The collection / 53 fragments

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Passages, proverbs, and questions carried across the ages.

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53 results · Page 2 of 3Play this collection ▷

01Undated

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.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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02Undated

Some people stand and move as if they have no right to the space they occupy. They wonder why others often fail to treat them with respect--not realizing that they have signalled others that it is not necessary to treat them with respect.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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03Undated

It is humiliating to realize that when you drive yourself underground, when you fake who you are, often you do so for people you do not even like or respect.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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04Undated

Chances are, when you were young, you were told, in effect, "Listen, kid, here is the news: life is not about you. Life is not about what you want. What you want is not important. Life is about doing what others expect of you." If you accepted this idea, later on you wondered what had happened to your fire. Where had your enthusiasm for living gone?

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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05Undated

We must become what we wish to teach.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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06Undated

Everyone who has any familiarity with psychology knows about the danger of disowning the murderer within. Far fewer people understand the tragedy of disowning the hero within.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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07Undated

The greater a child’s terror, and the earlier it is experienced, the harder it becomes to develop a strong and healthy sense of self.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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08Undated

Self-esteem is the reputation we acquire with ourselves.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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09Undated

To honor the self is to be willing to think independently, to live by our own mind, and to have the courage of our own perceptions.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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10Undated

In the inner courtroom of my mind, mine is the only judgment that counts.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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11Undated

While self-esteem touches virtually every aspect of our existence, there are two aspects to which it is related in very distinct and powerful ways: work and love. Through work and through love, we act out the level of our confidence and our sense of personal worth. The drama of our life is the external reflection of our internal vision of ourselves. The higher the level of our self-esteem, the more likely it is that we will find a work and a love through which we can express ourselves in satisfying and enriching ways.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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12Undated

The first act of honoring the self is the assertion of consciousness: the choice to think, to be aware, to send the searchlight of consciousness outward toward the world and inward toward our own being. To default on this effort is to default on the self at the most basic level.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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13Undated

Sometimes the path to higher self-esteem is lonely and frightening. We cannot fully know in advance how much more satisfying our lives will be. But the more we are willing to experience and accept the many aspects of who we are, the richer our inner worlds, the greater our resources, the more appropriate we feel to the challenges and opportunities of life. Also, it is more likely that we will find - or create - a style of existence that will meet our individual needs.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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14Undated

Our liabilities pose the problem of inadequacy; our our assets, the challenge of responsibility. Our strengths or virtues can make us feel alone, alienated, cut off from the common herd, a target for envy and hostility, and our desire to belong can overcome any desire to actualise our highest potential.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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15Undated

The higher our self-esteem, the more likely we are to be creative in our work, which means the more successful we are likely to be. The higher our self-esteem, the more ambitious we tend to be, not necessarily in a career or financial sense, but in terms of what we hope to experience in life - emotionally, creatively and spiritually.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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16Undated

Of all the judgements we pass, none is as important as the one we pass on ourselves.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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17Undated

It sounded, I told him, as if he had never learned to balance projecting goals into the future with appreciating and living in the present....To the extent that our goal is to "prove" ourselves or ward off the fear of failure, this balance is difficult to achieve. We are too driven. Not joy but anxiety is our motor.But if our aim is self-expression rather than self-justification, the balance tends to come more naturally. We will still need to think about its daily implementation, but the anxiety of wounded self-esteem will not make the task nearly impossible.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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18Undated

To persevere with the will to understand in the face of obstacles is the heroism of consciousness.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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19Undated

Most of us are capable of more than we believe.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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20Undated

Your life is important. Honor it. Fight for your highest possibilities.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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21Undated

Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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22Undated

For the rational psychologically healthy man the desire for pleasure is the desire to celebrate his control over reality. For the neurotic the desire for pleasure is the desire to escape from reality.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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23Undated

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.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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24Undated

There is overwhelming evidence that the higher the level of self-esteem, the more likely one will be to treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity.

Nathaniel Branden / quote

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