This is often crucial in childhood trauma—not only do we experience scary, hurtful attacks, but we feel alone, vulnerable, and helpless. This is the low-self-esteem schema, the not-good-enough schema, the one that makes you feel there is something deeply flawed about you. The typical origin of this schema is having highly critical parents, who make you feel that nothing you do is good enough. When you achieve success, you may feel a few brief moments of satisfaction, before the feeling fades and it’s on to the next goal. After a great deal of personal growth, I no longer feel defective or that I need to prove myself.