Nathaniel Branden Quotes

“It is naive to think that self-assertiveness is easy. To live self-assertively--which means to live authentically--is an act of high courage. That is why so many people spend the better part of their lives in hiding--from others and also from themselves.”

People Thinking Mean Self Easy Hiding Naive Assertiveness Assertive

Book:Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“If you choose not to live self-responsibly, you count on others to make up your default. No one abjures self-responsibility on a desert island.”

Ifs Self Responsibility Desert Islands You Choose Default Self Responsibility

Book:Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“It is painful to face the self we know we have never had the integrity to honor and assert.”

Knows Self Faces Honor Integrity Painful

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Self-esteem is not a luxury; it is a profound spiritual need.”

Needs Self Spiritual Self Esteem Profound Esteem Luxury Profound Spiritual

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“To live consciously means to seek to be aware of everything that bears on our actions, purposes, values, and goals—to the best of our ability, whatever that ability may be—and to behave in accordance with that which we see and know.”

Knows May Mean Action Purpose Values Goal Ability Bears Behave Our Actions Values And Goals

Book:The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life

Source: The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life

“In any culture, subculture, or family in which belief is valued above thought, and self-surrender is valued above self-expression, and conformity is valued above integrity, those who preserve their self-esteem are likely to be heroic exceptions.”

Self Culture Belief Self Esteem Expression Integrity Surrender Esteem Preserves Exception Conformity Heroic Self Expression Subculture

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“A bully hides his fears with fake bravado. That is the opposite of self-assertiveness.”

Self Opposites Fake Bully Assertiveness Assertive Bravado

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“When your principles seem to be demanding suicide, clearly it's time to check your premises”

Seems Principles Suicide Checks Premises

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“It would be hard to name a more certain sign of poor self-esteem than the need to perceive some other group as inferior.”

Needs Self Hard Would Be Certain Names Poor Groups Self Esteem Esteem Perceive Inferiors

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Most of the time, I regard the judgment of people as a waste of time. I regard the judgment of behavior as imperative.”

People Waste Behavior Judgment Regard Wasting Time Imperatives

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Capitalism, by its nature, entails a constant process of motion, growth and progress.”

Process Growth Progress Capitalism Constant

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“No one is coming to save you.”

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Your choices have psychological consequences. The way you choose to deal with reality, truth, facts - your choice to honor or dishonor your own perceptions - registers in your mind, for good or for bad, and either confirms and strengthens your self-esteem or undermines and weakens it.”

Way Mind Self Facts Reality Choices Deals Self Esteem Honor Perception Consequence Esteem Psychological You Choose Register Dishonor

Book:Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“Stressing the practice of living purposefully as essential to fully realized self-esteem is not equivalent to measuring an individual's worth by his or her external achievements. We admire achievements-in ourselves and others-and it is natural and appropriate for us to do so. But that is not the same thing as saying that our achievements are the measure or grounds of our self-esteem. The root of our self-esteem is not our achievements but those internally generated practices that, among other things, make it possible for us to achieve.”

Self Individual Natural Practice Achieve Self Esteem Essentials Achievement Roots Stress Admire Esteem Appropriate Measuring

Book:Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“The greatest barrier to achievement and success is not lack of talent or ability but rather the feeling that achievement and success, above a certain level, are outside our self-concept-our image of who we are and what is appropriate to us.”

Self Feelings Certain Ability Levels Talent Achievement Concepts Who We Are Appropriate Barriers Self Concept Achievement And Success

Book:Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“In a world in which the total of human knowledge is doubling about every ten years, our security can rest only on our ability to learn”

World Years Humans Ability Learning Security Ten Human Knowledge

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Moved by a passion they do not understand for a goal they seldom reach, men and women are haunted by the vision of a distant possibility that refuses to be extinguished.”

Men Love Passion Goal Vision Possibility Men And Women Moved Refuse

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“A woman in love will do almost anything for a man, except give up the desire to improve him.”

Men Giving Desire Women Giving Up

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“A depression is a large-scale decline in production and trade...there is nothing in the nature of a free-market economy to cause such an event.”

Causes Economy Events Trade Productions Scales Decline Free Market Market Economy Large Scale

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“The stability we cannot find in the world, we must create within our own persons.”

World Persons Stability

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Integrity means congruence. Words and behavior match.”

Mean Integrity Behavior Congruence

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Integrity is the integration of ideals, convictions, standards, beliefs-and behavior. When our behavior is congruent with our professed values, when ideals and practice match up, we have integrity.”

Values Belief Practice Integrity Behavior Standards Ideals Conviction Integration

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“It is a mistake to look at someone who is self assertive and say, "It's easy for her, she has good self-esteem." One of the ways you build self-esteem is by being self-assertive when it is not easy to do so. There are always times when self-assertiven ess requires courage, no matter how high your self-esteem.”

Way Looks Self Matter Easy Mistake Self Esteem Esteem Assertive Building Self Esteem

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“The world belongs to those who persevere.”

World Persevere Embrace Life

Book:A Woman's Self-Esteem: Struggles and Triumphs in the Search for Identity

Source: A Woman's Self-Esteem: Struggles and Triumphs in the Search for Identity

“Fear and pain should be treated as signals not to close our eyes but to open them wider.”

Should Eye Pain Treated Signals

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“The lies most devastating to our self-esteem are not so much the lies we tell as the lies we live.”

Self Lying Self Esteem Esteem

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Living consciously reflects the conviction that sight is preferable to blindness; that respecting the facts of reality is more satisfying than denying them; that evasion does not make the unreal real or the real unreal; that it is better to correct your mistakes that to pretend they do not exist; and that the more conscious you are of facts bearing on your life and goals, the more wisely and effectively you can act.”

Life Doe Real Facts Reality Goal Mistake Conscious Sight Conviction Satisfying Blindness Unreal Evasion Living Consciously

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Loving consciously does not mean subjecting your relationship to endless analysis. It means something much simpler: paying attention. Noticing. This requires presence.”

Love Mean Doe Attention Endless Pay Attention Analysis Our Relationship Noticing

Book:Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“Fully to surrender to love can be terrifying. But it is the price life asks in exchange for the possibility of ecstasy.”

Love Asks Possibility Surrender Ecstasy Surrender To Love

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“If you do not feel deserving of happiness, consciously or subconsciously, or if you have accepted the idea that happiness is somehow wrong or cannot last, you will not respond appropriately when happiness comes knocking at your door in the form of romantic love. No matter how much you may have waited and cried, you will not welcome love when it arrives-you will find a way to sabotage it. What a challenge to resist this temptation! What an opportunity for true spiritual growth and transformation-to defy your negative feelings and honor the gift that life offers you!”

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“If you are an adult, you are responsible for your life and well-being. No one owes you the fulfillment of your needs or wants; no one is here on earth to serve you. If you respect the principle of self-ownership, you understand that no one else owns you and that you do not own anyone else. Only on this understanding can there be peace on earth and good will among human beings.”

Source: Nathaniel Brandens Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality

“Our motive is not to prove our self-worth, but to live up to our possibilities.”

Self Self Esteem Possibility Prove Self Worth Esteem Motive

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“I have to respect other's opinions even if I don't agree with them.”

Ifs Opinion Self Esteem Agree Esteem Respecting Others

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Respect starts with ourselves.”

Self Esteem Esteem

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Where we see self esteem, we see self acceptance. High self esteem individual tend to avoid falling into an adversarial relationship with themselves.”

Self Fall Individual Self Esteem Acceptance Esteem Self Acceptance High Self Esteem

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“The practice of 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 disapproval; the willingness to stand up for ourselves and our ideas in appropriate ways in appropriate contexts.”

Source: The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life

“Your life is important. Fight for it. Honour your highest potentials.”

Important Life Is Fighting Self Esteem Highest Esteem Honour

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“When people are not accepting toward themselves they are often obsessed with acceptance by others.”

People Accepting Acceptance Obsessed

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Accepting does not necessarily mean liking, enjoying, condoning. I can accept what is-and be determined to evolve from there. It is not acceptance but denial that leaves me stuck.”

Mean Doe I Can Enjoy Accepting Acceptance Determined Stuck Denial Evolve Leaving Me

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Be careful what you say to your children. They may agree with you.”

May Children Our Children Agree Careful Your Children Be Careful Careful What You Say

Book:Honoring the Self: The Pyschology of Confidence and Respect

Source: Honoring the Self: The Pyschology of Confidence and Respect

“Most of us are taught from an early age to pay far more attention to signals coming from other people than from within. We are encouraged to ignore our own needs and wants and to concentrate on living up to others expectations.”

People Want Needs Age Pay Attention Taught Expectations Signals Needs And Wants

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Your life is important. Whether you achieve what you want in life matters. Whether you are happy matters. Honor and fight for your highest potential. Self-realizatio n-the realization of the best within you-is the noblest goal of your existence.”

Want Important Self Matter Life Is Fighting Goal Existence Achieve Honor Highest What You Want Realization Within You

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“It's not that achievements prove our worth but rather that the process of achieving is the means by which we develop our effectiveness, our competence at living.”

Mean Process Achieve Prove Achievement Competence Effectiveness

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Individualism is at once an ethical-psychological concept and an ethical-political one. As an ethical-psychological concept, individualism holds that a human being should think and judge independently, respecting nothing more than the sovereignty of his or her mind; thus, it is intimately connected with the concept of autonomy. As an ethical-political concept, individualism upholds the supremacy of individual rights”

Thinking Should Mind Humans Political Individual Human Beings Rights Judging Concepts Connected Psychological Ethical Individualism Sovereignty Autonomy Supremacy Individual Rights

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“The policy of seeking values from human beings by means of force, when practiced by an individual, is called crime. When practiced by a government, it is called statism.”

Humans Mean Government Values Individual Force Human Beings Crime Policy Seeking Individualism

Book:Honoring the Self: The Pyschology of Confidence and Respect

Source: Honoring the Self: The Pyschology of Confidence and Respect

“A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously.”

Natural Practice Expression Commitment Lifelong Lifelong Learning Living Consciously

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Either you will make your life work, or your life will not work.”

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Living consciously is seeking to be aware of everything that bears on our interests, actions, values, purposes, and goals. It is the willingness to confront facts, pleasant or unpleasant. It is the desire to discover our mistakes and correct them . . . it is the quest to keep expanding our awareness and understanding, both of the world external to self and the world within.”

Source: The Art of Living Consciously: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life

“When we bury our feelings, we also bury ourselves. It means we exist in a state of alienation. We rarely know it, but we are lonely for ourselves.”

Knows Mean States Feelings Healing Lonely Teens Alienation

Author:Nathaniel Branden

“Force, governmental coercion, is the instrument by which the ethics of altruism - the belief that the individual exists to serve others - is translated into political reality.”

Reality Government Political Individual Belief Force Ethics Instruments Altruism Coercion

Author:Nathaniel Branden

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