Nathaniel Branden Quotes (15 Quotes)

Sometimes the subconscious mind manifests a wisdom several steps or evenyears ahead of the conscious mind, and has its own way of leading us toward ourdestiny.

The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.

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.

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.

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.

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

Live with integrity, respect the rights of other people, and follow your own bliss.

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.

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 be to treat others with respect, kindness, and generosity.

This is a very minor criticism, however, especially considering how repetition works magnificently in other areas. In fact, repetition is at the heart of the book's power. It's not just that you raise your level of awareness in regard to some problem, but you sustain the level of awareness over time, ... It isn't so much that an awareness heals, but it is sustained awareness that heals.

Productive achievement is a consequence and an expression of health and self-esteem, not its cause.

They stimulate insights, they help us gain access to implicit or tacit knowledge, and they can also be a stimulant to make new connections.

Reason and emotion are not antagonists. What seems like a struggle between two opposing ideas or values, one of which, automatic and unconscious, manifests itself in the form of a feeling.

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.