how do you self validate?

I know everyone at least at some point, feels miserable about themselves and who they are. (unless you are narcistic I suppose). So I was wondering...

what do you do to get your feelings up? How do you self validate?
Thought It might be nice to get some ideas flowing.

I personally love this story. I think about it when I feel like everyone just keeps giving me dirt (I'm actually horrible at retelling stuff, so please forgive, the generall gist is pretty)
An ass (aka donkey) fell into a ditch, and couldn't get out. Seeing the depth of the ditch, the farmer assumed he may as well bury the donky as rescue attempts where futile. The donkey panicked, fearing a long painfull death, as the dirt fell around him. He screamed for mercy. In his frenzied attempts to get out, he realised that by shaking the dirt off his shoulders, it would fall to the ground, and by stomping on it, he could raise the ditch's ground level. Soon enough he was standing at a height where he could leave the ditch. Seeing the farmer had turned his back, he promptly bit the farmer as a sign of displeasure at his attempted murder.
The lesson? If someone throws dirt at you, use it as a ladder to reach greater heights. Also don't cover up your a** as it'll soon come back and bite you.

Hi, d0rmancy,
Great story!
Kind of like when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.
When life hands you a pile of $#%^, grow a garden with it.

Nice. Very good analogy.