Warning: The following message may hurt your self-esteem.

Throughout school I was always bombarded with incessant encouragement to partake in inane tasks. I sometimes wondered why climbing a wall, ringing hand bells, or team-building in the wilderness were more important than independent thought and academic endeavors. How foolish I was--of course, these childhood games that were forced upon all of us--endless meaningless activities--were all a matter of developing our little self-esteems! I never figured I had a case of the melancholies, yet it was imperative that I foster a strong sense of self by being like everybody else.

Ironically, efforts to encourage self-esteem in little children have been a giant waste of potential, concludes Margaret Wente:

For a long time, people thought that kids who felt good about themselves would get higher grades. They don't. They only feel entitled to them. Nor do they commit fewer crimes, smoke less, do less drugs, or have less of what we might call inappropriate sex.

. . ."People who have elevated or inflated views of themselves tend to alienate others," wrote social psychologist Roy Baumeister, who used to believe in the importance of instilling self-esteem, until he reviewed all the research.

It should come as no surprise that studies show bullies and blowhards have an elevated sense of self. We must stop reassuring ourselves with the delusion that people we find disdainfully egotistical have deep insecurities. One is pompous as a result of an inflated sense of self, not a lack of it. It is imperative we correct the misconception that pride is something to be lauded and encouraged through meaningless games. The most you can expect from a population that values dodge ball over humility and critical thought is a herd of jingoes--a dictators dream.

So today you might call me the federal reserve of humility. I am forced to use deflationary measures on this countries inflated sense of self. Here are a couple of videos that might help by hurting just a little: