Comf,
I agree that self esteem is an inside job and your points are well taken. Perhaps I could have chosen better words to express what I was trying to say. My thinking was that people draw positive feelings from their accomplishments, the things that they spend their time doing, and so on. A certain amount of our self identity is tied into jobs, family, hobbies, etc, which is why when a person suffers a job loss or goes thru a divorce, they can often find themselves depressed and suffering from lowered confidence in themselves.
Perhaps a better question would be what gives you a measure of pride and personal satisfaction?
Dana