The Everything Guide to Self-Esteem: Build Your Confidence, Set Goals that Work, and Learn to Love Yourself

by Nanette Burton Mongelluzzo (Unknown)

Self-esteem is what gives us the confidence to succeed at work, take chances in love, and find personal happiness each day. Yet, millions of people suffer from some form of low self-esteem. Now, you can reverse the effects of low self-esteem and take charge of your feelings with this guide! This objective and compassionate resource will boost your confidence, help you achieve inner strength, and show you how to: Recognize your own detrimental behaviors. Set reasonable and challenging goals that work. Build confidence at home and in the workplace. Identify and eliminate "difficult" people who bring only negativity. Take positive risks and find happiness in all areas of life. Use simple, interactive activities to put things in perspective. Complete with an exclusive section on the benefits of relaxation and wellness for self-esteem, plus a CD of soothing, guided meditations, this guide is your essential resource for realizing a healthier, happier life!

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2011

Reviews

[Zach de Walsingham · Rating 1 out of 5]

-Grammar may be incorrect-

I refused to finish this book just over halfway through, and I normally never do this. I'm still going to seek out books on mental health and self-esteem, but a couple of comments by the author in this one rubbed me the wrong way.

As an example, one of the comments made was that a healthy self-esteem involves having the same standard for yourself as for other people (the idea of being forgiving to your own failure), okay, sure, I'm down. But then the author gives an example of unhealthy double standards as 'Why is it not okay for you as an individual to murder someone who made you angry but it is okay for the United States Government to drop bombs on people in the Middle East?'

This was written during the Bush administration and while I don't care if she personally opposed the war, this is highly unprofessional. My time in the Army and having served with Iraq and Afghanistan vets who have PTSD and having lost several of my friends to suicide, the last thing I or they want to hear is an author trying to push her views on the war when we are trying to build someone up.

The second thing that made me stop reading altogether was when we got to the section on "Spiritual wellness", she said spiritual wellness does not involve 'organized religion or dogmas that a Church or other organization tries to push' but involves a feeling of spiritual connectedness to the world and she gave an example of Buddhism and meditation exercises. This totally ignores and puts down other traditions such as Quaker 'holy silence' and 'contemplative prayer' of Catholics.

As a disclaimer I will say I taught professional wellness and resiliency classes to Correctional staff for the State of Texas for about a year and a half. I never advocated for such a one sided approach in my role as a secular instructor. I will now go seek out a better self-esteem book elsewhere.

[Dan Stern]

"I couldn't put it down." I usually reserve that compliment for fiction, when a story grips me enough to keep me up until the wee hours turning pages. But this nonfiction work has that same "I gotta know more" appeal. It is packed from front to back with useful information, engaging human stories, and commonsense advice that kept me moving easily and eagerly from one topic to another. Mongelluzzo is a psychotherapist of many years' experience, and her deep knowledge shows on every page. She has helped all sorts of people with their life issues (in general) and their self-esteem issues (in particular), so she knows what thoughts plague us and what actions we need to take to move forward in life. Her advice is never condescending, never patronizing; instead, she looks at psychological problems with a level of understanding and wisdom that few authors in this field can master. The book provides information that clarifies, theory that explains, and lessons that enlighten. Obviously, this book will prove valuable to those who suspect their self-esteem may be low, but I recommend it for everyone. Who doesn't need to set a goal, right a wrong, or manage a difficult friend or relative? Mongelluzzo offers solutions to those problems and more in this wonderfully readable book.