Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Transformation

by Nathaniel Branden

Self-concept is destiny

What is the most important judgement you will ever make? The judgement you pass on yourself. Self-esteem is the key to success or failure.

"Tell me how a person judges his or her self-esteem," says pioneering psychologist Nathaniel Branden, "and I will tell you how that person operates at work, in love, in sex, in parenting, in every important aspect of existence—and how high he or she is likely to rise.  The reputation you have with yourself—your self-esteem—is the single most important factor for a fulfilling life."

• How to grow in self-confidence and self-respect.
• How to nurture self-esteem in children.
• How to break free of guilt and fear of others' disapproval.
• How to honor the self—the ethics of rational self-interest.

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Philosophy, Self Esteem, Audiobook

266 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Nathaniel Branden was a Canadian–American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem. A former associate and romantic partner of Ayn Rand, Branden also played a prominent role in the 1960s in promoting Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. Rand and Branden split acrimoniously in 1968, after which Branden focused on developing his own psychological theories and modes of therapy.

Reviews

[Lisa Romano · Rating 5 out of 5]

I began reading this book just as my marriage began to unwind. Lost beneath the detail consuming codependent life my existence had become, some days it was difficult to get out of bed in the morning, knowing I had yet but one more day of agonizing nothingness to look forward to.

This book, was one I would crawl into bed with late at night, with the hopes that something I found on the pages before me would in some way be able to heal my breaking heart.

I am happy to say it not only helped heal my heart--but it also helped me wash my brain.

Branden's work is uncanny. His deep understandings of humanness coupled with his professional experience, makes his work real and easy to digest.

Honoring the Self truly is a book that has the ability to transform the way someone sees 'self'--but only if that being is willing to think beyond the dynamics that caused his/her issues to begin with.

In the end Branden is an author who believes his readers need to take accountability for their own happiness through learning to cultivate reliance on self...and this self-help author herself fully agrees...

Namaste...

[Sanjay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly, a life changing book.

[Ivan]

This guy was Ayn Rand's boy toy for a few years. Here's my favorite quote from the book so far:

"...consider a middle-aged woman whose sense of personal value is crucially dependent on the image of herself as a glamorous, youthful beauty and who therefore perceives every wrinkle on her face as a metaphysical threat to her identity. She plunges into a series of sexual relationships with men more than twenty years her junior, rationalizing each relationship as a grand passion, avoiding the characters and motives of the young men involved, repressing the humiliation she feels in the company of her friends. She constantly seeks the reassurance of fresh admiration, running faster and faster from the haunting, relentless pursuer, which is her own emptiness."

Take than, Rosenbaum.

Awesome.

[John Jacobi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid nuggets of wisdom, and some garbage. Branden brings a unique perspective to the issue of self. I agree with the paramount nature of self esteem and it's effects on our lives. I was a bit frustrated at Branden's misunderstanding of the principle of selflessness as applied in a religious and spiritual sense. He seems to miss the point of the issue and completely misses the fact that one of the most effective paths to self esteem is to do something for someone else, with no return expected. Luckily his ranting was only confined to the last few chapters.

[daemyra, the realm's delight · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initial thoughts. Will come back to this review.

I only read this because Jean Shinoda Bolen quoted from it in her goddess book, and I liked the title and quote enough to get this on a whim. While Bolen has criticisms, it was my bad to not know that this author was not only a disciple of Ayn Rand but also her younger boy-toy extra-marital lover. The affair doesn't matter so much as being a follower of her libertarian thinking, I just thought it was an interesting piece of gossip.

The first few chapters are very compelling, and I liked seeing the different answers for his finish this sentence exercises throughout the book, but it quickly became clear the author's biases for libertarian nonsense with Freudian undertones were obvious and blatant. I absolutely need to quote this "treatment" he prescribed for a female patient. My eyes popped. It sounded like some treatment the non-con doctor hero to a hysterical woman in those dark romances that I read.

Hyper individualistic and independent. Nathaniel Branden's arguments weaken when he tries to justify the pursuit of our personal autonomy above all. Maybe community can be supportive and loving. Maybe they are right. Maybe we need to figure out how to deal with conflict with each other.

Do not recommend if you're looking to learn and be inspired. May be worth skimming if you're interested in libertarian research perhaps.

[roxana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best self-help book I've read so far, looking forward to reading "Six pillars of self-esteem".

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the parts about self esteem were brilliant and I was going to give it a 5. That changed, when he made the leap from self esteem and honoring the self to libertarianism. I could not make that leap. It was the same oversimplified arguments we hear from that camp - government should protect us from criminals, protect us from foreign invaders, protect property rights, but otherwise leave us alone (I’m paraphrasing). Ok, fair. Let’s define criminal and what protecting us from them might look like. Are the drug company executives who knowingly pushed opioids criminals? I say yes. Would protecting us, perhaps, look kinda like the FDA? Set aside whether they actually do a good job - that’s a different discussion. Anyway, using this example, if one accepts those folks are criminals, and it’s the government’s job to protect us from them, it probably follows there’s some agency tasked with overseeing them and a bunch of laws regarding what is not OK. Seems to me that would curb some peoples ability to be left alone and curb laissez faire capitalism. That’s just one example but I could come up with others. Anyway I give it 3 because it starts out brilliant but the political leap doesn’t hold up to me

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was all set to give this book a 5 star review based on some really fascinating ideas about self-esteem, but good lord does he go off the rails over the last ~1/5th of the book. Miss me with the outdated defense of Ayn Randian capitalism and forced political extrapolations of the importance of self-esteem...

[Marika · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last part of the book, where Branden dives into political waters is, in my opinion,
completely unnecessary and hardly relevant to the topic (not to mention that I disagree with his views almost entirely). That being said, it is the first book in three years that I've given 5 star rating. Contrary to many other bubbly self-help publications, Honoring the Self is extremely direct and clear in the message it conveys. There is a tremendous insight and inspiration in almost every chapter and I strongly believe it is one of those books that has potential to actually change one's life or, at the very least, propel them on the path of self-discovery.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t do many books reviews. It took me six months to get through this. I read it in spurts, trying to digest the ideas brought forward. This book is a difficult read, not because it’s boring but because it’s important. Each sentence is so informative that I found myself re-reading often so I could fully understand the message. There is so much insight here. A definite must for anyone trying to become their best self. I will definitely be reading it again with a different coloured highlighter!

[Noor Alhuda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of it provoked important self questioning and reflection; some of it I found confusing, particularly what he had to say about capitalism. Given that he was a student and close friend of Ayn Rand, I'm not surprised.

Things I didn't like: It's mostly in the last two chapters that he makes a case for laissez-faire capitalism as simply a "complete separation of state and economics." He argues that laissez-faire capitalism is "not government control of economics for the benefit of businesspersons," naming libertarianism as the "political principle" of this economic system and volunteerism the "moral principle." In the next paragraph, he declares the US system to be the one that has "implemented the principle of capitalism [...] to the greatest extent." And yet we all know that the US government does act and regulate and bail out for the benefit of corporations and their heads. I like the concept of volunteerism and do not see it as compatible with capitalism, at least not as it is practiced. Volunteerism is the principle that "no person or group of persons may seek to gain values from others by the use of physical force." (228) This is an ideal to strive for. I can't say that I feel that way about capitalism, which, again, as practiced, seems to require coercion in the pursuit and accumulation of capital by (neo)colonizers. Wars, enslavement, theft of natural resources and the poisoning of our environment, I'd say, are imposing/coercive, on groups and individuals alike. Branden's arguments for individual rights on the intra and inter personal levels makes sense to me; how and why he took this argument to advocate for capitalism and libertarianism is beyond me.

Things I did like:

The way he distinguishes moral development from cognitive development, arguing that they are on two different tracks.

The argument that an underdeveloped consciousness is not only bad news for us, it is also bad news for our loved one and those we spend our time with, such as co-workers; it is they who "are left to absorb the consequences." (126)

As an elaboration on this in a separate chapter: "the point is not that the individual loses the ability of experience emotion but that the emotion often tends to become muted, diluted, trivialized. Emotional life tends to be distorted; surface feelings defend against and conceal deep feelings, misleading both self and others." (145)

He talks about the fear of death and the fear of life. One quote re: fear of life as protection from the self and consciousness: "if I refuse to live fully, I cannot die." (135)
Also re: fear "...we remain prisoners of that which we do not confront." (148)

"When the price of harmony with others becomes the surrender of our mind, an autonomous individual chooses not to pay it." (135)

And what I interpret to be a reference to psychosomatic experiences: "that which is denied by the mind is trapped within the body." (151)

Favorite chapter is for sure The Art of Being and what he has to say about selflessness and selfishness in love and romantic partnerships.

[Rosie Rinpoche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess this book could be about building your self esteem, but I think this book is the best book anyone could ever read...
It is mostly about human behavior and how to take control of your life again....
THIS IS MY NUMBER ONE FAVORITE BOOK!!!!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was really good but the last two chapters got very political and I don't feel they had much to do with self-esteem at all. It sounds more like he was really trying to defend his thoughts on psychology and prove he was right about things.

[Rudyard L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

God. Self help books are such bullshit

[Efthimios Nasiopoulos]

I am grateful for any gift of knowledge.

There is really only one passage in this book that really sums up the journey of the self and that is:

“Creativity and psychological-spiritual growth have this in common: both require times of aloneness, of silence, of meditation or contemplation, so that the inner signals can be heard and allowed to reach explicit awareness, so that the subconscious can become conscious, the bodily becomes mental, the disowned becomes owned, so that the life-force can continue propelling us toward higher levels of self-actualization” -pg 156

The problem is this paragraph sums up the ideas from dozens of books written by someone else; Carl Jung. His whole life work is on making the unconscious conscious of making oneself whole.

Part 2 of this book is called The Struggle of Individuation and the term Individuation in psychology is from Carl Jung. The sentence completion test comes from the word association test originated in psychology from Carl Jung, yet there is not one citation in the bibliography giving credit to one book written by Carl Jung himself. not one. Even terms such as sub-selfs is rooted in ‘archetypes’ and their correlating complexes.

There is a chapter called the problem of Self-alienation which focuses on the mind body connection, yet the author will not give any credit to any Eastern philosophy whatsoever. Perhaps because of his pro-capitalist self-interested stance and Ayn Randian objectivism.

There is so much depth in Jung, Piaget, Freud, Horney, William James and Maslow. Nathan Branden borrows from the best and yet sparingly gives credit to a few while avoiding his biggest influence.

Objectivism posits that reason is the ultimate truth and at one point I would have agreed. I read Fountainhead and Atlas shrugged in my twenties and those books were highly influential in me reinforcing that I and I alone am the most important thing in this world. Coupled with trauma and a self congratulatory career path, one can fully get lost in the false self and lose sight on the path of salvation which comes from deep within and requires not only reason but transcendence through sacrifice, empathy and the irrational rooted in dreams, intuition and the subjective treasures of the unconscious. Although I am only ankle deep in this ocean, I know it will continue to bare fruit, some more painful than others.

[Angel Werth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking. Not quite as radiantly clear and fresh as his Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, but there were still many ideas and observations in this book that expanded my understanding of that vital concept and helped me introspect more clearly.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great practicing prompts of questions and ways to challenge ones self-talk and self-beliefs

[Steven H · Rating 3 out of 5]

BRANDEN BROADENS HIS DISCUSSION OF THE SELF, SELF-ESTEEM, AND MORE

Nathaniel Branden (1930-2014) was a Canadian psychotherapist and writer who was Ayn Rand's chief spokesman, until their break in 1968.

He wrote in the Introduction to this 1983 book, “This book will be concerned… with the ultimate human encounter: the relationship of the ‘I’ to the ‘me,’ of the ego to the self. The issues entailed by this encounter … affect virtually every significant human experience---from the level of our self-esteem, to the kind of person we are likely to fall in love with, to the ambitions and life goals we are like to set ourselves, to our most intimately personal sense of what it means to be a human being.” (Pg. xii)

He continues, “In a world in which selflessness is commonly regarded as a synonym of virtue and selfishness as a synonym of evil---and in which the presumed goal of spiritual evolution is self-transcendence---a book titled ‘Honoring the Self’ may sound strange, even a bit disconcerting. This volume is grounded in the recognition that self-esteem and personal autonomy are indispensable conditions of human well-being. Its focus is the exploration and illumination of the meaning of these states and of the conditions of their realization; that goal is the guiding principle of all the chapters that follow… I propose to demonstrate that not selfishness but absence of self is the root of most of our evils, that selflessness is our greatest personal, interpersonal, and social danger and has been so throughout most of our history. In short, I shall invite the reader to reexamine some of our most prevalent beliefs about ego, selfishness, goodness---and human survival.” (Pg. xii-xiii)

He adds, “The first act of honoring the self is the assertion of consciousness: the choice to think, to be aware… to honor the self is to be willing to think independently, to live by our own mind, and to have the courage of our own perceptions and judgments. To honor the self is to be willing to know not only what we think but also what we feel… and to accept our right to experience such feelings. To honor the self is to preserve an attitude of self-acceptance---which means to accept what we are, without self-oppression or self-castigation… To honor the self is to live authentically, to speak and act from our innermost convictions and feelings. To honor the self is to refuse to accept unearned guilt… To honor the self is to be committed to our right to exist… To honor the self is to be in love with our own life… Thus we can begin to see that to honor the self is to practice SELFISHNESS in the highest, noblest, and least understood sense of the word. And this, I shall argue, requires enormous independence, courage, and integrity.” (Pg. xiii-xiv)

He summarizes, “My goals in this work… are as follows: to demonstrate, specifically and concretely, what honoring the self means and to show the overwhelming importance of this issue to human life and well-being; to examine the kinds of behaviors by which self is honored or betrayed; to develop a deeper understanding of the meaning of self-esteem and its potency as a force in determining the course of our existence; to show on what the attainment of positive self-esteem depends; to explore the meanings of autonomy and individuation and the path to their realization; to point the way out of the widespread problem of self-alienation; to illuminate the morality of honoring the self and to integrate the psychology of self-esteem with an ethics of rational or enlightened self-interest; and, finally, to show that ego, properly understood, is not an obstacle to spiritual fulfillment but rather that without which no fulfillment is possible.” (Pg. xvii)

He explains, “Self-esteem is a concept pertaining to a fundamental sense of efficacy and a fundamental sense of worth, to competence and worthiness in principle… High self-esteem can best be understood as the integrated sum of self-confidence and self-respect… In sum, self-esteem is an evaluation of my mind, my consciousness, and, in a profound sense, my person. It is not an evaluation of particular successes or failures… Thus, I can be very confident of myself at the fundamental level and yet … inwardly be self-doubting and insecure.” (Pg. 4) He asks rhetorically, “Is it possible to possess too high a level of self-esteem? Not if we understand that we are speaking of … a genuine, organic experience, and not some overinflated pretense at self-value aimed at concealing a deficiency. No one would ask, ‘It is possible to enjoy too high a level of physical health?” (Pg. 7)

He states, “An analogy may prove helpful. When human beings developed the notion of a God who is omniscient and omnipotent, they quickly added the attribute of all-good. It would be too terrifying to imagine a capricious or sadistic God. Therefore, if disaster befalls, the fault must be ours… So if I suffer, let me believe I have committed some offense, even though I don’t understand that it is… only if I can discover the actions that will please my parents, THEN will I receive the kindness and nurturing I crave.” (Pg. 37-38)

He observes, “To speak of ‘thinking independently’ is useful… in terms of emphasis. Often what people call ‘thinking’ is merely recycling the opinions of others. So we can say that thinking independently---about our work, our relationships, the values that will guide our life, the goals we will set for ourselves---enhances self-esteem. And Healthy self-esteem results in a natural inclination to think independently.” (Pg. 49)

He states, “Sometimes … unearned guilt follows a divorce or trouble with one’s children… This is why the protection of self-esteem requires a clear understanding of the limits of volitional responsibility… The concept of Original Sin---of guilt where there is no possibility of innocence, no freedom of choice, no alternatives available---is anti-self-esteem by its very nature. It is, therefore, antihuman.” (Pg. 61-62)

He asserts, “At birth, the self does not exist. What exists is… the raw material from which a self can develop… To evolve into selfhood is the primary human task… To a tragic extent, most people are stranded along the path of development. Nonetheless, the central goal of the maturational process is EVOLUTION TOWARD AUTONOMY. This is the essence of the separation/individuation process.” (Pg. 109)

He suggests, “We can better appreciate [that] the relationship of death anxiety to the challenges of individuation … is the ultimate defense against death: the refusal to live. If I do not come into existence, I cannot go out of existence. If I do not emerge as a separate entity, there is no one for death to touch.” (Pg. 194) He adds, “It is no greater comfort to be told: ‘Your consciousness… merely becomes reintegrated into the great cosmic pool of consciousness from which it came.’… if my consciousness becomes reintegrated into the great cosmic pool of consciousness… it [would] no longer be MY consciousness.” (Pg. 196)

He reports, “To rethink the whole issue of egoism versus altruism, of selfishness versus selflessness, we need… [to begin] with the question of why we NEED a code of values… I do not know of any philosopher who has addressed the issue with the skill… and profundity of Ayn Rand. While I differ with her on a number of philosophical points… I think the foundation of her ethics is an unassailable contribution. Indeed, there is no way I can discuss my own views of egoism, selfishness, and ethics in general without reference to Rand’s work.” (Pg. 205)

He argues, “Traditional religionists have declared that if God did not exist, morality would be unnecessary---everything would be ‘permissible.’ Secular moralists have declared that if Society did not exist, morality would be unnecessary… Life as the standard has been the underlying premise of every word I have written in this book. What we are concerned with here is the justification of that standard… Contrary to the prevalent belief that morality is needed to curb the natural human inclination toward self-interest, it is self-interest that GENERATES the need for a moral code.” (Pg. 209-210)

In his chapter on ‘Self-Sacrifice,’ he states, “Let us begin with the symbol of the cross… Let us accept Christian terms, for the moment, and look at the symbol in its own context. On the cross, the ideal man was sacrificed to human depravity… The morally superior chose to be immolated for the sake of the morally inferior. The notion that such a sacrifice is in any sense right, that ignoble men and women… [are] living at the price of the perfect man’s torture, living on the blood of the ideal---is, I submit, as monstrous an injustice, as profound a perversion of morality as the human mind can conceive… And yet this is the symbol hanging, as moral inspiration, over our lives in the Western world.” (Pg. 220-221)

He asserts, “The only proper and justifiable purpose of government is to protect … us from physical violence. It is the fact that our rights CAN be violated by others that necessitates the institution of government… the sole function of a government is to protect us from criminals, to protect us from foreign invaders, to provide a system of courts for the protection of property and contracts against breach or fraud---and otherwise to LEAVE US ALONE.” (Pg. 229)

He is quite critical of Transpersonal Psychology (notwithstanding that in the ‘Acknowledgments’ he thanked Ken Wilber “for our illuminating discussions concerning the perspective of transpersonal psychology”). “I believe that an anti-individualist, antiself ideology is so deeply ingrained in our thinking, the notion of virtue so mired in association with selflessness, that many writers in this field see a seductive glamour in notions of self-transcendence and emancipation from the ego that ‘transcend’ logic.” (Pg. 241-242)

This book expands Branden’s notion of egoism and the ‘self’ from his earlier books.

[Jack Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nathaniel Branden writes and narrates an honest objective psychological book about self. Honoring the Self: The Psychology of Confidence and Respect begins with an explanation about self-esteem and its importance in one's life, especially for success in business and personal relationships. An ability to feel good about oneself promotes a healthy ego, friendships, and love interests. He also explains how fear of being emotionally hurt impedes the natural maturation of one's self, career, and sense of belonging. The author intends to show that love and respect of oneself is the core purpose for writing this educational piece that encompasses his body of work in the field.
He recommends that the book be reread as many times as it takes to absorb the full impact of the lessons he expertly lays out. His aim is to have readers improve themselves as happier, successful people who fear neither life nor death; to live a stable, meaningful life and to accept death as the natural end of it with no regrets.

[Ruri Gokou · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When we begin to understand the model of reality with which we are operating, we become open to the possibility of finding better solutions strategies that support our life rather than impoverish it."

Honoring the Self was such a good read. It helped in my search to learning more about myself and how to heal my inner child. Words that I had heard before throughout my life like awareness, responsibility and acceptance were explained well. I realized how much these ideas tie into one's self esteem.

These are the most powerful ideas I came away with. Life is a constant battle of being aware of my actions and thoughts. It's so easy for fall into habits or patterns of thinking. I need to take responsibility for my actions. They are my choice and in my control. No one is going to come along to save or change me. Only I can do that. Lastly, I need the strength to live with acceptance. To acknowledge everything about myself. Not thinking good or bad of them. Just being aware of how I'm thinking, feeling and being in a given moment.

To have a non-judgemental acceptance of those things about myself. This is because if I fight against myself by hating aspects of it or if I deny the reality of things about then I am essentially fighting against myself. No change is possible if I reject myself.

I learned that it's okay to allow myself to feel temporarily helpless without defining my essence as failure. I'm not perfect and so after a rest, I will pick up the pieces as best as I can and start moving forward once again. The feeling of defeat isn't a reflection of myself at my core. It's not permanent.

I really loved reading the chapter about childhood. It was very eye opening. I liked the sentence prompts as well and it gave me much to think about. It helped me realize that I need to face the thoughts I might get from childhood. To not fight those feelings. Instead to embrace them. To observe and feel the feelings I've been suppressing since then. Now when such thoughts or memories come up that make me feel hurt, shame, or guilt. I question myself saying, "What is unresolved here?"

What I didn't like about this book was essentially the last 3 chapters. It's a huge shift in tone and I don't know why it was included because he talks about politics which wasn't why I picked up this book. Overall it was a good read and like the quote above this book has helped to expand my thinking and gave me more tools and ideas to better operate within my reality.

[Benjamin Haag · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a long time ago...just after leaving the safe fantasy world of college, and beginning a wandering and mostly gray and colorless trek toward...something. Career, job, sense of capital-P Purpose. My father had "turned me on" to Ayn Rand a few years before, and I had read _The Fountainhead_, which I actually did find inspiring, and then Atlas Shrugged, which...well, had its moments.

I learned of Nathaniel Branden by way of "My Years With Ayn Rand", a tale of sycophantry, ironically cultish devotion to an ideology and group premised on the sanctity of The Individual, tedious lectures, and, well, lots of fucking. Specifically, the fucking of Ms. Rand by the then-young-and-chiseled Mr. Branden, and vice-fucking-versa. The book, apart from lending a rather earthy perspective to the otherwise mythical status of Rand, led me toward Branden's several books on self-esteem...something that my amazingly gawky, chronically insecure twentysomething self lacked.

I suppose that I reacted to his ideas much as I had those in his ex-lover's fictional screeds...vaguely inspiring on their surface, but, upon deeper examination, almost mechanical and formulaic.

[Daniel Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Dr Russ Harris in "The Happiness Trap", "self-esteem" is a vulgar, useless word. After all, it carries with it our judgement of ourself and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is about accepting the reality about ourselves.

Yet part of the reality is that we do judge ourselves. What we say to ourselves about the kind of person we are is doing just that. It's unavoidable and accepting reality means accepting our judgements of ourselves. In "Honoring the Self", Branden shows us how to make those judgements of ourselves helpful.

Divided into three parts, the book looks at what self-esteem is and how to increase it in many areas of life, how to mature as individuals, and the flaws of seeking to abolish the ego. For Branden, the individual is the cornerstone of society. If you get the individual right, then his or her relationship with their companion will work, leading to beautiful families, friendly communities, and ultimately responsible government that truly serves the interests of the people.

Branden's work is practical and dense. He reads broadly and has years of experience testing his ideas in the field.

Use "Honoring the Self" to boost your self-esteem.

[Gaspar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo bueno que tienen sus casi 40 años de historia, es que por aquel entonces todavía no existía la autoayuda sinónimo de persona de influencia que escribe un libro anti-científico y anti-moral que funciona más como sedante que como conocimiento. Pese al riesgo que supone que pueda estar ligeramente desactualizado, es un libro para tener en la estantería. Su contenido puede desarmarte si no te has enfrentado aún a lo que crees de ti mismo, y eso es un cumplido muy bello. Recomendado.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the first two sections of the book enlightening. However, I could’ve done without the last section on egoism pushing libertarianism, individualism, and capitalism in a book about self-esteem. The writing was a bit dense, so not the most easily understandable to all readers. Definitely seems aimed at mental health professionals rather than the layperson.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big proponent of cultivating self esteem. It;s not all about the self. In the USA we already place great value on the individual and feeling goof about ourselves. I think it goes to far and isn't balanced with care for others.

[Ramy Youssef · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading is book could be a turning point for most people. I have recommended this book to few friends and I got the same feedback.

I dont support the idea of reading Nathaniel Branden other book "The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem" as they are quite similar.

[Maggie Sweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Branden does a fantastic job at outlining the issues and solutions to self-esteem. However, his political and theological views are a hindrance to communicating psychology of the human person. Should rantings be omitted this book would surpass several others.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was one of the things that saved my life when I was really depressed once.

[Ku Kaka · Rating 2 out of 5]

the book was really good at first 100 pages, and then it was really hard to finish it

[Justyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although written 30 years ago, this book is refreshing! If you feel any need to read any self-help book, pick this one - rational, well articulated and provoking a lot of reflections and discussions.