I'm not alone, I'm free. I no longer have to be a credit, I don't have to be a symbol to anybody; I don't have to be a first to anybody.
Lena HorneRead
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it. Carry it by the comfortable handles of gratitude for what's positive and that it is not worse, rather than the uncomfortable edges of bitterness for the negatives and that it is not better.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Our perspective on challenges matters more than the challenges themselves.
This quote highlights that it is not the challenges or burdens we face in life that truly overwhelm us, but rather our attitude and approach toward those burdens. It suggests that approaching life's difficulties with gratitude can lighten the emotional load, whereas focusing on negativity can exacerbate our struggles.
Themes
LoadGratitudeBitternessPerspectiveChallenges
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about resilience in the workplace.
More from Lena Horne
All quotes →I was unique in that I was a kind of black that white people could accept. I was their daydream. I had the worst kind of acceptance because it was never for how great I was or what I contributed. It was because of the way I looked.
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I'm still learning, you know. At 80, I feel there is a lot I don't know.
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My identity is very clear to me now, I am a black woman.
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In my early days I was a sepia Hedy Lamarr. Now I'm black and a woman, singing my own way.
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