The Stewardship of Self

     “…individualism is a cultural system with many advantages. Yet recent culture seems to have crossed the line from individualism to hyperindividualism. For example, the self-focsued phrases are not just individualistic – they’re also, well, wrong. ‘Just be yourself’ sounds like good advice at first, but what if you’re a jerk? What if you’re a serial killer? Maybe you should be someone else. ‘Believe in yourself’ is fine, but ‘anything is possible’? No, it’s not. Expressing yourself, respecting yourself, and being honest with yourself are somewhat tautological but not usually directly harmful. But ‘you have to love yourself first’ has a crucial flaw: people who really love themselves are called narcissists, and they make horrible relationship partners.” – Jean M. Twenge, Generation Me, 65.