Feeling Good by Doing Good: A Guide to Authentic Self-Esteem and Well-Being

Recent years have seen a surprising shift concerning the concept of self-esteem, with some researchers attacking the notion of self-esteem as being of little value or too difficult to study. Educators emphasized self-esteem's importance in schools to the extent that sometimes it became more important than academic performance. And a parade of overly-simple and ineffective self-help books promote the importance of self-esteem but seldom deliver real change.

Coming to the defense of self-esteem as a valuable and measurable component of good mental health, Feeling Good by Doing Good offers a new evidence-based approach to defining, understanding, and increasing what is known as "authentic self-esteem." Translating decades of research in the fields of self-esteem, humanistic psychology, positive psychology, and psychotherapy into everyday terms, Christopher Mruk traces the definition of self-esteem back to when it was first used to describe the value of "doing that which is both just and right." Seen this way, self-esteem is not just feeling good about oneself - rather, it comes from facing life's challenges in ways that demonstrate one's competence and worth as a person.

This approach to self-esteem offers several new and powerful advantages, namely understanding different types of self-esteem, clarifying the connection between self-esteem and self-control, appreciating how self-esteem operates in various domains of life such as work or relationships, realizing that self-esteem acts as an internal compass to help steer us in healthier directions, and recognizing the connection between authentic self-esteem and basic human values. Featuring clinical and everyday vignettes, practical exercises aimed at enhancing personal as well as interpersonal well-being, and thought-provoking self-assessments for the reader, Feeling Good by Doing Good is a unique resource that will be of interest to mental health professionals, their clients, and laypersons alike interested in substance over platitudes and feel-good solutions.

Christopher J. Mruk, Ph.D, is a professor of psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio where he has received the University's Professor of Teaching Excellence Award along with other teaching and research awards. He practices as a clinical psychologist, writes in the areas of self-esteem, positive psychology, and psychotherapy, and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association.