The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
by Nathaniel Branden
Branden's 1994 classic defines self-esteem as the experience of being competent to cope and worthy of happiness, and builds it on six practices: living consciously, self-acceptance, self-responsibility, self-assertiveness, living purposefully and integrity. The sentence-completion exercises are powerful. Serious and thorough, with some dated psychology.
Read it if…
you want a substantive, practice-based treatment of self-esteem rather than affirmations.
Skip it if…
you want a short read; it is long and dense in places.
Three things you will actually use
- Live consciously; see what is.
- Accept yourself before you try to change.
- Keep your word to yourself; integrity is the base.
Do this first
Do the sentence-completion exercise for one pillar, six endings a day, for a week.
Our verdict
A thorough classic; demanding and rewarding.
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