To trust one's mind and to know that one is worthy of happiness is the essence of self-esteem. — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
For the rational, psychologically healthy man, the desire for pleasure is the desire to celebrate his control over reality. For the neurotic,… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
Suffering is just about the easiest of all human activities; being happy is just about the hardest. And happiness requires, not surrender… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
A productive purpose to which you give yourself fully and joyfully is one of the great adventures of life. It is a… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
The highest compliment one can be paid by another human being is to be told: 'Because of what you are, you are… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make themselves superior to others; they do not seek to prove their value by… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
Some people have a view of self and of the universe that obliges them to struggle for happiness, to yearn for happiness-"some… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
If you feel inadequate to face challenges, unworthy of love or respect, untitled to happiness, and fear assertive thought, wants, or needs-… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
Romantic love can be terrifying. We experience another human being as enormously important to us. So there is surrender -not a surrender… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
The tragedy of too many people is that they cannot allow happiness just to be there; they cannot leave it alone. Their… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
In the nature of our existence, we must act to achieve values. And in order to act appropriately, we need to value… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
If you do not feel deserving of happiness, consciously or subconsciously, or if you have accepted the idea that happiness is somehow… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share Image
To preserve an unclouded capacity for the enjoyment of life is an unusual moral and psychological achievement. Contrary to popular belief, it is not… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously. — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
What a great teacher, a great parent, a great psychotherapist and a great coach have in common is a deep belief in the potential… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
If we are happy within ourselves, we don't accept or demand that our partner should fulfill every need. We need to be comfortable with… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
Productive achievement is a consequence and an expression of health, self-esteem, not its cause — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
Faith is the commitment of one's consciousness to beliefs for which one has no sensory evidence or rational proof. When man rejects reason as… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
In the nature of our existence, we must act to achieve values. And in order to act appropriately, we need to value the beneficiary… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
I cannot remember a time when the question of why people behave as they do was not intensely interesting to me. The desire to… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
Suppose you feel you cannot accept some fact about yourself. Then own your refusal to accept. Own the block. Embrace it fully. And watch… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
“Out of fear, out of the desire for approval, out of misguided notions of duty, people surrender themselves--their convictions and their aspirations--every day. There… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
If you overcome your fear to ask someone for a date, a raise, or help with a project, that is an act of self-assertiveness.… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
It would be hard to name a more certain sign of poor self-esteem than the need to perceive some other group as inferior. — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
When we bury our feelings, we also bury ourselves. It means we exist in a state of alienation. We rarely know it, but we… — Nathaniel Branden Copy Share
