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Nathaniel Branden - World-Renowned Industry Leader
Nathaniel Branden Quick Facts
Main Areas: Self-EsteemCareer Focus: Author; Psychotherapist; Corporate Consultant; Workshop/Seminar Leader
Affiliation: The Branden Institute for Self-Esteem
Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D., pioneered the psychology of self-esteem. He is a practicing psychotherapist in Los Angeles and also does corporate consulting. Dr. Branden offers workshops, seminars, and conferences on applying self-esteem principles to the problems of modern business. He addresses the relationship between self-esteem and such issues as leadership, effective communication, and managing change.
Dr. Branden has a Ph.D. in psychology and a background in philosophy. He has written 20 books, which have been translated into 18 languages. More than 3.5 million copies are in print, including the classic The Psychology of Self-Esteem, originally published in 1969. In it, he explains the need for self-esteem, the nature of that need, and how self-esteem—or lack of it—affects our values, responses, and goals.
Dr. Branden has done a great deal to help America realize the importance of self-esteem to human well-being. He is on the Advisory Board of the National Council for Self-Esteem and the Advisory Council for the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy, Inc. He consults with clients around the world, not only in person but via telephone as well.
Other Programs & Highlights
Dr. Branden has been practicing phone therapy since 1985 and has found that consultations can be as effective on the telephone as in the office. To read Nathaniel Branden’s essays and excerpts, view his upcoming events, and find out what’s new, visit www.nathanielbranden.net.
Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Nathaniel Branden
• The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.
• Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.
• If we do not believe in ourselves—neither in our efficacy nor in our goodness—the universe is a frightening place.
• Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make themselves superior to others; they do not seek to prove their value by measuring themselves against a comparative standard. Their joy is being who they are, not in being better than someone else.
• Romantic love is a passionate spiritual-emotional-sexual attachment between a man and a woman that reflects a high regard for the value of each other’s person.
• Self esteem is the reputation we acquire with ourselves.
• There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity. People who do not experience self-love have little or no capacity to love others.
• To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not the prerogative of mindlessness but the exact opposite. It is the reward of self-esteem.
• Sometimes the subconscious mind manifests a wisdom several steps or even years ahead of the conscious mind, and has its own way of leading us toward our destiny.
Getting Started With Nathaniel Branden
Nathaniel Branden has a tremendous impact on self-esteem. His work, The Psychology of Self-Esteem, originally published in 1969, was a revolutionary book in the field of psychology, impacting our views of self-esteem for years to come. If you want to gain an understanding of the book that had a great impact on the self-esteem movement, read The Psychology of Self-Esteem. But if you want learn how to improve your own self-esteem, read Dr. Branden’s The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem.
In The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Dr. Branden defines self-esteem by teaching us about six important areas or “pillars” of self-esteem. Here are the definitions:
Self-Esteem: Definitions
Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.
In discussing the relationship between self-esteem and professional effectiveness, I introduce certain key concepts. They are defined as follows:
Self-esteem is the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and of being worthy of happiness.
Over three decades of study have led me to identify six practices as the most essential to building self-esteem.
1. The practice of living consciously: respect for facts; being present to what we are doing while we are doing it (e.g., if our customer, supervisor, employee, supplier, colleague is talking to us, being present to the encounter); seeking and being eagerly open to any information, knowledge, or feedback that bears on our interests, values, goals, and projects; seeking to understand not only the world external to self but also our inner world as well, so that we do not act out of self-blindness. When asked to account for the extraordinary transformation he achieved at General Electric, Jack Welch spoke of “self-confidence, candor, and an unflinching willingness to face reality, even when it’s painful,” which is essential to the practice of living consciously.
2. The practice of self-acceptance: the willingness to own, experience, and take responsibility for our thoughts, feelings, and actions, without evasion, denial, or disowning—and also without self-repudiation; giving oneself permission to think one’s thoughts, experience one’s emotions, and look at one’s actions without necessarily liking, endorsing or condoning them. If we are self-accepting, we do not experience ourselves as always “on trial,” and what this leads to is non-defensiveness and willingness to hear critical feedback or different ideas without becoming hostile and adversarial.
3. The practice of self-responsibility: realizing that we are the authors of our choices and actions; that each one of us is responsible for our life and well-being and for the attainment of our goals; that if we need the cooperation of other people to achieve our goals, we must offer values in exchange; and that the question is not “Who’s to blame?” but always “What needs to be done?”
4. The practice of self-assertiveness: being authentic in our dealings with others; treating our values and persons with decent respect in social contexts; refusing to fake the reality of who we are or what we esteem in order to avoid someone’s disapproval; the willingness to stand up for ourselves and our ideas in appropriate ways in appropriate circumstances.
5. The practice of living purposefully: identifying our short-term and long-term goals or purposes and the actions needed to attain them, organizing behavior in the service of those goals, monitoring action to be sure we stay on track—and paying attention to outcome so as to recognize if and when we need to go back to the drawing-board.
6. The practice of personal integrity: living with congruence between what we know, what we profess, and what we do; telling the truth, honoring our commitments, exemplifying in action the values we profess to admire; dealing with others fairly and benevolently. When we betray our values, we betray our mind, and self-esteem is an inevitable casualty.
I also recommend Dr. Branden’s book How to Raise Your Self-Esteem. In it, he shows us the importance of good self-esteem and then provides us with the tools to improve our own. He teaches us how to work on many areas of our lives, including how to:
• Break free of negative self concepts and self defeating behavior.
• Dissolve internal barriers to success in love and work.
• Overcome anxiety, depression, guilt, and anger.
• Conquer the fear of intimacy and success.
You can get started with Nathaniel Branden by reading any of the three books I have already mentioned. Go ahead and feel better about yourself today!
Contacting Nathaniel Branden
ADDRESS: Nathaniel Branden
P.O. Box 2609
Beverly Hills, CA 90213
PHONE: (310) 274-6361
WEBSITE: www.nathanielbranden.net
