- “Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly, and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story. Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love – for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you from misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labours and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.” ― Max Ehrmann, Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life
- The worst curse to befall anyone is stagnation, a banal existence, the quiet desperation that comes out of a need for conformity. Deepak Chopra (The Return of Merlin)
- Intuition is allergic to conformity. Bill Masur
- “7 Rules to a Happy Life:1. Be humble2. Don’t worry 3. Don’t settle for less4. Mind your business5. Work hard 6. Play hard7. Be nice” ― Germany Kent
- We are the ones we have been waiting for. Alice Walker
- To lead others, one must find one’s own direction. Zhuangzi
- “The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position.” ― Leo Buscaglia
- I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become. Carl Jung
- “If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.” ― Frank Zappa
- “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” ― Germany Kent
- To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly. Henri Bergson (See also: maturity quotes)
- The effect of life in society is to complicate and confuse our existence, making us forget who we really are by causing us to become obsessed with what we are not. Zhuangzi
- “You are unique. You have different talents and abilities. You don’t have to always follow in the footsteps of others. And most important, you should always remind yourself that you don’t have to do what everyone else is doing and have a responsibility to develop the talents you have been given.” ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart
- To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting. E. E. Cummings
- “Just be yourself, there is no one better.” ― Taylor Swift
- Even if one is neither vain nor self-obsessed, it is so extraordinary to be oneself – exactly oneself and no one else. Simone de Beauvoir
- “As individuals, we hardly have any control over the world. At best, what we can do is try controlling ourselves.” ― Dr Prem Jagyasi
- He who tries to shine dims his own light. He who defines himself can’t know who he really is. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
- “If you don’t know who you truly are, you’ll never know what you really want.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.” ― Martha Graham
- “Nothing can be more hurtful to your heart than betraying yourself.” ― Roy T. Bennett
- “Let yourself be drawn by the stronger pull of that which you truly love.” ― Rumi
- Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else. David Foster Wallace (Infinite Jest)
- The moment I figure out something is a waste of time, I leave immediately. Naval Ravikant
- When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you. Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)
- Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. Oscar Wilde
- There’s a whole category of people who miss out by not allowing themselves to be weird enough. Alain de Botton
- You are who you are when nobody’s watching. Stephen Fry
- “People are wishing to Stand Out in this pretentious World; unaware that simply Being Themselves can do the Trick!” ― Somya Kedia
- Just keep coming home to yourself. You are the one you’ve been waiting for. Byron Katie