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Title: Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0-553-37439-7 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 May, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.41 (32 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Addresses self-esteem in a rational way
Comment: Branden writes a book that solidly and concisely discusses self-esteem and its interaction with other problems. His approach is one based on self-responsibility and a connection to objective reality. This differs from a lot of contemporary pop psychology that pushes mindless self-affirmations and cultural relativism over increasing true awareness.
Branden's connections to Ayn Rand show throughout the book. Her influence is generally positive in the core sections. Where a Randian viewpoint runs into problems, by possessing a complete lack of empathy or intolerance for dissent, Branden does a good job of addressing the harm it can do to self-esteem.
Where Rand's influence harms the book is in the latter chapters where Branden ties self-esteem to his particular political views. This narrows the audience, though it perhaps helps sell his services to CEO's. A reader can understand the negative effects denying reality or believing in original sin can have on self-esteem, while still having a clue of what this country would be like without public roads or schools.
Rating: 5
Summary: Wonderful theoretically, but it needs much wisdom to use it
Comment: As a self-esteem coach, virtually every day I thank God (if there is such a Being) for Nathaniel Branden. Up to this point in his evolution as a writer, self-esteem was considered a semi-mystical attribute of character, that was known to be an *effect* of good parenting or good therapy. It was maintained that there were only certain "turning points" in our lives which, if negotiated skillfully, could yield enhanced self-esteem. After the publication of this book, it became clear that we have many many such turning points every day. These insights, allied with the directed sentence completion techniques he developed earlier in his career--a kind of quick burrowing into the subconscious for information and feelings not ordinarily accessible to the conscious mind--can yield enhanced self-esteem in a fraction of the time possible to the earlier forms of psychotherapy at the time. For me the big problem, as a self-esteem coach, is that clients who read "Six Pillars..." often only get help when I put out 100% effort dredging up all I learned over the past 5 decades. If a client does not already have a base of knowledge that needs to be integrated, in my experience using the techniques of "Six Pillars..." leads to confusion. This is not to denigrate Branden's achievement--he is perhaps the most underrated psychologist in the history of psychology, being one of the great generalists whose discoveries are rarely mentioned in counseling texts--but rather to gently chide him (should he read this little epistle) to *please* write a book about what he must contribute, as therapist and as man, in addition to the theory and exercises written about here to achieve the wonderful results he has achieved with his clients.
Rating: 5
Summary: The six pillars of happiness and personal fulfillment
Comment: Self-esteem is the relationship that we acquire with ourselves, writes Nathaniel Branden in The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem. This work attempts to define what genuine self-esteem is and what its requirements are. The six pillars are the ingredients of any healthy self-concept, and represent the actions that must be taken and the values that must be pursued to acquire it. Life itself depends on the successful attainment of goals, and as the "immune system of consciousness" self-esteem is the gauge of how successful we are in this endeavor.
Each of the six pillars is presented with a sound mix of theoretical discussion and concrete examples from Branden's experience as a psychotherapist. One strength of this book is its highly goal-oriented nature; it offers practical means of acquiring the skills necessary to build self-esteem, and show how to gauge one's progress in developing these skills. These take the form of sentence completion exercises that seek to raise one's level of self-awareness.
Branden writes that his years of study in the field of psychotherapy have lead him to conclude that the six pillars represent the fundamental nature of what healthy self-esteem is. He leaves open the possibility that there may be a superior definition of self-esteem. And while he offers a vigorous defense of his definition and his argument that it (self-esteem as he defines it) is a necessary condition of good mental health, it doesn't support the notion that it is a sufficient condition of it (although he comes across as sounding that way). A thief can take pride in his abilities at thievery, and have an accurate self-concept based upon those skills, but no moral person would describe a thief's version of self-esteem as a sign of sound mental health. Questions such as this perhaps outside the scope of a work on psychology and properly the subject of a work on ethics, but they are legitimate questions nonetheless (and Branden's suggestion that this work is nearly as much a work of philosophy as it is one on psychology makes these questions legitimate in that context).
Branden's arguments for the importance of cultivating self-esteem in our schools and in the workplace are enlightening and convincing. A capitalist system thrives upon citizens with healthy self concepts, while our schools and places of work often contain elements of an atavistic philosophical outlook that calls for conformance and obedience above all else.
All in all, this work is highly inspirational and leaves the reader with the belief that there is much that we can we do to empower ourselves and take control of our lives, and offers practical means for doing so. This is surely one of the best self-help books available today.
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Title: How to Raise Your Self-Esteem : The Proven Action-Oriented Approach to Greater Self-Respect and Self-Confidence by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0553266462 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 October, 1988 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Tranformation by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0553268147 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 August, 1985 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0684838494 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Psychology of Self-Esteem : A Revolutionary Approach to Self-Understanding that Launched a New Era in Modern Psychology by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0787945269 Publisher: Jossey-Bass Pub. Date: 19 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: TAKING RESPONSIBILITY by Nathaniel Branden ISBN: 0684832488 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 21 April, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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