If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?
Maya AngelouRead
I'm always disappointed when people don't live up to their potential. I know that a number of people look down on themselves and consequently on everybody who looks like them. But that, too, can change.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses disappointment in people who do not fulfill their potential and highlights the impact of self-perception on self-worth.
Maya Angelou's quote reflects a deep concern for the potential that resides within individuals, particularly those who may struggle with self-worth due to societal perceptions. She emphasizes that when people do not recognize their own abilities, it not only affects them but also how they view others who share similar backgrounds. Importantly, she offers a sense of hope, suggesting that this negative self-perception can change, pointing toward the possibility of growth and empowerment.
Themes
PotentialSelf-WorthChangePerceptionInspiration
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech to high school students about believing in themselves.
More from Maya Angelou
All quotes →I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.
Maya AngelouRead
The white American man makes the white American woman maybe not superfluous but just a little kind of decoration. Not really important to turning around the wheels of the state. Well the black American woman has never been able to feel that way. No black American man at any time in our history in the United States has been able to feel that he didn't need that black woman right against him, shoulder to shoulder-in that cotton field, on the auction block, in the ghetto, wherever.
Maya AngelouRead
I dreamt we walked together along the shore. We made satisfying small talk and laughed. This morning I found sand in my shoe and a seashell in my pocket. Was I only dreaming?
Maya AngelouRead
I know that I'm not the easiest person to live with. The challenge I put on myself is so great that the person I live with feels himself challenged. I bring a lot to bear, and I don't know how not to.
Maya AngelouRead
I think Clinton, after getting into office and into Washington, was shocked at being bludgeoned. So he spent time trying to be all things to all people - one way guaranteed not to be successful or respected in a lion's den. You can't just play around with all those big cats - you've got to take somebody on.
Maya AngelouRead
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