I have mixed feelings about #1. On one hand, not good to compare yourself with others in some sort of one-upping contest. However, some people SHOULD look at their lives and compare it to how worse off they could be, and be thankful. (I used to have a friend who did nothing but bitch, and she had it pretty good as far as I was concerned. I often thought that if she had just looked past her own damn nose every once in a while, she would have seen that she had a it pretty good, and been grateful)

Also, usually people who do see that there are others are worse off than they are, feel more grateful for their own situations. It reminds me of an Ellen episode where she was complaining about her ...

I have mixed feelings about #1. On one hand, not good to compare yourself with others in some sort of one-upping contest. However, some people SHOULD look at their lives and compare it to how worse off they could be, and be thankful. (I used to have a friend who did nothing but bitch, and she had it pretty good as far as I was concerned. I often thought that if she had just looked past her own damn nose every once in a while, she would have seen that she had a it pretty good, and been grateful)

Also, usually people who do see that there are others are worse off than they are, feel more grateful for their own situations. It reminds me of an Ellen episode where she was complaining about her CDs or something, and the guy next to her told her he was homeless. Kind of puts things in perspective

Maybe the answer is to do self-inventory , see where you're at in life and if you haven't reached a goal yet, see what actions you can take to improve your lot.

One thing that's helped me in the past is a gratitude journal. Write down 5 things every night that you're grateful for, to see how much you already have. The problem with the platitudes of "I'm wonderful and deserve everything, blah blah blah" is that they are just words, they don't make you stop and really examine who you are (if you are self-absorbed, these platitudes aren't going to help matters - and yes, a person with low-self esteem can be self-absorbed...it can be like the flipside of being conceited), and it's still a focus on yourself. I've found my best growth has come not from telling myself that "I'm okay" but seeing all there is in my life to be thankful for. I'm very interested in psychology, etc -- I'm not just rejecting this stuff out of hand. I've done TONS of self-analysis and soul-searching. I've gotten more results by looking beyond myself and to the world around me.