My Mission Statement
By Nathaniel Branden · Posted January 29, 2008
I have been asked, what is my mission in this Blog?
I want to share what I have learned about psychological well being and what it takes to achieve it. That is one of the reasons I focus so much on self-esteem (although at some points I will be writing about ethics or culture or Objectivism or Libertarianism ).
Most fundamentally, however, I will express my mission another way. My mission is to inspire readers to honor their life and happiness, and to have the courage to fight for them.
Dr. Branden, your fundamental mission is an inspiration in itself. Your messages continue to be as important as the ones I discovered a while back in Atlas Shrugged. The world needs them more than ever! Thank you...
January 31st, 2008 at 5:19 amIs it possible for a young person with low selfesteem to develop high self-esteem without strong influence of someone else (already possesing high self-esteem)? If yes, how to start, and more important - how to persist, considering no role models are currently available in his wider social enviroment?
Good luck with your happy intelectual blog!
February 4th, 2008 at 4:49 pmDr Branden, I am very happy that you are reaching out to your readers (and the world in general) through this blog. I have always admired your intelligence, insight and direct approach in psychology and your books.
This blog will give all of us a great platform to share your ideas.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:59 amDear Kreso2,
In my experience, it would be extremely difficult for a person with low self-esteem to develop high self-esteem under the conditions you describe. I do not like to say it would be impossible because on rare occasions a stunning exception appears—a young person who shatters all the assumptions we take for granted.
I am thinking of someone who comes from a terrible background, with no form of psychological support visible to the observer, yet who clearly is self-confident, benevolent, and actively intelligent. Psychiatrists who see this trait in young children sometimes call them “the invulnerables.”
Just the same, generality speaking, it would be very difficult to attain a breakthrough from a low level of self-esteem to a high level of self-esteem if there were no benign influences in one’s life.
Short of finding the right mentor or therapist, I think books can often be the best rescue agents. Over the years, I have received many letters from people who report that their self-esteem had grown significantly because of reading my books and doing the exercises the books prescribe.
Recalling those experiences, I sat at my computer for a long stretch of time, trying to figure out how to avoid sounding arrogant or boastful. Let us say I am sure that other people found other books sometimes wonderfully helpful
However, if you ask me where to begin on the path to self-esteem, my answer is begin by taking total responsibility for every choice, decision and action of your life.
February 8th, 2008 at 6:28 amWell, here is another reader of your books that confirms a higher level of self-esteem, especially because of the sentence stem exercises. They’ve become a part of my daily routine and they help very much, and besides that, I just like doing them and discover more and more about myself.
February 21st, 2008 at 2:25 pm