A bully hides his fears with fake bravado. That is the opposite of self-assertiveness.

— Nathaniel Branden

All positive interactions with other human beings involve, to some degree, the experience of visibility-- that is, the experience of being seen and understood.

— Nathaniel Branden

A mind that trusts itself is light on its feet.

— Nathaniel Branden

Anyone who engages in the practice of psychotherapy confronts every day the devastation wrought by the teachings of religion.

— Nathaniel Branden

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

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

Fear and pain should be treated as signals not to close our eyes but to open them wider.

— Nathaniel Branden

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

Genuine self-esteem – please understand this – genuine self-esteem is not competitive or comparative. Genuine self-esteem isn’t expressed by self-glorification at the expense of others, or by trying to make yourself superior to everyone else, or diminishing others in order to elevate yourself. Arrogance, boastfulness, the overestimation of your abilities, reflect low self-esteem, even though we’re often encouraged to believe the opposite. In human beings, joy in the simple fact of existence is a core meaning of healthy self-esteem. Thus understood, how can you possibly have too much of it?

— Nathaniel Branden

I am responsible for my own existence and happiness.

— Nathaniel Branden