Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.
Interpretation
Understanding oneself is vital before making life decisions.
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and self-awareness in shaping one's life choices. Before pursuing any goals or ambitions, it's crucial to listen to and understand your own identity, values, and desires, as this foundational knowledge will guide you in making meaningful decisions that align with your true self.
In practice
During a motivational speech about personal growth.
The academic bias against subjectivity not only forces our students to write poorly ("It is believed...," instead of, "I believe..."), it deforms their thinking about themselves and their world. In a single stroke, we delude our students into believing that bad prose turns opinions into facts and we alienate them from their own inner lives.
Self-care is never a selfish act - it is only good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.
We need a coat with two pockets. In one pocket there is dust, and in the other pocket there is gold. We need a coat with two pockets to remind us who we are.
The kind of teaching that transforms people does not happen if the student’s inward teacher is ignored… we can speak to the teacher within our students only when we are on speaking terms with the teacher within ourselves.
Our deepest calling is to grow into our own authentic self-hood, whether or not it conforms to some image of who we ought to be. As we do so, we will not only find the joy that every human being seeks--we will also find our path of authentic service in the world.
The people who help us grow toward true self offer unconditional love, neither judging us to be deficient nor trying to force us to change but accepting us exactly as we are. And yet this unconditional love does not lead us to rest on our laurels. Instead, it surrounds us with a charged force field that makes us want to grow from the inside out - a force field that is safe enough to take the risks and endure the failures that growth requires.
They are eloquent who can speak low things acutely, and of great things with dignity, and of moderate things with temper.
If you are insulted, if you are accused, if they gossip about you, don't say anything bad. Don't be the one who sees the shame, be the one who corrects it.
He promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future.
The danger that keeps me just a little frightened with every book I write, however, is that I'll overreach myself once too often and try to write a story that I'm just plain not talented or skilful enough to write. That's the dilemma every storyteller faces. It is painful to fail. But it is far sadder when a storyteller stops wanting to try.
Acknowledging what you don't know is the dawning of wisdom.
We've been programmed, from the time that we were very, very little, about what we can't do - about what is impossible.
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