In the inner city, there's a mentality that the government owes you something. My breakthrough came when I stopped feeling sorry for myself and took responsibility for every part of my life. No more pity parties. I've gotta love me more than anybody else loves me.
Interpretation
Taking personal responsibility is crucial for personal growth and self-love.
Mary J. Blige emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility in overcoming adversity, particularly in the context of a challenging environment. By rejecting a victim mentality and ceasing to seek pity from others, she highlights that true empowerment comes from self-love and taking charge of one's own life without relying on external support or pity.
In practice
In a motivational speech addressing personal growth and overcoming challenges.
When I was five years old I was molested and just, you know. I remember feeling, literally right before it happened, I just could not believe that this person was going to do this to me. That thing followed me all my life. The shame of thinking my molestation was my fault - it led me to believe I wasn't worth anything.
We are all spirits. We get depressed. But music makes you want to live. I know my music has saved my life.
I don't know. Only God knows where the story ends for me, but I know where the story begins. It's up to us to choose, whether we win or lose and I choose to win.
As a child I always wanted to be a singer. The music my mother played in the house moved me - Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Mahalia Jackson. It was truly spiritual. It made you understand what God was. We are all spirits. We get depressed. But music makes you want to live. I know my music has saved my life.
Really, every woman is an example to me, because as women we go through so much pain. We have to live this perfect life when we are messed up inside. We all go through trials and tribulations.
I've been praying to God to show me how to forgive myself. Because... maybe... that's the thing I've been searching for.
One of the things we know is that you cannot motivate other people, but you can remove the obstacles that stop them from motivating themselves. All motivation is self-motivation.
Stop telling people how far they have left to go. Instead tell them how far they’ve come.
We can control a few things: our attitude, our effort, our focus and how we go about treating our teammates.
People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don't deserve them, or that they'll be unable to achieve them.
I think there's something wrong with me - I like to win in everything I do, regardless of what it is. You want to race down the street, I want to beat you. If we're playing checkers, I want to win. You beat me, it's going to bother me. I just enjoy competition.
Recognizing that the power of will is the supreme court over all other departments of my mind, I will exercise daily when I need the urge to act for any purpose; and I will form habits designed to bring the power of my will into action at least once daily.
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