This is our unabridged interview with Kristin Neff.

Is high self-esteem crucial to human flourishing, or, rather, a hindrance?

“The biggest problem with self-esteem is that it tends to be contingent,” says Kristin Neff. “We only feel good about ourselves when we succeed.” Far too often, high self-esteem breeds narcissism, bullying, and prejudice.

Kristin is a professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. She’s also a prominent expert on the topic of self-compassion, which her research has found to be much more effective than self-esteem in helping people flourish. In this episode, she shares what makes self-compassion different from self-esteem, how to cultivate it, and how it can help us to flourish amidst stress, suffering, and everyday life. We also hear briefly from psychiatrist and author Curt Thompson illuminating the negative neurobiological effects of shame while Kristen explains how self compassion can remedy these effects.

Show Notes:

Similar episodes

Tara Brach: Radical Acceptance

Judith Moskowitz: How to Flourish Amidst Stress

Alfie Kohn: Why You Shouldn’t Punish–or Reward–Your Kids

Curt Thompson: The Soul of Shame

Resources mentioned this episode

Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff

Fierce Self-Compassion by Kristin Neff

Self-Compassion.org

Why Self-Compassion Works Better than Self-Esteem

PDF of Lee’s Interview Notes

Transcript for Abridged Episode

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