You Are Not Special
Why?
Why praising everyone backfired
Why did telling everyone they're brilliant make people worse off?
Quick check · tap an answer to continue
Lesson notes
Explain how the self-esteem movement separated feeling good about yourself from what you actually did
Key points
- Because the self-esteem movement pushed people to feel good about themselves regardless of what they actually achieved or did.
- Because unconditional positivity, like a student called brilliant every term whether they studied or skipped lectures, cuts praise loose from effort.
- Because once feeling good needs no action, people start expecting good outcomes they never worked for, which Manson calls entitlement.
Definitions
- Self-esteem movement
- Push to make people feel good about themselves regardless of what they achieved or did
Takeaway: So Manson attacks worth without action, not self-worth itself.
Quick check: What exactly does Manson criticise about the self-esteem movement?
- Feeling good about yourself at…
- Worth detached from what you do
- Praise from lecturers
He opposes self-worth cut loose from action and reality, not self-worth itself.
self-esteem movementunconditional positivitySelf-esteem movementUnconditional positivityEntitlement
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