Article 02 · Resources

Your self-esteem is not a feeling, it is your energy bank

Have you ever wondered why, when you are “feeling low”, even washing the dishes seems like an impossible mountain to climb? Here we will understand that self-esteem is actually the capital of energy you have to live, and how you can start investing it in your favor.

There is a basic law of nature that we share with cells and animals: saving energy. A lion in the jungle sleeps 20 hours a day and only moves if it is hungry or needs to defend itself. Human beings, by contrast, live agitated. Why? Because society installs us in a “structural lack”: it makes us feel that we must continually prove our worth in order to “deserve” to live.

This is where self-esteem comes in. It is not simply “loving yourself a lot”, but works as the energy bank of your mind. It is a position you take toward the world. If your self-confidence “bank account” is high, you allow yourself to spend energy on projects, trips or relationships because you believe you will win. But if your self-esteem is low, your brain goes into extreme “saving mode”.

This is clearly seen in depression, which is nothing other than a great saving of energy in the face of an image of oneself perceived as broken or useless. If you believe nothing you do will turn out well (low predictive self-confidence), your mind takes away your desire to move so as not to “waste” what little you have left. The impact is a flat life, where fear of failure keeps you locked in a “safety zone” that gets smaller and smaller.