I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm also doing the most important thing a man can do: I'm listening to what I needed to hear from myself.
Paulo CoelhoRead
I am my own best friend and my own worst enemy. Before coming here, I was thinking I don't deserve it, that i wouldn't be able to meet your expectations, and that you had probably chosen the wrong candidate. At the same time, my heart was telling me that i was being rewarded because i hadn't given up and had fought to the end
Interpretation
This quote highlights the internal struggle between self-doubt and self-acceptance.
Paulo Coelho reflects on the duality of one’s internal voice, acknowledging that while we can be our own worst critics, we also have the capacity to recognize our worth and achievements. This balanced perspective encourages listeners to overcome self-doubt and embrace their accomplishments, reminding us that perseverance in the face of adversity is ultimately rewarding.
In practice
During a motivational speech about overcoming personal barriers.
I'm not doing anything, and yet I'm also doing the most important thing a man can do: I'm listening to what I needed to hear from myself.
Each stone, each bend cries welcome to him. He identifies with the mountains and the streams, he sees something of his own soul in the plants and the animals and the birds of the field.
We need to clear our minds of bad thoughts.
Having the courage to take the steps we always wanted to take is the only way of showing that we trust in God.
The fool who loves giving advice on our garden never tends his own plants
Sometimes the Warrior feels as if he were living two lives at once.
The only happy author in this world is he who is below the care of reputation.
Plants grow most in the darkest hours preceding dawn; so do human souls. Nature always pays for a brave fight. Sometimes she pays in strengthened moral muscle, sometimes in deepened spiritual insight, sometimes in a broadening, mellowing, sweetening of the fibres of character,—but she always pays.
Being self-critical is good; being self-hating is destructive. There's a very fine line there somewhere, and I walk it carefully.
The emotion at the point of technical breakthrough is better than wine, women and song put together.
A credible witness to truth and to the values of the Gospel is urgently needed.
... one reads, above all, to prevent oneself thinking.
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