Self-esteem and treating life as a competition are encouraged in our culture. We strive to be better, more attractive, stronger than others, constantly prove that we are "good enough." We compromise our desires for social approval, get bogged down in self-criticism, or assert ourselves at the expense of others. We spend a lot of energy and time on destructive experiences and eventually burn out and lose our taste for life. But there is an alternative to self-esteem - kindness towards yourself. The world's leading expert in self-empathy and self-compassion, Christine Neff, knows all about the tricky psychological mechanisms that trap us. She explains how to fix destructive emotional patterns so you can be healthier, happier and more effective, and offers an unaccustomed approach to your own imperfection - empathy (not to be confused with pity and whining!).