Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) argues that putting people on pedestals is a dangerous and invalid thing to do. People do it but it is very unwise to do. It is dangerous because men and women who place themselves on pedestals as “great people” can really go only one place and that is down off the pedestal. They will inevitably error and the fall from grace will lead to tremendous emotional suffering. It is invalid to put people on pedestals as “great people” as this is an overgeneralization and is a distortion. Some people do some great things according to some people’s definition of great. Even when many people agree that someone has done something great (e.g. discover the antidote to a disease) having done that great thing never makes the person who did it anything more or less than what they are human.
Sadly, people too often do not comprehend this point. Because people rate themselves as people, too often people use their limited time on earth trying to prove their worth rather than to enjoy life. Fallible humans can do great things and can do some very bad things. In the end we are nothing more or less than human humans. REBT stands more or less alone in the struggle to teach people not to define themselves as great on the basis of doing anything great. When people do not heed the message of REBT and rate themselves they often feel really bad about themselves because they are not doing well in life. People arbitrarily pick some standard like their income, their body weight, their occupational title, the success of their children, or some other standard. They judge themselves as people against their arbitrary standard and therein is the root of their emotional misery and feelings of inferiority. The emotional misery that comes from self-judgment never helps people find a way to do well in life. Problem solving is rarely enhanced by self-loathing for failure, poor performance or underachievement. Fallible humans will inevitably fail – this is a given. All people will inevitably fail, error, or under achieve in some way and REBT has the emotional solution for such failures, errors, and periods of underachievement. It is unconditional self-acceptance.
Make a vow to rate only your deeds and traits in the context of your personal goals. That sort of rating is helpful. It will help you notice how to change what can be changed and learn from your actions. Stop the rating of your deeds and traits. Do not rate your “self” if you want to not feel emotional misery. Self-rating will undermine your personal happiness. Remember great men are a myth.