Nathaniel Branden was a Canadian–American psychotherapist and writer known for his work in the psychology of self-esteem. A former associate and romantic partner of Ayn Rand, Branden also played a prominent role in the 1960s in promoting Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism. Rand and Branden split acrimoniously in 1968, after which Branden focused on developing his own psychological theories and modes of therapy. These Nathaniel Branden quotes will motivate you.
Best Nathaniel Branden Quotes
- “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “How do we keep our inner fire alive? Two things, at minimum, are needed: an ability to appreciate the positives in our life – and a commitment to action. Every day, it’s important to ask and answer these questions: ‘What’s good in my life?’ and ‘What needs to be done?” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “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.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “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 goodwill among human beings.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
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“A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “Self-acceptance is my refusal to be in an adversarial relationship to myself.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “The more you surrender to the fear of someone’s disapproval, the more you lose face in your own eyes, and the more desperate you become for someone’s approval. Within you is a void that should have been filled by self-esteem. When you attempt to fill it with the approval of others instead, the void grows deeper and the hunger for acceptance and approval grows stronger. The only solution is to summon the courage to honor your own judgment, frightening though that may be in the beginning.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
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“If my aim is to prove I am ‘enough,’ the project goes on to infinity-because the battle was already lost on the day I conceded the issue was debatable.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “Out of fear, out of the desire for approval, out of the misguided notions of duty, people surrender themselves-their convictions and their aspirations every day. There is nothing noble about it. It takes far more courage to fight for your values than to relinquish them.” ~ 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.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “It is impressive to see a person who has been battered by life in many ways, who is torn by a variety of unsolved problems, who may be alienated from many aspects of the self-but who is still fighting, still struggling, still striving to find the path to a fulfilling existence, moved by the wisdom of knowing, “I am more than my problems.”” ~ Nathaniel Branden
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“The ultimate test of our integrity is not how we deal with those whom we agree but how we deal with those who we do not agree.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “Every day, it’s important to ask and answer these questions: “What’s good in my life?” and “What needs to be done?”” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “When people are not accepting toward themselves they are often obsessed with acceptance by others.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “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.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “It is generally recognized that creativity requires leisure, an absence of rush, time for the mind and imagination to float and wander and roam, time for the individual to descend into the depths of his or her psyche, to be available to barely audible signals rustling for attention. Long periods of time may pass in which nothing seems to be happening. But we know that kind of space must be created if the mind is to leap out of its accustomed ruts, to part from the mechanical, the known, the familiar, the standard, and generate a leap into the new.” ~ Nathaniel Branden quotes
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“Fear and pain should be treated as signals not to close our eyes but to open them wider.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “For children, mastery entails struggle. This means they must be permitted to struggle. If parents inappropriately step in to “help”-out of impatience or solicitude-they sabotage important learning. Among other things, the child is unlikely to discover the advantages of perseverance and self-discipline.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “We tend to feel most comfortable, “most at home”, with people whose self-esteem level resembles our own.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “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
- “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.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “Anyone who really loves you wants you to be authentic. And anyone who doesn’t want you to be authentic doesn’t really love you.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
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“One of the hardest expressions of self-assertiveness is challenging your limiting beliefs.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “One of the most significant characteristics of healthy self-esteem is that it is the state of one who is not at war either with himself or with others.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
- “In the nature of our existence, we must act to achieve values. And in order to act appropriately, we need to value the beneficiary of our actions. In order to seek values, we must consider ourselves worthy of enjoying them. In order to fight for our happiness, we must consider ourselves worthy of happiness.” ~ Nathaniel Branden
