Why we should teach our teens to be self-compassionate rather than focus on their self-esteem

This article is a more digestible summary of a chapter from the book ‘Character Strength Development: Perspectives from Positive Psychology’ I co-authored this chapter along with Prof. Salome Divya Vijaykumar, Ranjitha Kumar, Avneet Kaur, Vibha Bhat, and Ritu Verma.

Photo by jurien huggins on Unsplash

“In the face of failure and threat, what defines us as individuals is not the misfortune itself, but how we overcome threats to develop traits of love, empathy, and resilience.” — Excerpt from Character Strength Development: Perspectives from Positive Psychology

Multiple studies on positive psychology and personality psychology confirm that adolescents represent the most vulnerable of populations when it comes to resilience and self-image. In this regard, one of the more popular terms from social and positive psychology that has trickled down to common vernacular is self-esteem. While you would probably relate higher self-esteem with a better self-image and a much higher overall sense of wellbeing, this may prove to be a misconception according to positive psychology. Self-esteem is highly dependent on how an individual views…