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Who We Are Quotes

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Who We Are Quotes

“We all have different desires and needs, but if we don't discover what we want from ourselves and what we stand for, we will live passively and unfulfilled. Sooner or later, we are all asked to compromise ourselves and the things we care about. We define ourselves by our actions. With each decision, we tell ourselves and the world who we are. Think about what you want out of this life, and recognize that there are many kinds of success.”

IfsThinkingWorldWantNeedsKindDifferentMotivationalCareActionDesireDecisionWhat You WantCompromiseThis LifeWho We AreSooner Or LaterOur Actions
Author:Bill Watterson
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“Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, however, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. The merciful commitment strengthens us to see the truth about ourselves and repent. The conviction and repentance moves us to cling to and rest in God's mercy and grace.”

WayGivingMovingChristLove IsSupportGraceInformationTruth IsCommitmentMercyConvictionSavingRadicalDenialWho We AreFlawsRepentanceRepentUnconditionalMercifulWithout LoveTruthfulnessSentimentalityHarshnessIt SupportSaving Love
Book:The Obedient Master
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“No. Take the heart first. Then you don't feel the cold so much. The pain so much. With the heart gone, there's no reason to stay your hand. Your eyes can look on death and not tremble. It's the heart that betrays us, makes us weep, makes us bury our friends when we should be marching ahead. It's the heart that sickens us at night and makes us hate who we are. It's the heart that sings old songs and brings memories of warm days.”

LifeFeelsShouldFirstsLooksHeartReasonHandsEyePainNightHateSongMemoriesGoneColdWarmWho We AreNo ReasonBetrayOld SongReason To Stay
Author:Jeanette Winterson
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“Clearly recognizing what is happening inside us, and regarding what we see with an open, kind and loving heart, is what I call Radical Acceptance. If we are holding back from any part of our experience, if our heart shuts out any part of who we are and what we feel, we are fueling the fears and feelings of separation that sustain the trance of unworthiness. Radical Acceptance directly dismantles the very foundations of this trance.”

IfsFeelsHeartKindFeelingsAcceptanceHappeningsFoundationSeparationRadicalWho We AreRecognizingTranceHolding BackRadical AcceptanceLovingkindness
Author:Tara Brach
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“Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of chaos, it has been the authorities - the political, the religious, the educational authorities - who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules, regulations, informing - forming in our minds - their view of reality. To think for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state of vulnerable open-mindedness, chaotic, confused vulnerability to inform yourself.”

ThinkingKnowsGivingMindHumansHas BeensStatesFactsRealityPoliticalOrderReligiousViewsComfortAuthorityOceanSpeciesChaosEducationalVulnerableVulnerabilityConfusedWho We AreRegulationFrighteningHuman HistoryChaoticOpen MindednessPsychedelic ExperienceInformingThink For Yourself
Author:Timothy Leary
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“The late British-born philosopher Alan Watts, in one of his wonderful lectures on eastern philosophy, used this analogy: "If I draw a circle, most people, when asked what I have drawn, will say I have drawn a circle or a disc, or a ball. Very few people will say I've drawn a hole in the wall, because most people think of the inside first, rather than thinking of the outside. But actually these two sides go together--you cannot have what is 'in here' unless you have what is out there.' " In other words, where we are is vital to who we are.”

PeopleIfsThinkingFirstsTwoPhilosophyTogetherUsedSidesBornWonderfulWallLateDrawsBallsPhilosopherBritishCirclesHolesWho We AreEasternLecturesTwo SidesAnalogiesDiscsEastern Philosophy
Author:Eric Weiner
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“Schwartz's research suggests something important: we can stretch our personalities, but only up to a point. Our inborn temperaments influence us, regardless of the lives we lead. A sizeable part of who we are is ordained by our genes, by our brains, by our nervous systems. And yet the elasticity that Schwartz found in some of the high-reactive teens also suggests the converse: we have free will and can use it to shape our personalities.”

ImportantUseFoundBrainInfluencePersonalityShapesResearchNervousWho We AreFree WillGenesTeensTemperamentNervous SystemConversesElasticity
Author:Susan Cain
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“Feelings and stories of unworthiness and shame are perhaps the most binding element in the trance of fear. When we believe something is wrong with us, we are convinced we are in danger. Our shame fuels ongoing fear, and our fear fuels more shame. The very fact that we feel fear seems to prove that we are broken or incapable. When we are trapped in trance, being fearful and bad seem to define who we are. The anxiety in our body, the stories, the ways we make excuses, withdraw or lash out—these become to us the self that is most real.”

WayFeelsBelieveRealSelfFactsStoriesFeelingsBodySeemsDangerBrokenProveElementsAnxietyShameExcuseConvincedWho We AreFuelFearfulTrappedIncapableOngoingBindingLashesTrance
Author:Tara Brach
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“The narratives we create in order to justify our actions and choices become in so many ways who we are. They are the things we say back to ourselves to explain our complicated lives. Perhaps the reason you've not yet been able to forgive yourself is that you're still invested in your self-loathing. Perhaps not forgiving yourself is the flip side of your stealing-this-now cycle. Would you be a better or worse person if you forgave yourself for the bad things you did? If you perpetually condemn yourself for being a liar and a thief, does that make you good?”

IfsWayPersonsDoeStillsSelfReasonAbleActionOrderChoicesSidesForgivingComplicatedStealingNarrativeWho We AreJustifyCyclesLiarsBad ThingsThievesOur ActionsFlipLoathingSelf LoathingForgive YourselfNot ForgivingComplicated Life
Author:Cheryl Strayed
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“We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans — because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings. That’s why we paint, that’s why we dare to love someone- because we have the impulse to explain who we are. Not just how tall we are, or thin… but who we are internally… perhaps even spiritually. There’s something, which impels us to show our inner-souls. The more courageous we are, the more we succeed in explaining what we know.”

KnowsWantLifeWritingHumansSoulReasonShowsHuman BeingsWalksSucceedMountainOceanPaintDareImpulseWho We AreClimbsCourageousSwimTallExplainingLove Someone
Author:Maya Angelou
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“Shame usually follows a pattern—a cycle of self-recrimination and lies that claims life after life. First, we experience an intensely painful event. Second, we believe the lie that our pain and failure is who we are—not just something we’ve done, or had done to us—and we experience shame. And finally, our feelings of shame trap us into thinking that we can never recover—that, in fact, we don’t even deserve to.”

ThinkingFirstsBelieveSelfDoneFactsFeelingsPainLyingEventsDeserveClaimsShamePatternsPainfulWho We AreCyclesTraps
Book:The Christian Atheist: Believing in God But Living as If He Doesn't Exist
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“The burden God places on each of us is to become who we are meant to be. We are most fully ourselves when Christ most fully lives in us and through us. The mother shines brightest with her child in her arms, the father when he forgives his wandering son, and the artist when he or she is drawing attention to grace, by showing the pinprick of light overcoming the darkness in the painting, or the story, or the song. The world knows darkness. Christ came into the world to show us light. I have seen it, have been blinded by it, invaded by it. I will tell its story.”

KnowsWorldChildrenHas BeensStoriesShowsLightMotherArtistSongFatherChristAttentionDarknessGracePaintingSonArmsOvercomingForgivingShiningBurdenDrawingWanderWho We AreMeant To BeBlindedDrawing Attention
Author:Andrew Peterson
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“There's no "should" or "should not" when it comes to having feelings. They're part of who we are and their origins are beyond our control. When we can believe that, we may find it easier to make constructive choices about what to do with those feelings.”

ShouldBelieveMayFeelingsChoicesEasyHuman NatureTelevisionEasierWho We AreConstructive
Book:You Are Special: Words of Wisdom for All Ages from a Beloved Neighbor
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“Connection is why we're here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives. The power that connection holds in our lives was confirmed when the main concern about connection emerged as the fear of disconnection; the fear that something we have done or failed to do, something about who we are or where we come from, has made us unlovable and unworthy of connection.”

GivingMadeDonePurposeOur LivesConcernConnectionsWho We AreUnworthyDisconnectionUnlovableWhere We ComePurpose And Meaning
Author:Brené Brown
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“Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences -- good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as "ordinary courage.”

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Author:Brené Brown
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“What do you know about yourself? What are your stories? The ones you tell yourself, and the ones told by others. All of us begin somewhere. Though I suppose the truth is that we begin more than once; we begin many times. Over and over, we start our own tales, compose our own stories, whether our lives are short or long. Until at last all our beginnings come down to just one end, and the tale of who we are is done.”

KnowsLongEndsDoneStoriesLastsOur LivesTruth IsTalesJust OneWho We AreDo You KnowAbout Yourself
Book:Once: Before Midnight; Golden; Wild Orchid
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“Acceptance. We want someone to look at us, and really see us—our physical flaws, our personality quirks, our insecurities. And we want them to be okay with every square inch of who we are. We’re always afraid we might be too needy or too much work. We put all these limitations on ourselves and our relationships because we’re afraid that we’re not really loved. That we’re not really accepted. We hide little pieces of ourselves because we think that might be the one thing that finally drives away the person who’s supposed to love us.”

ThinkingWantLooksLittlesPersonsMightToo MuchPiecesOne ThingAcceptancePersonalityOkayAcceptedLimitationWho We AreInsecurityFlawsSquaresInchesOur RelationshipNeedyQuirksToo Much Work
Book:Cross Your Heart: A Broken Heart Novel
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