Too Much Self-Esteem?

Recently, a new study found that today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than ever before. The psychologists who conducted the research blamed the trend, in part, to the fact that the current generation of American parents are constantly telling their children how wonderful they are the whole time they’re growing up.

“We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back,” said lead author Jean Twenge of San Diego State University.

It’s not that we don’t want our children to think that they’re special. It’s just that we give them such an inflated sense of self-worth and we make them think they can accomplish anything and everything that they often feel they don’t even have to try in life. They feel they can do anything without making much of an effort.

And this translates into real life. I define myself as being “cautiously positive.” People who say, “You can do anything you want,” are simply unrealistic. Some things are just not possible. For example, if I thought today I could become an Olympic gold medal swimmer, I’d need a shrink more than I’d need a swimming coach. No matter how many lessons I take, how hard I train, or how many steroids I consume, it’ll never happen.

We all encounter roadblocks, obstacles that block our progress. Some of them are surmountable. But most often, we have options if we remain positive. We can’t all do everything we want. But when we encounter problems, we can walk away, climb over, go around, or go under them. If we keep our focus and momentum intact, we’ll be able to achieve our goals.

by Donald J. Trump
Donald J. Trump is Chairman of Trump University.