Is self esteem a flawed, possibly irrelevant and fundamentally unhelpful concept? Why must we all strive for it ( if we don't have it) ? An interesting (if rather long) discussion about self esteem from the smart recovery website:

Say no to self esteem http://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/library/Articles_and_Essays/Self-Acceptance/self_esteem.htm
http://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/library/Articles_and_Essays/Self-Acceptance/self_esteem.htm