Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Exercise Workbook
Exercise Workbook
of
High
Self-Esteem
A Life-Changing Program for Personal Growth
1986
Nightingale-Conant Corporation
7330 North Lehigh Avenue
Chicago, IL 60648
U.S.A.
1-800-323-5552
Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Living Consciously..............................................................................................................3
Exercise 1 – Living Consciously.....................................................................................3
Self-Acceptance...................................................................................................................4
Exercise 2 – Self-Acceptance..........................................................................................4
Exercise 3 – Self-Acceptance..........................................................................................6
Exercise 4 – Self-Acceptance..........................................................................................7
Assessing Behavior..............................................................................................................7
Exercise 5 – Assessing Behavior.....................................................................................7
Liberation from Guilt...........................................................................................................8
Exercise 6 – Liberation from Guilt..................................................................................8
Exercise 7 – Liberation from Guilt..................................................................................8
Exercise 8 – Liberation from Guilt..................................................................................8
Exercise 9 – Liberation from Guilt..................................................................................9
Integrating Your Younger Selves.......................................................................................10
Exercise 10 – Integrating Your Younger Selves.............................................................10
Exercise 11 – Integrating Your Younger Selves.............................................................12
Living Responsibly............................................................................................................13
Exercise 12 – Living Responsibly.................................................................................13
Exercise 13 – Living Responsibly.................................................................................14
Exercise 14 – Living Responsibly.................................................................................15
Living Authentically..........................................................................................................15
Exercise 15 – Living Authentically................................................................................15
Exercise 16 – Living Authentically................................................................................16
The Difference It Makes....................................................................................................17
Exercise 17 – Self-Esteem and Values...........................................................................17
Exercise 18 – Conscious Living and Acceptance..........................................................18
Exercise 19 – Vices and Virtues.....................................................................................19
Exercise 20 – Integration of Self-Concept.....................................................................19
Exercise 21 – Responsible Living .................................................................................20
Exercise 22 – Authentic Living......................................................................................20
Exercise 23 – Benevolence and Growth........................................................................21
2
Introduction
The Psychology of High Self-Esteem
By Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.
This workbook is a guide to self-discovery. All of the exercises within its pages are
mentioned in your cassette program, but you cannot expect to receive the full benefit of
the tapes if you don’t actually sit down and do the exercises. The workbook is included
to help speed you along your path of personal growth, and to facilitate your active
involvement in your own development.
The sentence-completion technique, which makes up the majority of these exercises, was
developed as a tool to bring about self-discovery, self-expression and self-healing. It is a
remarkably effective way of doing a form of therapy at your own pace and on your own
time. With repeated use, the exercises in this program will bring you greater insight and a
deeper understanding of a very important person in your life—and that personal is you.
You will see that each set of exercises corresponds to a specific tape side. You may want
to read through this workbook before you begin the tapes, or you might prefer to listen to
a tape side and then do the corresponding exercises. The order in which you do your
listening and your writing does not matter. What matters is that you do commit yourself
to full participation in this program.
DO NOT WRITE DIRECTLY IN THIS BOOK. We suggest you do all the exercises in a
separate workbook. In this way, you can repeat the exercises as many times as you wish.
You may find it very interesting to read back in your workbook and see how your
responses change over the course of months or years. For exercises using the sentence-
completion technique, just copy the sentence stems from the following pages onto pages
of your own workbook. Give yourself room to write at least six to ten endings for each
sentence stem.
If you are willing to become engaged in the process of your personal growth—this is the
perfect program for you. You will soon discover an amazing truth. You know much
more than you presently think. You are about to embark on a voyage into your self; you
will emerge more alive, more capable of achievement, love and joy.
Living Consciously
Exercise 1 – Living Consciously
Prepare two lists. In list one, identify the areas in your life in which you operate with the
most consciousness. In list two, note the areas where you operate with the least
consciousness. Identify at least three areas to improve on with regard to your level of
consciousness. Meditate on what seems to be difficult about staying in high-level mental
focus in these areas.
3
List 1 List 2
Then, for each of the areas in list two, write these sentence stems, each at the top and on
separate pages, and then, as rapidly as possible, and without censoring your thoughts,
write six to ten endings. Repeat these steps for the three sentence stems that follow for
all the areas in the list.
Self-Acceptance
Exercise 2 – Self-Acceptance
Write six to ten endings as rapidly as you can for each of the following sentence stems.
Don’t worry if your ending is literally true, or if one ending conflicts with another. None
of your endings are carved in stone. This is merely an exercise—an experiment.
4
One of my emotions I have trouble accepting is
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
I am beginning to feel
1.
5
Exercise 3 – Self-Acceptance
It takes courage to admit that we like ourselves—faults or no faults, shortcomings or no
shortcomings. Here is a simple sentence-completion exercise that will allow you to
explore this issue and figure out where you now stand.
The scary thing about admitting that I like myself, faults or no faults, is
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
6
If I were willing to breathe deeply and allow myself to experience the joy of being
1.
Exercise 4 – Self-Acceptance
Make a list of six facts about yourself that you have difficult accepting completely.
Remember that accepting doesn’t mean liking. Then, for each item, write six to ten
endings for each of the following sentence stems.
Then, for each item, write six to ten endings for each of the following sentence stems.
If it turns out that the truth is the truth, whether I accept it or not
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
Assessing Behavior
Exercise 5 – Assessing Behavior
The maintenance of personal integrity is of great importance to your self-evaluation.
When your behavior expresses your professed values, you have integrity. Here is a
sentence-completion exercise to help you explore this issue. Write six to ten endings for
each sentence stem.
7
I most feel I have integrity when I
1.
1.
1.
8
If I were to look fully at what I {did or failed to do} [pick one and then erase the other]
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
9
When I feel defensive about positives
1.
10
With my friends I felt
1.
If the child in me could speak, {he or she} [choose one] might say
1.
Sometimes, the hard thing about fully accepting the child within is
1.
11
I would be kinder to the child within if I were to
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
One of the things my []-year-old self needs from me and has never gotten is
1.
12
Living Responsibly
Exercise 12 – Living Responsibly
Avoiding self-responsibility victimizes us. It leaves us helpless. By contrast, embracing
self-responsibility can be an exhilarating and empowering experience. It places our life
back in our own hands. The following sentence-completion exercise brings the point
home with speed and clarity.
13
If I were willing to breathe deeply and fully experience my own power
1.
Today’s date
Your health
Your emotions
Your character
Your self-esteem
14
Then provide endings to the sentence stem below for whatever area(s) you regard as
requiring more self-responsibility.
One of the ways I can take more responsibility with regard to this area is to
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
Living Authentically
Exercise 15 – Living Authentically
Using, once again, a scale from 1 to 10,k with 10 representing the highest level of
authenticity and 1 representing the lowest level conceivable, rate yourself on each of
these items.
15
Today’s date
I feel that the self I experience internally is the self I present to the world.
The hard thing about being honest about my feelings with others is
1.
The hard thing about being honest about what I’m feeling with myself is
1.
16
If I were willing to show others my excitement
1.
If I were willing to experiment with being a little more authentic every day
1.
If my life belongs to me
1.
17
If I really do have a right to exist
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
I am becoming aware
1.
18
Exercise 19 – Vices and Virtues
19
Exercise 21 – Responsible Living
20
As I learn to simply be myself
1.
If I accept that I may not yet be ready to let all this knowledge in
1.
21