None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Shall a man go and hang himself because he belongs to the race of pygmies, and not be the biggest pygmie that he can? Let everyone mind his own business, and endeavor to be what he was made
Interpretation
What this quote means
Embrace your unique identity and strive to reach your full potential, rather than comparing yourself to others.
This quote by Henry David Thoreau encourages individuals to accept and celebrate their own uniqueness instead of succumbing to feelings of inferiority based on comparison with others. It suggests that everyone should focus on their own development and would be better served by striving to become the best version of themselves rather than dwelling on societal benchmarks or limitations.
Themes
IdentityPotentialSelf-ImprovementUniquenessComparison
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about personal growth and self-acceptance.
More from Henry David Thoreau
All quotes →Through want of enterprise and faith men are where they are, buying and selling and spending their lives like servants.
Henry David ThoreauRead
An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
Henry David ThoreauRead
Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings. The reality will make any sincere record respectable.
Henry David ThoreauRead
As every season seems best to us in its turn, so the coming in of spring is like the creation of Cosmos out of Chaos and the realization of the Golden Age.
Henry David ThoreauRead
That grand old poem called Winter
Henry David ThoreauRead
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And all knowledge, when separated from justice and virtue, is seen to be cunning and not wisdom; wherefore make this your first and last and constant and all-absorbing aim, to exceed, if possible, not only us but all your ancestors in virtue; and know that to excel you in virtue only brings us shame, but that to be excelled by you is a source of happiness to us.
PlatoRead
Mistakes are at the very base of human thought, embedded there, feeding the structure like root nodules. If we were not provided with the knack for being wrong, we could never get anything useful done. We think our way along by choosing between right and wrong alternatives, and the wrong choices have to be made as often as the right ones. We get along in life this way.
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When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless.
Pema ChodronRead
I wish for you a life of wealth, health and happiness; a life in which you give to yourself the gift of patience, the virtue of reason, the value of knowledge, and the influence of faith in your own ability to dream about and achieve worthy rewards.
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Sogyal RinpocheRead