The Power of Self Esteem is a great little book. In the first part of the book, Dr. Branden spends time creating a solid definition of self-esteem. This is very important. Many people are not aware of the power of self-esteem and they are going through life trying to repair symptoms when in truth their problems stem from a lack of or a damaged self-esteem.



Dr. Branden gives a very clear definition of self-esteem after pointing out some of the earlier and less correct attempts at the definition, and then informing us as to how self-esteem is damaged during many of our childhood years. Many parents are damaging the self-esteem of their children without even being aware of it. Some here made the point that the book does not tell you how to create a healthy self-esteem. However, once you understand fully what self-esteem is there a real need to tell you how to create a healthy self-esteem? You should be able to deduce that on your own.



The title of the book is The Power of Self Esteem not How To Create Self Esteem. The narrow focus allows one to extract a great deal of information that is on point and only relevant to the power of self-esteem. The examples that Dr. Branden gives of how the self-esteem of children is damaged without even being aware of it is worth the price of the book. If that is the only thing you take away from the book is the awareness of how your interaction with your children may be damaging their self-esteem then you have been given a wonderful gift.



After reading this work, it seems easy to believe that many of the ills that plague our inner cities can be tracked down to issue of self-esteem. Issues such as teen-age pregnancy and the alarming drop out rate come to mind. In most cases our solutions address symptoms instead of working on the root cause, which may very well be a lack of self-esteem.



Another wonderful discussion in the book is the discussion of addiction and its relationship to self-esteem. Dr. Branden states: When we become addicted to alcohol or drugs or destructive relationships, the unconscious intention is invariably to ameliorate anxiety and pain. What we become addicted to are tranquilizers and anodynes. The "enemies" we are trying to escape are fear and pain. This idea is very challenging to those who consider alcoholism to be dis-ease.



The other gold mine in the book arrives in Chapter 6 Recommendations for Further Study. On page 78 under the heading Trusting Yourself. Dr. Branden states: The most fundamental meaning of self-esteem is trust in your own mind, your own mental processes. Therefore, trust in your ability to learn, to judge, to decide.



How many of us can honestly say we trust in our own mind, in our ability to learn, to judge and to decide. This is part of our childhood development. If you do not feel good about these areas you should consider reading this work in order to gain clarity and go about the business of getting help and solving a foundation issue which may bring much success and happiness into your life.







Warmest Regards,

Kai Ajala Dupé