"You are not what you appear to be in this world. You are greater than the universe itself" ---- Al-Ghazali

What is self-esteem? Self-esteem is like a silent force in our lives, shaping our experiences in ways we often don’t notice. Imagine it as a heavy stone in the water of life an undeniable presence that raises the volume of our life’s potential, expanding our self-worth, shaping how we navigate the currents of experience. It’s something foundational, adding depth and substance to our journey. Or perhaps, it’s a mineral dissolved in water, subtly enhancing life, making it richer, more nourishing, resilient, strong and beneficial. self-esteem infuses every aspect of life—biologically, socially, and psychologically, often invisibly, yet profoundly improving its quality.

Biological, Psychological and Social view

On a biological level, self-esteem supports mental resilience, reducing stress and enhancing overall health by making us value and respect ourselves. Psychologically, it nurtures emotional strength, allowing us to approach life with authenticity and self-assurance. Psychologists define self-esteem as an individual's overall sense of self-worth and confidence—an internal gauge that influences how we see ourselves and engage with the world. Socially, an individual with self esteem never sets anything low, he knows his worth and sets his standards high and meaningful. It empowers us to build meaningful relationships, fostering confidence in our interactions. 

How does it relate to purpose? 

Self-esteem doesn’t emerge in isolation; it takes root in purpose. Aligning our actions with deeper meaning of life, purpose gushes forth like a spring, which becomes an essential resource in life. Its vitality fuels us with the power of drive, strengthens our confidence, nurtures resilience and brings fulfilment in our journey. 

Neuroscience of purpose 

Purpose, a guiding force of life, also acts as a biochemical catalyst in harmonising the mind, spirit, soul and the body for an achievement. It aligns the functioning of Brain neurotransmitters with the purpose of an individual and boosts the level of serotonin, a well-known molecule of happiness. This alignment fine-tunes other molecules such as dopamine and cortisol. Dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for motivation and reward, propels them toward their milestones. Meanwhile, Cortisol, the stress hormone, adjusts in response, ensuring that pressure fuels growth rather than becoming a debilitating force. A real-life example that we see in elite athletes - how they are driven by purpose and experience heightened dopamine spikes after each victory? It is the purpose that is reinforcing their persistence while maintaining serotonin balance to regulate confidence. In this intricate interplay, self-esteem flourishes alongside resilience, determination, and fulfilment, sculpting a personality equipped to thrive. Ultimately, purpose-driven individuals ascend the hierarchy of dominance, carving their place in leadership, influence, and success. They are able to do it not through mere status but through unwavering conviction and mastery of their journey.

 Role and significance in Real life

If we look deep into human psychology, Purpose and self-esteem derive their significance from an emotion, which we call happiness. Happiness is core for purpose and self-esteem, that its presence and absence affect the motivation to live and even to do any single act. No human has ever envisioned life without happiness. We search for it and struggle for it by doing actions we believe to be a source of it. Whatever we perceive as a source of happiness— be it money, reputation, properties, relationship, or salvation to our god, becomes our purpose. Its achievements fill up our lives with happiness and contentment. On the other hand, failure in achieving these perceived sources of happiness can lead to deep despair, sometimes manifesting in depression or extreme hopelessness. 

Lack of purpose and depression 

In 2023, An article published on Dovepress, “purpose orientation and its protective effects on self esteem among chinese depressive patients: A comparative study” which explored difference in purpose orientation between depressive patients and healthy population to examine the relationship between the purpose content and self esteem, i.e., one of the symptoms of depression. The study found that the depressive patients rated less intensely purpose orientations compared to the healthy population. The depressive patients group attached low importance on all purpose orientations. Previous studies found that a lack of purpose predicted an increase in depressive symptoms two months later. In contrast, increased identification with purpose predicted increased life satisfaction and decreased depressive symptoms. The study discusses that it might be explained through the hopelessness and helplessness that individuals suffering from depression feel toward their actual and ideal selves. On the one hand, individuals suffering from depression assume they have no hope of achieving the outcomes others can achieve and have a highly conditioned self-worth. On the other hand, individuals suffering from depression experience more negative effects than the healthy population, have more negative perceptions of themselves, and feel helpless to change. This supports the idea that purpose in life is the basis of personal coherence, an expression of core values and interests. It provides a psychological framework for goal-seeking that can facilitate depressive patients’ coherent understanding of who they are. Additionally, purpose in life may play a protective role in the face of negativity. For example, it has been found that even when experiencing high levels of negative affect, people with high levels of purpose still report high levels of life satisfaction. In a healthy population, however, there is no difference in the extent to which individuals value family well-being, social promotion, and personal growth regardless of self-esteem levels. Individuals with high self-esteem perceive themselves as more entitled to a good life. Thus, only personal well-being was positively associated with self-esteem levels in a healthy population. 

From Self to Society: How Happiness Drives Communal Strength 

The struggle for happiness doesn't stop on the individual, rather, is a gem when done in a group of people collectively. From an individual to community, or even to a nation with shared belief, Happiness has remained the driving force behind purpose. The way to achieve it or balance communal happiness and peace, the society or a religion, sets their principles and we call it societal norms or a religious law. These principles are based on moral, mental, physical and spiritual aspects of life. The community that excels on their principles, achieve success in their inner and as well as outer development and advancement. Every individual lives a sense of purpose in their lives for the contribution towards community or a religion. And in result, high self-esteem, the emotional well-being, healthy relationship and support, hope, focus, confidence and resilience of every individual build up an unwavering communal and religious strength. The community and nation steps higher in dominance of hierarchy in the world. Thus, as individuals cultivate purpose, they fortify their communities, paving the way for societal and national elevation on the global stage.

When individuals find purpose within a community—whether through shared goals, cultural values, or collective support—it strengthens their self-esteem and emotional resilience, reducing feelings of isolation and despair. Studies such as Lippo et al. (2022) conducted a meta-analysis examining the association between self-esteem and suicidal risk. The study show that low self-esteem is a significant risk factor for suicidal ideation and attempts, with meta-analyses confirming that individuals with lower self-esteem are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts. Additionally, research suggests that self-esteem-related interventions can reduce suicidal behaviours with small but measurable effects on suicidal ideation [ Nguyen et al. (2022)]. By fostering a sense of belonging and purpose, communities can play a crucial role in lowering suicide rates and improving overall mental health. 

Self-esteem in men, women and children 

The man and the woman, both have shared responsibilities in their lives supporting each other, their children and collectively to a nation. Woman - a building block of the society, a continuator of progeny plays an active and important role in shaping thought, raising IQ, teaching emotional intelligence, building personality and attributes of her children. Whereas the man provides guidance on the right principles and stability. Together, their shared sense of purpose fosters a balanced self-esteem in children. The courage, discipline, empathy, positive attitude and behaviours are enriched in the children. Therefore, Parents' sense of purpose and their approach to Parenting significantly influence self esteem in children, shaping their confidence, resilience, and emotional well-being. And level of self-esteem rooting from a strong sense of purpose plays a vital role in shaping the psychological development of future generations. 

The Durability of Self-Esteem: Rooted in Temporary or Lifelong Purpose? 

Self-esteem and purpose, both deeply intertwined, originate from a singular core—the emotion of happiness. Every individual envisions a life infused with happiness, striving to preserve its privilege until their last breath. Like an unquenchable thirst, satisfaction is drawn from the spring of purpose, sustaining life itself. However, not all springs flow endlessly, nor do they offer equal fulfillment. Each person finds their own source of sustenance—some choosing smaller, temporary springs, while others seek the vast and enduring ones. With free will as their guide, individuals navigate their journey, some drifting from one spring to another in search of deeper satisfaction, while others commit to a single, boundless source of meaning.

Temporary vs enduring purpose

It is the matter that the enduring spring, a long term purpose maintains the emotional balance and fulfilment & holds the self esteem stable for the major phase of life. Just like An artist refining their craft over years develops unwavering self-worth beyond short-term setbacks. Individual focus boosts the molecule of happiness- serotonin becomes balanced. Hence, self-esteem becomes stable and confidence remains unwavering.

While on the other hand, temporary spring meaning the short term goal offers fulfilment for a short duration and makes an individual empty handed and thirsty after a while. Success of a short term goal gives a quick attainment of fulfilment by releasing dopamine. An individual enjoys achievement on the hand and feels confident over it, but actual fulfilment holds the hand of purpose, once the latter finishes- the former vanishes. The self-esteem of an individual drops in its level and this process repeats with every goal an individual makes and succeeds.

In this way, high and lows of self-esteem also influences the thoughts and social relationship throughout the life. an individual driven by lasting purpose gains respect and influence which builds leadership and climbs up the hierarchy of dominance. It is what makes up individuals like Historical leaders who pursued lifelong missions left legacies beyond their immediate successes. 

Conclusion 

Having the long-term purpose is the first requirement to give meaning to life. It fosters enduring self-esteem and personal growth and prevents hopelessness and despair. In our lives, everyone must ask themselves whether their current purpose sustains them long-term or merely offers fleeting satisfaction. But Where to find enduring spring? The resource to enjoy the privilege of life long spring is hidden in life itself. A phase of low self-esteem is inevitable in the lives of short term goal seekers. The only everlasting purpose is in the question, why did life begin? What is the purpose of our life? Why are we here? And what is after it? Different philosophies answer these metaphysical questions according to their own beliefs. When the purpose is set, we know the worth of work we do and also feel ourselves worthy of it. So whenever we wish for a happy life and happy ending, we should ask what is our enduring spring that can provide us fulfilment till our last breath?

References

Lyu, D., Gai, X., & Zhong, Y. (2023). Purpose orientation and its protective effects on self-esteem among Chinese depressive patients: A comparative study. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 16, 5197–5207. https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S435433

Lippo, F., Madeddu, F., Fornaro, M., & Calati, R. (2022). The association between self-esteem and suicidal risk: A meta-analysis. European Psychiatry, 65(S1), S835. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2022.2162 

Nguyen, T. D., Mitsui, N., Asakura, S., Takanobu, K., Fujii, Y., Toyoshima, K., Kako,Y., & Kusumi, I. (2022). The effectiveness of self-esteem-related interventions inreducing suicidal behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers inPsychiatry, 13, Article 925423. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.92542