A deep sense of
competence and
appropriateness to one's own life. Not the same thing as
happiness, but a
necessary condition for happiness. Often very
talented and
intelligent people suffer from low self esteem.
Self esteem is not having lots of money, nice clothes, breast implants, a trophy wife or an overinflated ego. You don't get it from others, although others can damage it, especially when you're a child.