self - self 3 - self 4
   

The path of awakening is not about
becoming who you are.  Rather it is
about unbecoming who you are not.


Leonard Jacobson

  

Coming to appreciate your worth can, in some cases, dramatically improve your circumstances by changing the choices you make and the actions you take.  And as you begin to treat yourself with more respect, other people begin to do the same, since we subconsciously "train" others how to treat us through messages we send through body language, tone of voice, and other subtle cues and behaviors.  Discovering your innate worth and living from that place allows you to make more constructive choices--to choose the higher roads of life.

Dan Millman

      

Treating ourselves as a best friend is an important factor in the quality of our current living and will be crucial in our last years.  It’s the only way we can gain an intimate knowledge of who we are and what we need.  Being familiar with – and able to articulate – our wants and needs gives us some control of our lives, and is absolutely essential when we are old and may have to rely on others to do what we can no longer do for ourselves.

Sallirae Henderson

  
Something we were withholding made us weak
Until we found it was ourselves.

Robert Frost
   

If I can think of myself as loved, I can love and accept others.
If I see myself as forgiven, I can be gracious toward others.
If I see myself as powerful, I can do what I know is right.
If I see myself as full, I can give myself freely to others.


Kathy Peel

   

I shall try to remember all this day that I am
a divine creation with infinite possibilities.

Benjamin Eitelgeorge

   

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To set us on a clear path, it is important to communicate well, at least
with ourselves.  To know what we want, to know what we mean, and
to learn to express ourselves clearly, with as little confusion as possible.
If you are confused about yourself, you can expect to be misunderstood
by those around you.  You have to set your mind straight,
and that is a task that no one else can undertake for you.

Rosemary Altea

 

You cannot fail at being yourself.  A cat doesn't try
to be a tiger, and you shouldn't try to be something you aren't.
You are a process, not a product.  Your job is to
discover what you are and to create that creature.  You
still won't be perfect, but success isn't about
perfection-- it is about authenticity.  You are a
success if you are being your real, authentic self.


Bernie Siegel

 

Contentment. . . comes as the infallible result of great acceptances,
great humilities—of not trying to make ourselves this or that (to
conform to some dramatized version of ourselves), but of surrendering
ourselves to the fullness of life—of letting life flow through us.

David Grayson

  

A political victory, a rise in rents, the recovery of your sick, or the
return of your absent friend, or some other quite external
event, raises your spirits, and you think good days are
preparing for you.  Do not believe it.  It can never be so.
Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

 

You may study with the highest teachers, but you will find no one but yourself
teaching you.  You may travel the world over, yet find nothing but yourself,
reflected the world over.  So if you now find yourself in a cell, take heart
that of all the teachers in the world, out of all the places in the world,
you still have with you the only ultimate ingredient of your journey:  yourself.

Bo Lozoff

  

 

Thinking like a winner means not always having to defeat someone else.  It means being able to grow from a situation in which you fail to reach your goal.  It involves not demanding perfection from yourself in every single thing you do, but, instead, thinking of yourself as perfect and thus capable of growing.  It means reminding yourself that perfection doesn’t mean staying the same; it means being able to allow yourself to grow.  Thinking as a winner means not coming down on yourself; it means refusing to allow self-repudiating thoughts into your head.  It involves pushing out the inclination to evaluate yourself in comparison with others, and giving yourself permission to be the unique person you are.

Wayne Dyer

 
In a world in which we are exposed to more information, more options,
more philosophies, more perspectives than ever before, in which we must
choose the values by which we will live (rather than unquestioningly follow
some tradition for no better reason than that our own parents did), we need
to be willing to stand on our own judgment and trust our own intelligence—to
look at the world through our own eyes—to chart our course and think through
how to achieve the future we want, to commit ourselves to continuous
questioning and learning—to be, in a word, self-responsible.

Nathaniel Branden
 

“The things we see,” Pistorius said softly, “are the same things that
are within us.  That is why so many people live such unreal lives.
They take the images outside them for reality and never allow
the world within to assert itself.”

Herman Hesse
Demian

  

self - self 3 - self 4

This morning take a few minutes to reflect on how you give of
yourself to the world.  Often we get caught up in the frenzy
of buying and giving things.
   Look at the ways you give appreciation, friendship, energy,
time, love, and affection, and give of your own special talents
and abilities throughout the year.  Acknowledge yourself for
having enriched the lives of others.  Spend some time loving
yourself for the giving light that you are.

Shakti Gawain
  

The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.

Fred Rogers
The World According to Mr. Rogers

  

You have a unique gift to offer this world.  Be true to yourself,
be kind to yourself, read and learn about everything that interests
you and keep away from people who bring you down.  When
you treat yourself kindly and respect the uniqueness of those
around you, you will be giving this world an amazing gift. . . YOU!

Steve Maraboli

 

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There is no such thing as can’t, only won’t.
If you’re qualified, all it takes
is a burning desire to accomplish, to make
a change.  Go forward, go backward.
Whatever it takes!  But you can’t blame
other people or society in general.
It all comes from your mind.
When we do the impossible we
realize that we are special people.

Jan Ashford

  

It is never too late to be what
you might have been.

George Eliot

Try not to become a person of success but rather try to become a person of value.

Albert Einstein

  
It is painful to face the self we know we have never had the integrity to honor and assert.

Nathaniel Branden
Self-Esteem Every Day
  

Up to a point people’s lives are shaped by environment, heredity,
and movements and changes in the world about them; then there
comes a time when it lies within their grasp to shape the clay of their
lives into the sort of thing they wish to be. . . . Everyone has it within
their power to say, this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow.

Louis L’Amour

  

  
Accepting the labels other people try to tag us with is one of the most
destructive things we can do to ourselves.  Because once we accept
those labels, we allow them to define us--what we can do, what
we should want, what we can and can't have.  We start considering
what others think is right for us instead of using our own instincts
and self-knowledge to make our own best choices. 
Over the years I have learned that we can't live genuinely until
we learn to disregard the labels and judgments of others.  As some
wise person once said, "You aren't what people call you, you are what
you answer to."  The better we become at ignoring whatever people
call us, the closer we get to fulfilling our dreams, the easier it
becomes to create the life we really want,
not the life someone else thinks we should have.

Patti LaBelle
  

The more you surrender to the fear of someone’s disapproval, the more you lose face
in your own eyes, and the more desperate you become for someone’s approval.
Within you is a void that should have been filled by self-esteem.  When you
attempt to fill it with the approval of others instead, the void grows deeper and
the hunger for acceptance and approval grows stronger.  The only solution is
to summon the courage to honor your own judgment,
frightening though that may be in the beginning.

Nathaniel Branden

  

To the extent that we honor all aspects of ourselves, we remove revulsion,
self-hate, horror, and terror from our lives.  As whole human beings we are
the creatures of the greatest complexity on this planet.  Respect for this
complexity includes our insisting on acceptance of the
inconsistent and incongruous.

Theodore Rubin

  
A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed.
A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me.  It takes
very little to raise me up or thrust me down.  Often I am like a small boat
on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves.  All the time and energy
I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being
tipped over and drowning shows my life is mostly a struggle for survival:
not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from
the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me.

Henri J.M. Nouwen
  

The gatha I often take refuge in is, "Coming back to the island of
myself."  When life seems like a turbulent ocean, we have to
remember we have an island of peace inside.  Life has ups and
downs, coming and going, gain and loss.  Dwelling in the island
of self, you are safe.

Thich Nhat Hanh
How to Walk

  

 
How I feel about and behave toward myself is the basic determinant of
most of my behavior.  If I improve my self-regard, I will find that dozens
of behaviors change automatically.  If, for example, I increase my feelings
of self-competence, I will probably be less defensive, less angered by
criticism, less devastated if I do not get a raise, less anxious when I come
to work, better able to make decisions, and more able
to appreciate and praise other people.

Will Schultz
  

There is an Indian proverb or axiom that says that everyone is a house
with four rooms--a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual.
Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless
we go into every room every day, even if only to keep
it aired, we are not a complete person.

Rumer Godden

  

We must not allow other people’s limited perceptions to define us.

Virginia Satir

  

  
A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us,
altogether within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to
recognize it.  God Himself is here awaiting our response
to His presence.  This eternal world will come alive to
us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality.

A.W. Tozer
   

As children of the Most High God we are to accept ourselves as
the natural creation does—which simply is in great beauty, without
self-condemnation.  Yet those people who truly love and accept
themselves are rare.  Why do we seek self-worth through social
recognition and acquisition, as though those were needed?  We are
special children of God, the Creator of worlds without measure.
As such each one of us is intrinsically very, very worthy.

Bruce Gilbert

  
Articles and book excerpts on self:

Accepting Yourself Unconditionally      Brian Tracy
Acknowledge the Totality of Your Being      Richard Carlson

Your Higher Self      Wayne Dyer

Keeping It Together      Rachel Naomi Remen

Pruning a Tree      Bernie Siegel

Self-Love      M. Scott Peck

from "Self-Reliance"      Ralph Waldo Emerson

Site to Be Developed      Bernie Siegel

Taking Charge by Taking Responsibility      Dan Millman

from The Te of Piglet      Benjamin Hoff

Your Hidden Potential      Ari Kiev

A Complete and Balanced Life      Helaine Iris

Ponderings on Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata"      tom walsh

Doing vs. Being      tom walsh

Successfully Downloading and Installing "A-Ha's"      Julie Jordan Scott

Elevate Your Life Simply and Lusciously      Julie Jordan Scott

How to Open up While Staying Safe      Rinatta Paries

In This Day      Bob Perks

It Is up to You      Jim Rohn

Journey into Your Heart      Ronald Bissell

Let Freedom Ring!      Kathy Paauw

Listen While You Speak      Louise Morganti Kaelin

Making Change, One Layer at a Time      Rosemarie Rossetti

Morning Pages      Asoka Selvarajah

Self-Improvement as It Applies to You      Robert Taylor

Solitude and Seclusion      Khalil Gibran

Sometimes Undoing and Forgetting Are Best      Asoka Selvarajah

Sprouting Seeds--the Roots of Self-Growth      Gary Barnes

The Teachers in My Life      tom walsh

Top Ten Principles to Live by--Plus One!      Louise Morganti Kaelin

You Are a Marvel      Pau Casals
The Most Important Meetings You'll Attend Are the Meetings You Have with Yourself     Denis Waitley
The Art of Living with Ourselves      Wilferd A. Peterson

  

   
You are a child of the universe, “fearfully and wonderfully made.” In the history
of creation, there has never been anyone like you.  Accept this reality about
yourself— that you are a special, unique human being who has a place on this
earth that no one else can fill.  Acknowledge yourself as a glorious expression of
your loving Creator.  This healthy self-love will form the foundation of a joyful
and satisfying life.  Then, as you love and accept yourself, your inner light will
shine outward to bless and heal your fellow human beings.

Douglas Bloch
   

We all want recognition for our “specialness.”  But we should never take
our self-worth from our society, feedback from others, or our own comparisons
to others.  Our self-esteem should be based in the fact that God created us
with the utmost care and has called His creation good.  In His foresight
we are all made of “the right stuff.”  Our self-worth then comes from
how we use it, in service to our families and communities,
exercising our creative gifts, and becoming one with God.

unattributed

   

We have some inspiring and motivational books that may interest you.  Our main way of supporting this site is through the sale of books, either physical copies or digital copies for your Amazon Kindle (including the online reader).  All of the money that we earn through them comes back to the site in one way or another.  Just click on the picture to the left to visit our page of books, both fiction and non-fiction!

self - self 3 - self 4

I do not know when I have had happier times in my soul, than when
I have been sitting at work, with nothing before me but a candle and
a white cloth, and hearing no sound but that of my own breath, with
God in my soul and heaven in my eye . . . . I rejoice in being exactly
what I am,--a creature capable of loving God, and who, as long as God
lives, must be happy.  I get up and look for a while out the window,
and gaze at the moon and stars, the work of an Almighty hand.  I think
of the grandeur of the universe, and then sit down, and think
myself one of the happiest beings in it.

Attributed to a poor 18th-century Methodist woman
  
  
In a moment of deep inner silence, I heard a gentle voice whisper:  "Beloved, dare to make the break out of the lonely crowd.  There is a wonderful plan for your life.  A magnificent purpose resounds through your unfoldment.  Release and let go of your outdated and outworn self!  Dare to be reborn in the brilliance of the freedom of Spirit, filled and motivated with universal energy flowing direct from the heart of God."

Fascinated, I listened:  "Beloved, dare to lose old patterns of expression, old habits of weakness and death, old memories of destruction.  Dare to witness the activity of divine love expressing through you as perfect life as it restores, rejuvenates, and regenerates every cell of your being!  Live in the wholeness of spirit, and direct your light essence for the healing and uplifting of the world."

Wow!  I wondered, do I dare?  The voice continued:  "Beloved, go beyond your present understanding.  Exceed your now consciousness of Truth.  Be fully immersed in your divine blueprint through all good. . . on earth as it is in heaven.  You carry within the keys to the kingdom.  Use them to open all doors of joyous expression and to direct the wonder and effectiveness of the spiritual gifts you possess into your working knowledge."

In expectation, I remained silent, listening.

"Beloved, dedicate yourself to love.  Watch as love dissolves undesirable situations, unwanted circumstances, and all thoughts and feelings of negative nature.  Dare to be magnificent!  Dare to be a self-renewing temple of the living God!  Dare to be beauty, harmony, light, and music as I created you to be!  Remember, I have loved you with an everlasting love!"

Joy filled my heart as I asked:  "Who are you?  Who is saying this to me?"

And from infinity within came the answer, "I am!"

Cristina Carlino
The Rainbow Connection
   

     
   

Found online:
 

 
(Found online images come from a variety of unattributed
sources from various social media pages.  They're too nice
not to share!)

   
    

Alone in his car heading west, it's easy for Jason
to feel sorry for himself and mad at the world.  But
then he gives a ride to Hector and learns that life
isn't nearly as negative as we sometimes see it,
and that the prejudice and discrimination that
he's experiencing aren't unique to him--and aren't
impossible to overcome.  The friendship between
this young man and his 70-year-old passenger is
an inspiring story of love and dealing with
obstacles in our lives.    
Book - Kindle