You should know that you have been greatly benefited when you have suffered deeply because of some insult or indignity; for by means of the indignity self-esteem has been driven out of you. (Maximos the Confessor)

I recently thumbed through a bookstore copy of The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. Maximos might be their patron saint. I did not buy the book. But just the table of contents had me nodding affirmatively.

Yet we also know those who through significant effort make a substantial contribution and nonetheless feel like a failure. Sometimes we meet them in the mirror.

The issue is wrapped up in what we value and why. Esteem comes from the same Latin root as estimate and means to set a value, typically a price. What gives this life - your life - value? How can we invest for a sustained increase in value?