors of "reality," including life experiences, health, thoughts, social circumstances, impact individuals' "self-esteem," leading to either actions or inaction that may promote resilience or estrangement of the self.
One’s childhood environment, society, the media, and people in their life can add or take away from how they feel about themselves. Jean Twenge writes how today's kids are being raised wrong with their education being structured to foster false self-esteem. In her essay, “An Army of One: Me," Jean Twenge states that "some schools and teachers don't correct children's mistakes, afraid that this will damage children's self-esteem" (Twenge 493). For Twenge, correcting mistakes does not damage self-esteem but increases self-confidence if approached the right way. The endless effort of teaching self-esteem does not prepare students for real-world challenges. Positive and negative challenges are key in enhancing self-esteem. It allows students to realize that failure is also a possibility and always okay to fail. Gilbert argues that "for the positive view to becoming credible, they ought to be based on facts that we believe we have come upon honestly” (Gilbert 144). People value the reasons that come with compliments or critiques they receive. As such, if children are told they are special without any reason, they grow unprepared for the hardships of life. The curriculum must be designed to expose children to both positives and negatives as this would allow them to cope with reality, now and even in the future. Jia Tolentino hates the fact that media has been used to manipulate women and control them. She states that “everything about this woman has been preemptively controlled to the point that she can afford the impression of spontaneity and, more important, the sensation of it – having worked to rid her life of artificial obstacles, she often feels legitimately carefree” (Tolentino 64). The image pursued has controlled everything in women, including their time, decisions, ...