Genuine self-esteem is stable, humble, and oriented toward others

Evidence

What do people with genuine and durable self-esteem act like? First of all, they are steady; they score high on self-esteem measures over a long span of time. They don’t claim high self-esteem one day and low self-esteem the next. Barring extreme events such as running a red light and killing someone, this overall positive self-view is not easily shaken and does not wildly fluctuate from day to day. Such people accept change as it comes and don’t spend a lot of time comparing themselves to others. When you meet them, they seem to be emotionally calm and fulfilled, confident but humble, often putting themselves in service to others or to a cause. — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 259

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes genuine durable self-esteem from inflated fragile self-esteem, a key conceptual distinction in this book and in the wider literature.