The six pillars of self-esteem
In The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Nathaniel Branden presents the culminating achievement of a lifetime of clinical practice and research. In this penetrating and provocative program, he conclusively demonstrates the importance of self-esteem in our quest for psychological health, personal achievement, and positive relationships. "Yet how do we gain true self-esteem?" Dr. Branden introduces the six pillars of self-esteem - six action-based practices for daily living. Here for the first time are simple but powerful exercises for increasing personal awareness and effectiveness. Exploring the importance of self-esteem in the workplace, parenting, education, psychotherapy, and society, Dr. Branden provides guidelines for those responsible for fostering self-esteem in others - and shows why a culture of self-esteem is imperative for survival in the 21st century.
Stats for nerds
4recommend
11mentions
6people
2018–2025years
82% recommend18% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel Branden helped me a lot. I've read it 3 or 4 times.
The single most important activity for me was actively confronting or working on areas where I felt a lack of confidence. E.g. I was embarrassed by my lack of dancing skills so I took hip-hop dance classes. "Fear is the mind killer…"
Good Luck
- Tyler Cowen just published his best non-fiction books of 2024 list on Marginal Revolution: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/11/best-non-fiction-of-2024.html
The best non-fiction books I have read this year are:
"Six Pillars of Self-Esteem" by Nathaniel Branden - Interesting insights into the concept of self-esteem and how it is influenced by the wider world
"The Code Book" by Simon Singh - An oldie but saw it recommended last year on HN and found it to be a fascinating look at the history of cryptography, written in an engaging and approachable way
"Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger" by Charles T. Munger - After Charlie's unfortunate passing, I read this again. So much life wisdom on every page
What's the best non-fiction book you read in 2024?
- By filling a self-made Excel spreadsheet for more than a year, every day Monday through Friday, with sentence stem completion exercises from the book "Six Pillars of Self-Esteem", I've noticed the impact of proactive work. As a result, I could sense a significant shift within, and I'd respond differently to the things where I'd usually stay reserved or pulled back.
As someone who'd stick their headphones and listen to some self-help-related book while taking a walk, I'd usually end up understanding the issue without taking action. Even though some authors would say "I'd like you to pause this audio, and think... and apply.." I'd usually end up having some messy experience in my Notes app. Having a simple, well-structured, and clean way to express my thoughts does help a lot, as I've experienced the abovementioned spreadsheet.
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- Six Pillars Of Self-Esteem. Biggest effect on me of any book, by far. The only book that immediately jumped to mind without me needing to check my "read" list.
I vaguely recall The Soul Of Sex giving me a healthier foundation for my own sexuality.
The Power Of Myth and The Varieties Of Religious Experience for general spiritual goodness.
The Selfish Gene has probably had a deep lingering effect on my thoughts about my life as a biological creature.
Every Page Is Page One is very helpful for realizing (what I believe to be) the higher purpose of technical documentation, which is knowledge sharing.
- Thanks. That guy seems well-read: lots of interesting cross-references. I was getting fascist vibes from Andreesen for example and it was helpful to see the historical connections.
Technological Pragmatism is an ethos I can probably get behind [1]. It ties in well with the book [2] that's had the most impact on me, which basically says that the best path to increasing self-esteem is to honestly appreciate your good side and honestly reckon with your bad side. I also like this approach because it acknowledges that good / bad / ugly all contain information. Andreesen, with his refusal to look at bad / ugly, is basically blocking himself off from two sources of information. The same goes for toxic positivity people who block out painful emotions. My best chance of success in general is to stay open to all the info available to me.
[1] If there was a way to also work in the idea that I believe I'm better off leaning optimist rather than pessimist then it would be perfect for me. But that's probably too complicated / nuanced.
[2] The Six Pillars Of Self-Esteem. I'm aware the author has some dubious historical connections himself (he was "Ayn Rand's lover", his own words) but nonetheless I still stand firm in saying that this book had the most positive impact on my life of any book I've read.
- The Six Pillars Of Self-Esteem. Even if you think you already have high self-esteem, there's no such thing as too much self-esteem. Someone here on HN first made me aware of it. It's such a great framework for self improvement. I've read it 3 or 4 times and did all of the exercises the first 2 times.
