Summary of Nathaniel Branden's The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

#1 We cannot be indifferent to our self-evaluation. We can run from this knowledge if it makes us uncomfortable. We can shrug it off, evade it, declare that we are only interested in practical matters, and escape into baseball or the evening news.

#2 Self-esteem is the experience of being appropriate to life and the demands of life. It is the feeling of being worthy, deserving, and entitled to assert our needs and wants, achieve our goals, and enjoy the fruits of our efforts.

#3 Self-esteem is the value we place on our own abilities and qualities. It allows us to feel better about ourselves, and it allows us to live better lives. It allows us to respond to challenges and opportunities more resourcefully and appropriately.

#4 There are positive correlations between healthy self-esteem and a variety of other traits that bear directly on our capacity for achievement and happiness. The more solid our self-esteem, the better equipped we are to cope with troubles that arise in our personal lives or careers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669384243

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Insights on Nathaniel Branden's The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

We cannot be indifferent to our self-evaluation. We can run from this knowledge if it makes us uncomfortable. We can shrug it off, evade it, declare that we are only interested in practical matters, and escape into baseball or the evening news.

#2

Self-esteem is the experience of being appropriate to life and the demands of life. It is the feeling of being worthy, deserving, and entitled to assert our needs and wants, achieve our goals, and enjoy the fruits of our efforts.

#3

Self-esteem is the value we place on our own abilities and qualities. It allows us to feel better about ourselves, and it allows us to live better lives. It allows us to respond to challenges and opportunities more resourcefully and appropriately.

#4

There are positive correlations between healthy self-esteem and a variety of other traits that bear directly on our capacity for achievement and happiness. The more solid our self-esteem, the better equipped we are to cope with troubles that arise in our personal lives or careers.

#5

The principle of attraction is that we feel most comfortable and at home with people whose self-esteem levels resemble ours. Opposites may attract about some issues, but not about this one.

#6

Self-esteem is the foundation of self-respect, which is the foundation of respect for others. With healthy self-esteem, we are not quick to interpret relationships in adversarial terms.

#7

The importance of self-esteem to success in relationships can be seen in the arena of intimate relationships. If I have a fundamental sense of efficacy and worth, and experience myself as lovable, then I have a foundation for appreciating and loving others.

#8

If I do not love myself, it is very difficult to love others. I do not accept myself, and so I do not accept your love for me. Your warmth and devotion are confusing: they confound my self-concept, since I know I am not lovable.

#9

The tragedy of many people’s lives is that, given a choice between being right and having an opportunity to be happy, they invariably choose being right. They allow their self-destructive logic to guide them, and they destroy the relationship.

#10

Happiness anxiety is common. We need to confront those destructive voices, not run from them. We need to engage them in inner dialogue, challenge them to give their reasons, and patiently answer and refute their nonsense.

#11

Poor self-esteem is the basis for many destructive behaviors. It is difficult to name a more certain sign of poor self-esteem than the need to perceive some other group as inferior.

#12

When we doubt our minds, we tend to discount its products. If we fear intellectual self-assertiveness, we mute our intelligence. We dread being visible, so we make ourselves invisible, then suffer because no one sees us.

#13

Self-esteem creates a set of expectations about what is possible and appropriate for us. These expectations generate the actions that turn them into realities. And the realities confirm and strengthen the original beliefs.

#14

Self-esteem is destiny. Our self-concept is who and what we consciously and subconsciously think we are. It contains or includes our level of self-esteem, but is more global. We cannot understand a person’s behavior without understanding the