Self-Esteem:

Josh Zlatkus:

"For a person to acquire the opposite of anxiety, then—whether we call that confidence, self-esteem, competence, or composure—they must be able to divide the world into threat and non-threat. Otherwise, everything is a potential threat, and there is no justification for ever letting one’s guard down. Meanwhile, a person will feel most confident about the division itself, between safe and dangerous, when it is based on experience."

"Risk’s kryptonite, in other words, is skill. Know-how. A skilled skateboarder goes to the Olympics, but an unskilled one goes to the hospital."

"And as soon as the skateboarder conquers one move, anything that is less difficult will seem manageable, even easy. The same is true for anxiety more generally: those who push the risk envelope perceive more of the world as manageable, even safe."

"Risk, danger, challenge—these are the antidotes to anxiety, not therapy, accommodations, or medication."

"we must recognize that risk is a vital input to our evolved nature. It’s the only thing that allows us to say—this is scary, that is not—with any confidence."

[Josh Zlatkus is a great writer.]