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Self-worth

why do I feel empty after success

Self-worth is the value you assign yourself independently of performance. Where it is contingent on achievement, every setback becomes an identity threat, which is why high achievers can carry unusually fragile self-worth.

What to do about it

Separate the scoreboard from the person reading it.

How people say it

Nobody looks this up by its clinical name. These are the ways it actually gets said.

  • I feel worthless
  • my value depends on what I achieve
  • I am only as good as my last win
  • why do I feel empty after success
  • tying my worth to my job
  • I never feel good enough
  • self esteem vs self worth
  • I hate myself when I fail

Written by Brian Spiker, who has run Spiker Carpet and Tile Care since 2013 — the receipts. More terms in the encyclopedia.

About the author

Brian Spiker has run Spiker Carpet and Tile Care since 2013 — a real service business with real customers, real Google reviews, and 13 years of work most self-help authors will never do.

He writes the way operators talk: brutal, funny, and built from work that actually has to get done. Verify everything at spikercarpetandtilecare.com.