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Self Definition Quotes

Browse 15 quotes about Self Definition.

Self Definition Quotes

“The knowledge of God is a consciousness of ignorance. It does not yield a clearly defined sense of self with which we can rest content, and say I am such and such a person. After every partial act of self-definition, attention to God reminds us of what remains unsaid. For this reason the work of religion is never done. The task of self-knowledge is never complete, just because what we call self-knowledge is in reality self-definition. While we live the self has continually to be defined anew.”

ChangeSelf KnowledgeKnowledge Of GodSelf Definition
Book:God in Our Hands
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“As noted before, we’re unfairly biased toward what we already know, what we believe to be certain. If I believe I’m a nice guy, I will avoid situations that could potentially contradict that belief. If I believe I’m an awesome cook, I’ll seek out opportunities to prove that to myself over and over again. The belief always takes precedence. Until we change how we view ourselves, what we believe we are and are not, we cannot overcome our avoidance and anxiety. We cannot change. In this way, “knowing yourself” or “finding yourself” can be dangerous. It can cement you into a strict role and saddle you with unnecessary expectations. It can close you off to inner potential and outer opportunities. I say don’t find yourself. I say never know who you are. Because that’s what keeps you striving and discovering. And it forces you to remain humble in your judgements and accepting of the differences in others.”

Self DiscoveryFinding YourselfHumblenessSelf DefinitionSound Advice
Book:The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
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“Human beings possess the gift of personal freedom and liberty of the mind. We each possess the sovereignty over the body and mind to define ourselves and embrace the values that we wish to exemplify. Personal autonomy enables humans to take independent action and use reason to establish moral values. We are part of nature. Consciousness, human cognition, and awareness of our own mortality allow us to script an independent survival reality and not merely react to environmental forces.”

ConsciousnessSelf AwarenessSelf DeterminationAutonomyFreedom Of ThoughtCognitionFreedom Of ChoiceMoral ValuesSelf Awareness QuotesPersonal FreedomConsciousness QuotesConscious AwarenessMoral ResponsibilitySelf AwareSelf DefinitionPersonal AutonomySelf SovereigntyLiberty Of The Mind
Book:Dead Toad Scrolls
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“Working on these books helped me make sense of this place and what had happened to us. It was my way of processing and even reclaiming the power to tell the world who I was in my own words, not the interrogators'. They could control my life, but I wouldn't allow them to define it.”

WritingAgencyTelling Your StorySelf DefinitionGuantánamoGuantánamo Bay
Book:Don't Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantanamo
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“Restructuring our perception does not mean simply “adding facts” to our worldview but altering the footing on which we make decisions when we see how the world is changing. Making decisions is an act of self-definition and self-creation guided by informed reason, not by blind impulse or deception. ("Final decision")”

WorldviewSelf DefinitionFinal DecisionAdding FactsAltering The FootingMake Decision QuotesRestructuring Our Perception
Author:Erik Pevernagie
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“At age 43, when I decided to run again, I realized that the images used to describe runners didn't fit me. I wasn't a rabbit. I wasn't a gazelle or a cheetah or any of the other animals that run fast and free. But I wasn't a turtle or a snail either. I wasn't content anymore to move slowly through my life and hide in my shell when I was scared. I was a round little man with a heavy heart but a hopeful spirit. I didn't really run, or even jog. I waddled. I was a Penguin. This was the image that fit. Emperor-proud, I stand tallto face the elements of my life. Yes, I am round. Yes, I am slow. Yes, I run as thought my legs are tied together at the knees. But I am running. And that is all that matters.”

InspirationalRunningJoggingSelf Definition
Book:The Courage To Start: A Guide To Running for Your Life
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“Have you ever taken yourself a bit too seriously, thinking that who you are is actually defined by what you look like, how much talent you have (or don't have), how well known you are (or aren't), or how much money you have (or don't have)? Those are all "garments and labels" you wear during the course of your stay here on this planet, but it's not who you are. At the end of the day, when it's all said and done, you will turn all of that back in just like a car you had on lease.”

TalentAuthenticityDeath And DyingGifts Of The SpiritSelf Definition
Book:The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life
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“I define me. No event or person does this. I define me. I decide who I am and how I'm going to behave, and I choose to be better. To look more carefully, to trudge deeper. To think about other people's past and not judge someone for doing or handling something differently than I would. To understand my limitations, my shortcomings - that is my growth edge.”

Self ActualizationSelf Definition
Book:Life Will Be the Death of Me: . . . and you too!
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“Lelia gave a dharma talk about letting go of self-definition: I can't do this because of what happened to me in my childhood; I can't do that because I am very shy; I could never go there because I'm afraid of clowns or mushrooms or polar bears. The group gave a gentle, collective laugh of self-recognition. Teresa found the talk helpful, as she had been having an extended interior dialogue during meditation about how septuagenarians from Torrance were fundamentally unsuited for Buddhism.”

MeditationBuddhismSelf Definition
Book:Commonwealth
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“We were collectively defining our identities by what we would not do, and such an act of definition can be a strange, subtle sort of self-murder. I understand that such a radical act might be necessary, in the face of an intractable self-destructiveness, to save one's life. But I can't bring myself to embrace it, because in any such act of self definition (I'm Mark and I'm an addict) the other selves, some of whom are not named because they don't belong in this context, and some of whom aren't named because they cannot be, but remain phantoms, potentialities, shadows, little streams into the larger liquidity--well, all those aspects of oneself are more or less banished from the conversation, and they retreat a little farther away, and then a little farther again.”

IdentitySelf Definition
Book:What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life
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