Quotes about yourself
page 18

“Value yourself more.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

What I Know for Sure

“When you start to live outside yourself, it's all dangerous.”

Ernest Hemingway book The Garden of Eden

Source: The Garden of Eden

“Try to realize it's all within yourself,
No one else can make you change.
And to see you're really only very small
And life flows in within you and without you.”

George Harrison (1943–2001) British musician, former member of the Beatles

Within You Without You, from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Lyrics

Life, Change

“NO! Don't force yourself to be alone! If you're alive, you can meet that person, somewhere, someday! The person that will be glad that you're alive! You can't… you can't want yourself to die!! So… live…”

Yukiru Sugisaki (1974) Manga artist

Personality

“Now, if you have never been hit by a flying burrito, count yourself lucky. In terms of deadly projectiles, it's right up there with grenades and cannonballs.”

Rick Riordan book The Titan's Curse

Variant: Ever had a flying burrito hit you? Well, it's a deadly projectile, right up there with cannonballs and grenades.
Source: The Titan's Curse

Flying

“To write something you have to risk making a fool of yourself.”

Anne Rice (1941) American writer

Fools

“You must see with eyes unclouded by hate. See the good in that which is evil, and the evil in that which is good. Pledge yourself to neither side, but vow instead to preserve the balance that exists between the two.”

Hayao Miyazaki (1941) Japanese animator, film director, and mangaka

Hate, Evil

“You don't even realize you're living in a before until you wake up one day and find yourself in an after.”

Robin Wasserman (1978) American writer of speculative fiction for young people

Source: The Book of Blood and Shadow

“The only thing you can be is yourself nothing more nothing less”

Terry Goodkind Blood of the Fold

Source: Blood of the Fold

“Almost all the time, you tell yourself you're loving somebody when you're just using them.
This only looks like love.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Invisible Monsters

Source: Invisible Monsters

Love, Time

“And maybe you should stop pitying yourself,” he said. “Most people are lucky to have even one great love in their life. You have found two.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Princess

Source: Clockwork Princess

Love, Life, People

“In a way fighting was just like using magic. You said the words, and they altered the universe. By merely speaking you could create damage and pain, cause tears to fall, drive people away, make yourself feel better, make your life worse.”

Lev Grossman The Magicians

Source: The Magicians

Life, Pain, People, Way

“He took her face in his bloody hands. "I’ll come and find you wherever you are. I’ll not stop breathing until I do. So you’re going to have to promise me that you won’t lose hope. That you will keep yourself alive.”

Melina Marchetta (1965) Australian teen writer

Source: Froi of the Exiles

Hope

“Desire consumes you, it takes you over. You forget yourself completely. All you can think about is the other, the one you desire, your self is just a fire.”

Marilyn French (1929–2009) Novelist, critic

Source: Her Mother's Daughter

Thinking, Forgetting

“Light came into the darkness, but the darkness didn't understand it," Susan said. "Look to the light. Only the light can save you from yourself.”

Ted Dekker book House

Variant: The light came into the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it, but that no longer mattered because the light was now obliteration the darkness.
Source: House

Understanding, Light

“If you limit your choice only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.”

Robert Fritz (1943) American managemetn consultant

Source: The Path of Least Resistance

“… If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires. (151)”

Malcolm Gladwell (1963) journalist and science writer

Source: Outliers: The Story of Success

World, Imagination

“You have to believe in yourself despite the evidence.”

Kent Haruf (1943–2014) Novelist

“Living creatively is really important to maintain throughout your life. And living creatively doesn't mean only artistic creativity, although that's part of it. It means being yourself, not just complying with the wishes of other people.”

Matt Groening (1954) American cartoonist

Life, People, Parting

“If you want to give yourself a fair chance to succeed, never expect too much too soon”

Po Bronson (1964) American writer

Chance

“The real cycle you're working on is a cycle called yourself. The machine that appears to be "out there" and the person that appears to be "in here" are not two separate things. They grow toward Quality or fall away from Quality together.”

Robert M. Pirsig book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Source: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974), Ch. 26
Source: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Appearance, Personality

“As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve.”

Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games

Source: The Hunger Games

“There will always be those who want to tell you who you are based on your name or the blood in your veins. Do not let other people decide who you are. Decide for yourself.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Heavenly Fire

Tessa Gray, to Clary Fray, pg. 716
Source: The Mortal Instruments, City of Heavenly Fire (2014)
Context: I feel a kinship with you, too, you who have lost both brother and father. I know you have been judged and spoken of as the daughter of Valentine Morgenstern, and now the sister of Jonathan. There will always be those who want to tell you who you are based on your name or the blood in your veins. Do not let people decide who you are. Decide for yourself. That freedom is not a gift; it is a birthright. I hope that you and Jace will use it.

People

“Fair means everyone gets what they need. And the only way to get what you need is to make it happen yourself.”

Rick Riordan book The Red Pyramid

Source: The Red Pyramid

Way

“The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live.”

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

Suffering

“As you say of yourself, I too am an Epicurian. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greece and Rome have left us.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

Letter to William Short (31 October 1819)
1810s
Source: Letters of Thomas Jefferson

“You're yourself," Tana said, grinning. "More purely yourself than anyone I know. And if you can't see who that is anymore, then see yourself the way I see you.”

Holly Black book The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Source: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Way

“What you leave behind is the people you loved. You leave yourself in them.”

Ann Brashares book Sisterhood Everlasting

Source: Sisterhood Everlasting

Love, People

“you only know yourself when you go beyond your limits”

Paulo Coelho book Eleven Minutes

Source: Eleven Minutes

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others. Humble people are so focused on serving others, they don't think of themselves.”

Rick Warren (1954) Christian religious leader

Source: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for?

People, Thinking

“After all, the appeal to stop being yourself, even for a little while, is very great.”

Donna Tartt book The Secret History

Source: The Secret History

“The hardest part of living is making peace with your past. Most of all, it’s making peace with yourself.”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Retribution

Peace, Past, Parting

“I think we're made up of all these different pieces and every time someone goes, you're left with less of yourself.”

Melina Marchetta (1965) Australian teen writer

Source: Saving Francesca

Thinking, Time

“It is not advisable to venture unsolicited opinions. You should spare yourself the embarrassing discovery of their exact value to your listener.”

Ayn Rand book Atlas Shrugged

Source: Atlas Shrugged

“Don't be careful. You could hurt yourself.”

Byron Katie (1942) American spiritual writer

Your Inner Awakening

Hurt

“Force yourself to explain it and you create lies.”

Haruki Murakami book Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

Source: Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage

“Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself — and thus make yourself indispensable.”

André Gide (1869–1951) French novelist and essayist

Les Nourritures Terrestres (1897), Envoi
Variant: Be faithful to that which exists within yourself.
Context: What another would have done as well as you, do not do it. What another would have said as well as you, do not say it; what another would have written as well, do not write it. Be faithful to that which exists nowhere but in yourself — and thus make yourself indispensable.

Faith

“I suppose it’s comfort, perhaps a sense of self-control, doing worse things to yourself than the world will ever dare inflict.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Tell-All

Source: Tell-All

World, Sense

“Try to see yourself with power. Not power so that you can get even with anybody else. Power so that you can become even with your vision- Maya Angelo”

Willa Shalit (1955) American artist

Source: Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing Up Female

“Many of us have made our world so familiar that we do not see it anymore. An interesting question to ask yourself at night is, What did I really see this day?”

John O'Donohue (1956–2008) Irish writer, priest and philosopher

Source: Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

World, Question, Night

“Because what was the point in crying when there was no one there to comfort you? And what was worse, when you couldn’t even comfort yourself?”

Cassandra Clare book City of Glass

Variant: What was the point in crying when there was no one to comfort you? And what was worse, when you couldn't even comfort yourself?
Source: City of Glass

Cry

“Hey, Mikey? You get her hurt and I'll end you."
"You let anything happen to Eve and I'll do the same," Michael said. He'd just finished kissing Eve, too. "While you're at it, don't get yourself killed, either, bro."
"Ditto. And don't kiss me.”

Rachel Caine (1962) American writer

Source: Ghost Town

Kiss, Hurt

“To own a certain book - and to choose it without help - is to define yourself.”

Julian Barnes (1946) English writer

Source: A Life with Books

Books, Help

“Never trouble another for what you can do yourself”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

“Whatever you get paid attention for is never what you think is most important about yourself.”

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) American fiction writer and essayist

Thinking

“Middle school is for being like everyone else; middle age is for being like yourself. (430)”

Victoria Moran (1950) American writer

Source: Younger by the Day: 365 Ways to Rejuvenate Your Body and Revitalize Your Spirit

Age, School

“Being in Love means being willing to ruin yourself for the other person.”

Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist

Source: As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980

Love, Personality

“Mortal, if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years, it’s this: lies are curses you place on yourself.”

Kresley Cole book Dead of Winter

Source: Dead of Winter

Learning

“Now you are beginning to think for yourself instead of letting others think for you. That’s the beginning of wisdom.”

Margaret Mitchell book Vom Winde verweht (1937 German edition)

Source: Gone with the Wind

Wisdom, Thinking

“…I said everything that matters… Don't take my advice. Or anyone's advice. Trust yourself. For good or for bad, happy or unhappy, it's your life, and what you do with it has always been entirely up to you.”

Nicholas Sparks book The Best of Me

Evelyn Collier, Chapter 15, p. 223
Source: 2009, The Best of Me (2011)

Life, Happiness

“i believe that basically you write for two people; yourself to try and make it absolutely perfect; or if not that then wonderful. then you write for who you love whether they can read or write or not and whether they are alive or dead.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist

Love, People, Reading, Perfection

“Whose work is it but your own to open your eyes? But indeed the business of the universe is to make such a fool out of you that you will know yourself for one, and begin to be wise.”

George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish journalist, novelist

Source: Lilith A and Lilith, 1896: A Duplex

Fools, Business, Universe

“Always take a stand for yourself, your values. You're defined by what you stand for”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist

“Think about yourself at least once in your life otherwise you may miss the best comedy in this world.”

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) British comic actor and filmmaker

Life, World, Thinking

“Y'all take care of yourself now… strange and interesting friends are hard to find.”

Dean Koontz (1945) American author

“It is impossible to meet God without abandon, without exposing yourself, being raw.”

Bono (1960) Irish rock musician, singer of U2

Source: Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas

God

“There's just something obvious about emptiness, even when you try to convince yourself otherwise.”

Sarah Dessen Lock and Key

Source: Lock and Key

“Now is a time for change, a time to become the greatest version of yourself. And a time to to make your grandest vision of the world.”

Ilchi Lee (1950) South Korean businessman

World, Change, Time

“Hard is trying to rebuild yourself, piece by piece, with no instruction book, and no clue as to where all the important bits are supposed to go.”

Nick Hornby book A Long Way Down

Source: A Long Way Down

Books

“The two important things that I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavour is taking the first step, making the first decision.”

Robyn Davidson (1950) Australian writer

Source: Tracks

Decision, Strong, Learning, Parting

“so whatever you want to do, just do it… Making a damn fool of yourself is absolutely essential.”

Gloria Steinem (1934) American feminist and journalist

Fools

“Don’t try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you’re good, bad things can still happen. And if you’re bad, you can still be lucky.”

Barbara Kingsolver The Poisonwood Bible

Source: The Poisonwood Bible

Life, Mathematics, Problem

“You got to be right with yourself before you can be right with anybody else.”

August Wilson (1945–2005) American playwright

“There is a story, always ahead of you. Barely existing. Only gradually do you attach yourself to it and feed it. You discover the carapace that will contain and test your character. You will find in this way the path of your life.”

Michael Ondaatje The Cat's Table

Source: The Cat's Table

Life, Way

“The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.”

Shunryu Suzuki (1904–1971) Japanese Buddhist missionary

“You mean you're comparing our lives to a sonnet? A strict form, but freedom within it? Yes. Mrs. Whatsit said. You're given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself. What you say is completely up to you.”

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer

Source: A Wrinkle in Time: With Related Readings

Freedom

“Holding people away from you, and denying yourself love, that doesn't make you strong. if anything, it makes you weaker. Because you're doing it out of fear.”

Sarah Dessen book This Lullaby

Source: This Lullaby

Love, People, Fear, Strong

“Keep your lips and other body parts to yourself or you’ll be headless. (Apollymi)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Devil May Cry

Parting

“if you give a man a fish he'll eat for a day, if you teach a man to fish he'll eat all the fish you may have caught for yourself”

Meg Cabot book Darkest Hour

Source: Darkest Hour

Fish, Wise

“We all make mistakes, don't we? But if you can't forgive yourself, you'll always be an exile in your own life.”

Curtis Sittenfeld (1975) Novelist, short story writer

Source: Sisterland

Life, Forgiveness

“Write in recollection and amazement for yourself”

Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) American writer

"Belief & Technique For Modern Prose: List of Essentials" http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/kerouac-technique.html in a letter to Arabelle Porter (28 May 1955); published in Jack Kerouac: Selected Letters 1940-1956 (1995) and in a letter to Don Allen (1958); published in Heaven & Other Poems (1977)