No Lack of Self Esteem
Ninety-four percent of college professors believe they have above-average teaching skills. A survey of high school students found that 70 percent of them have above-average leadership skills and only 2 percent are below average.
Men tend to be especially blessed with self-esteem. Men are the victims of unintentional drowning more than twice as often as women. That’s because men have tremendous faith in their own swimming ability, especially after they’ve been drinking.
Full article on overconfidence.
Just like Lake Wobegon. Everybody is above average.
That’s American Exceptionalism, we’re exceptionally self delusional “American students no longer perform particularly well in global math tests. But Americans are among the world leaders when it comes to thinking that we are really good at math” The same goes for our health care system, its only exceptional aspect is how its exceptionable expensive.
We are a nation of narcissists.
Ditto Greg.
I have not yet read the article, but perhaps this confidence has an evolutionary value. Perhaps we push ourselves to achieve more because we do not understand that we are only average. After all, the desire is usually more important than the innate skill (which can usually be learned). If we feel above average, the we are more inclined to continue trying, which is what makes us successful in the long run.
Plus, who wants to go through life feeling only average (at best)? It isn’t good for drunk males near large bodies of water, but it might be what helps us in our other achievements.
People are blessed with an over abundance of self-esteem beyond their accomplishments. Yet, in the past couple decades there was an educational fad that assumed school children needed their self-esteem coddled. Purportedly, competitive grades were a downer to one’s self-esteem and a team approach was thought to help kids learn. The idea that self-esteem need not be the result of accomplishments seems to be counterproductive to personal development.