Emotional instability

Have you ever wondered why are there such vast differences in emotional stability between people?

On one end of the spectrum are people who can remain absolutely calm in the midst of severe adversity.

On the other end of the spectrum are people who can completely lose control over the most miniscule of obstacles.

Is not our ability to handle adversity dependent on our self-confidence?

Why do some people have higher self-confidence than others?

Might it have anything to do with the fashion in which they seek to build their self-esteem?

Many people seem to base their self-esteem on the way in which they are judged by others.

Is it little wonder that people who do this tend to lack emotional stability?

When we choose to do this we effectively make ourselves slaves to everyone.

A single harsh judgment from a single individual can crush us and wreck the foundation of the self-esteem upon which our self-confidence resides.

By contrast, those who base their self-esteem on their ability to live in harmony with their conscience and to live by its judgments tend to be much more stable.

Is this any wonder?

We cannot control the judgments of others.

We can, however, control our behavior so that we will not judge ourselves harshly.

More so, those who base their self-esteem on the judgments of others often act in ways that violate their own conscience.

In so doing they make themselves even more unhappy because our conscience will punish us severely when we act selfishly by seeking to gratify ourselves without concern for the feelings of others.


Is not the path to true inner peace the decision to change who we make our judge?

Does not the path to true happiness lie in choosing to care less about the judgments that others make about us and more about the judgments that we make about ourselves?