The self-help gurus - Robert Holden

At almost half a century old, I've read a solid pile of self help books and done my share of navel gazing. I think that each of us has a balance somewhere between looking inward and examining ourselves, and looking outward, and just living the lives we have. Both are necessary, but either one in excess can throw us off balance.

This year, I'm going to have a look at some of the popular self help gurus, and consider what they have to say - and at the same time, I am going to take myself outside, and just live more.

Robert Holden is a happiness guru, and has a 'radical 10 day plan to accept who you really are.' I thought I would give it a look:

Self-acceptance is an invitation to stop trying to change yourself into the person you wish to be, long enough to find out who you really are. Robert Holden has a 10-day plan to help you figure out who this self is that you're supposed to be accepting and how to say yes to your life.

Take a moment right now to assess where you are on the self-acceptance scale. Over the next 10 days, focus on just one main principle and exercise on the pages that follow. At the end, take the test again to see how much you've grown.

The self-acceptance scale can be found here, on Oprah's site if you want to join the party and follow along for ten days.

I scored about 50%, and though I doubt 10 days can change the balance of self esteem, it could be a good place to start.