Part 2: When Power Leaves, What Remains?Power vs Self-Worth: The Fatal ConfusionOne of the most destructive confusions in modern life is mistaking power for self-worth.Power is external.Self-worth is internal.Yet society relentlessly blurs this boundary. From early life, people are rewarded not for who they are, but for what they control—marks, money, followers, authority, influence. Gradually, self-worth becomes outsourced. It is no
Part 2: When Power Leaves, What Remains? Power vs Self-Worth: The Fatal Confusion One of the most destructive confusions in modern life is mistaking power for self-worth. Power is external. Self-worth is internal. Yet society relentlessly blurs this boundary. From early life, people are rewarded not for who they are, but for what they control—marks, money, followers, authority, influence. Gradually, self-worth becomes outsourced. It is no longer something felt; it is something measured. When power rises, self-worth inflates. When power falls, self-worth collapses. This is why losing power feels existential. It is not the loss of influence that hurts most—it is the loss of permission to feel valuable. Why Society Is Cruel to the Powerless Society does not merely ignore the powerless; it often punishes them. The powerless remind others of fragility, and fragility terrifies people who have built their identity on control. So weakness is mocked, sidelined, moralized, and blamed...