“How important is the realization of personal dignity and self-respect? These are principles whose value is the same as what we believe to be true. Losing self-esteem means losing grip on truth values.”

—  Titon Rahmawan

Last update Nov. 30, 2023. History

Related quotes

Eckhart Tolle photo

“In essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone. True self-esteem and true humility arise out of that realization. In the eyes of the ego, self-esteem and humility are contradictory. In truth, they are one and the same.”

Eckhart Tolle (1948) German writer

Source: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose

“How to value my own self-esteem more than the praise of others.”

Frank Crane (1861–1928) American Presbyterian minister

Four Minute Essays Vol. 7 (1919), A School for Living

Marcus Aurelius photo

“Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.”

Marcus Aurelius book Meditations

III, 7
Source: Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book III

Henry Adams photo

“Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.”

Henry Adams (1838–1918) journalist, historian, academic, novelist

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, iii. 7
Misattributed

Julian Barnes photo

“Novels tell us the most truth about life: what it is, how we live it, what it might be for, how we enjoy and value it, and how we lose it.”

Julian Barnes book The Sense of an Ending

Source: The Sense of an Ending

“You got nothin' to lose but your self-respect.”

Wendelin Van Draanen Flipped

Source: Flipped

Ayn Rand photo

“What is greatness? I will answer: it is the capacity to live by the three fundamental values of John Galt: reason, purpose, self-esteem.”

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) Russian-American novelist and philosopher

Playboy Interview (March 1964)

Alan Hirsch photo

“Heroes are important not only because they symbolize what we believe to be important, but because they also convey universal truths about personal self-discovery and self-transcendence, one’s role in society, and the relation between the two.”

Alan Hirsch (1959) South African missionary

Source: The Faith of Leap (2011), p. 106

“Nothing is more important than self-respect in our life. It hurts a lot if someone hurts our self-respect. It seems as if we have no value in their eyes, we are torn apart completely and we separate ourselves from the world, but still our self-respect does not allow us to live peacefully throughout life.”

Shabdon Ka Jahan
Dwight D. Eisenhower photo

“A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969) American general and politician, 34th president of the United States (in office from 1953 to 1961)

1950s, First Inaugural Address (1953)
Context: We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must acquire proficiency in defense and display stamina in purpose. We must be willing, individually and as a Nation, to accept whatever sacrifices may be required of us. A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both. These basic precepts are not lofty abstractions, far removed from matters of daily living. They are laws of spiritual strength that generate and define our material strength. Patriotism means equipped forces and a prepared citizenry. Moral stamina means more energy and more productivity, on the farm and in the factory. Love of liberty means the guarding of every resource that makes freedom possible--from the sanctity of our families and the wealth of our soil to the genius of our scientists.

Related topics