People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
Aung San Suu KyiRead
At this age, I should be leading a quiet life.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on expectations versus reality as one ages, suggesting a desire for peace versus the challenges of leadership.
Aung San Suu Kyi's quote expresses a poignant contrast between the common expectation of a tranquil life in one's later years and the tumultuous responsibilities that often accompany leadership. It highlights the internal struggle between personal desires for serenity and the obligation to address pressing societal issues, illustrating the complexities that come with age and public service.
In practice
A speaker at a conference on leadership might use this quote to illustrate the burdens that come with power.
People ask me about what sacrifices I've made. I always answer: I've made no sacrifices, I've made choices.
The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations.
This was the way I was brought up to think of politics, that politics was to do with ethics, it was to do with responsibility, it was to do with service, so I think I was conditioned to think like that, and I'm too old to change now.
My top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves.
If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.
Where there is no justice there can be no secure peace.
Good order is the foundation of all things.
The knowledge and skills you have achieved are meant to be forgotten so you can float comfortably in emptiness, without obstruction.
I think that's the single best piece of advice: constantly think about how you could be doing things better and questioning yourself.
The United States invariably does the right thing, after having exhausted every other alternative.
I think you have to be yourself, and you have to be real and you have to admit what you don't know, and talk about what you do know, and talk about what you don't know as long as you say you don't know it.
If you can wait and not be tired of waiting, or being lied about, don't deal in lies. Or being hated, don't give way to hating, and yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.
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