If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?
Maya AngelouRead
I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me.
Interpretation
Advocating for oneself is essential for personal growth and empowerment.
Maya Angelou emphasizes the importance of self-advocacy in this quote. She suggests that one of the most insightful actions is to support oneself and stand up for one's own needs and rights, as well as to advocate for others who may face similar challenges. This idea underlines the significance of self-awareness and empowerment in navigating life's difficulties.
In practice
During a workshop on personal development, I might share this quote to encourage participants to prioritize their own well-being.
If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Work with some men is as besetting a sin as idleness.
The strong grows in solitude where the weak withers away.
The ultimate test of a man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.
Good breeding is the result of good sense, some good nature, and a little self-denial for the sake of others.
Banality is like boredom: bored people are boring people, people who think that things are banal are themselves banal. Interesting people can find something interesting in all things.
Know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly
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