Self-esteem is the experience of being competent to cope…
Page 167. Self-esteem is the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness.
— from Who Is Flying (Self, Nature & Nurture)
In the book
This is why self-esteem is not vanity but airworthiness. Real self-esteem is simply the earned experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life. It is, at bottom, your own deepest and quietest verdict on your own worth — and its root is never your trophies or your applause, but something generated inside you, from how you actually live. — Who Is Flying (Self, Nature & Nurture)