No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
It’s okay if you mess up. You should give yourself a break.
—Billy Joel (b.1949) American Singer, Songwriter, Musician
The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of the circumstances.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
To oppose something is to maintain it…You must go somewhere else; you must have another goal; then you walk a different road.
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b.1929) American Science fiction and fantasy writer
We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
Every man who does not accept the conditions of life sells his soul.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
Let a man’s talents or virtues be what they may, he will only feel satisfaction in his society as he is satisfied in himself.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
—Edward Everett Hale (1822–1909) American Unitarian Clergyman
Public opinion is a weak tyrant, compared with our private opinion – what a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates his fate.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–62) American Philosopher
Part of the happiness of life consists not in fighting battles, but in avoiding them. A masterly retreat is in itself a victory.
—Norman Vincent Peale (1898–1993) American Clergyman, Self-Help Author
I care not so much what I am in the opinion of others as what I am in my own; I would be rich of myself and not by borrowing.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Interest in the lives of others, the high evaluation of these lives, what are they but the overflow of the interest a man finds in himself, the value he attributes to his own being?
—Sherwood Anderson (1876–1941) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
There is a proper balance between not asking enough of oneself and asking or expecting too much.
—May Sarton (1912–95) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Novelist
Who except the gods can live without any pain?
—Aeschylus (525–456 BCE) Greek Poet
Better is the enemy of good.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Blessed is he who expects no gratitude, for he shall not be disappointed.
—William Bennett (b.1943) American Politician, Political Theorist, Government Official
Welcome everything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.
—Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Novelist
The beauty of the soul shines out when a man bears with composure one heavy mischance after another, not because he does not feel them, but because he is a man of high and heroic temper.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–91) Polish-born American Children’s Books Writer, Novelist, Short Story Writer
Against necessity, against its strength, no one can fight and win.
—Aeschylus (525–456 BCE) Greek Poet
I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of goodwill. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy, and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character.
—John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn (1838–1923) British Political Leader, Writer, Editor, Journalist
God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
—Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) American Christian Theologian
Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.
—Zhuang Zhou (c.369–c.286 BCE) Chinese Taoist Philosopher
Don’t be sad, don’t be angry, if life deceives you! Submit to your grief; your time for joy will come, believe me.
—Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837) Russian Poet
We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own or to other people’s models, learn to be ourselves, and allow our natural channel to open.
—Shakti Gawain (b.1948) American Author, Environmentalist
Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Ours must be the first age whose great goal, on a nonmaterial plane, is not fulfillment but adjustment.
—Louis Kronenberger (1904–80) American Drama, Literary Critic
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
No matter how much you feed a wolf, he will always return to the forest.
—Russian Proverb
People are lucky and unlucky … according to the ratio between what they get and what they have been led to expect.
—Samuel Butler
Here is a rule to remember in future, when anything tempts you to feel bitter: not “This is misfortune,” but “To bear this worthily is good fortune.”
—Marcus Aurelius (121–180) Emperor of Rome, Stoic Philosopher
Healthy personalities accept themselves not in any self-idolizing way, but in the sense that they see themselves as persons who are worth giving to another and worthy to receive from another.
—William Glasser (b.1925) American Psychiatrist, Writer
Make a virtue of necessity.
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) English Poet, Philosopher, Diplomat, Bureaucrat
Maturity is achieved when a person accepts life as full of tension.
—Joshua L. Liebman (1907–48) American Jewish Rabbi, Author
You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don’t win, at least you can be satisfied that you’ve tried. If you don’t accept failure as a possibility, you don’t set high goals, and you don’t branch out, you don’t try–you don’t take the risk.
—Rosalynn Carter (b.1927) American Humanitarian, First Lady
One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is that things are what they are and will be what they will be.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
We would have to settle for the elegant goal of becoming ourselves.
—William Styron (1925–2006) American Novelist, Essayist, Writer
Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect.
—Margaret Mitchell (1900-49) American Novelist, Journalist
Life is a very sad piece of buffoonery, because we have … the need to fool ourselves continuously by the spontaneous creation of a reality … which, from time to time, reveals itself to be vain and illusory.
—Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) Italian Dramatist, Novelist, Short Story Writer, Author
Nothing in life is so hard that you can’t make it easier by the way you take it.
—Ellen Glasgow (1873–1945) American Novelist
Everything in life that we really accept undergoes a change. So suffering must become love. That is the mystery.
—Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand-born British Author
It is only fools who keep straining at high C all their lives.
—Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900) American Essayist, Novelist
All the greatest and most important problems of life are fundamentally insolvable. They can never be solved, but only outgrown.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
Our entire life – consists ultimately in accepting ourselves as we are.
—Jean Anouilh (1910-87) French Dramatist
Acceptance is the truest kinship with humanity.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
He who attempts to resist the wave is swept away, but he who bends before it abides.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Your problem is you’re … too busy holding onto your unworthiness.
—Ram Dass (1931–2019) American Hindu, New Age Pioneer
I not only bow to the inevitable; I am fortified by it.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
The trouble with most people is that they think with their hopes or fears or wishes, rather than their minds.
—William C. Durant (1861–1947) American Industrialist
Toleration is the best religion.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American First Lady, Diplomat, Humanitarian
Of all afflictions, the worst is self-contempt.
—Berthold Auerbach (1812-82) German Novelist
Happiness comes from within a man, from some curious adjustment to life.
—Hugh Walpole (1884–1941) English Novelist, Short Story Writer, Dramatist
You can succeed if nobody else believes it, but you will never succeed if you don’t believe in yourself.
—William J. H. Boetcker (1873–1962) American Presbyterian Minister
The chief duty I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
Be content with what you are, and wish not change; nor dread your last day, nor long for it.
—Martial (40–104) Ancient Roman Latin Poet
Buddha’s doctrine: man suffers because of his craving to possess and keep forever things which are essentially impermanent… this frustration of the desire to possess is the immediate cause of suffering.
—Alan Watts (1915–73) British-American Philosopher, Author
We set up harsh and unkind rules against ourselves. No one is born without faults. That man is best who has fewest.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them—every day begin the task anew.
—Francis de Sales (1567–1622) French Catholic Saint
The mind which renounces, once and forever, a futile hope, has its compensations in ever-growing calm.
—George Gissing (1857–1903) English Novelist
Never deny a diagnosis, but do deny the negative verdict that may go with it.
—Norman Cousins (1915–90) American Journalist, Author, Academic, Activist
I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle, but if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.
—Marilyn Monroe (1926–62) American Actor, Model, Singer
The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Real life is, to most men … a perpetual compromise between the ideal and the possible.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
I’m not OK, you’re not OK — and that’s OK.
—William Sloane Coffin (1924–2006) American Presbyterian Clergyman, Peace Activist
We cannot change anything unless we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.
—Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) Swiss Psychologist, Psychiatrist, Philosopher
Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
Life, I fancy, would very often be insupportable, but for the luxury of self-compassion.
—George Gissing (1857–1903) English Novelist
Those people who are uncomfortable in themselves are disagreeable to others.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I’ve met.
—Dwight L. Moody (1837–99) Christian Religious Leader, Publisher
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life some rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness.
—Jean Vanier (1928–2019) French-Canadian Philosopher, Theologian, Humanitarian
He is happy whose circumstances suit his temper; but he is more excellent who can suit his temper to any circumstances.
—David Hume (1711–76) Scottish Philosopher, Historian
I hope to work, support my children and die quietly without pain.
—Sean Connery (1930–2020) Scottish Actor, Film Producer
The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one.
—Russell Lynes (1910–91) American Art Historian, Photographer, Author, Editor
Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
When people screw up, give them a second chance.
—Richard Branson (b.1950) British Entrepreneur
Always fall in with what you’re asked to accept. Take what is given, and make it over your way. My aim in life has always been to hold my own with whatever’s going. Not against: with.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
The world is not to be put in order, the world is order incarnate. It is for us to put ourselves in unison with this order.
—Henry Miller (1891–1980) American Novelist
At thirty a man should know himself like the palm of his hand, know the exact number of his defects and qualities … And above all, accept these things.
—Albert Camus (1913–60) Algerian-born French Philosopher, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist, Author
It is almost more important how a person takes his fate than what it is.
—Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) German Philosopher, Linguist, Statesman
The most popular persons are those who take the world as it is, who find the least fault.
—Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900) American Essayist, Novelist
Science says: “We must live,” and seeks the means of prolonging, increasing, facilitating and amplifying life, of making it tolerable and acceptable; wisdom says: “We must die”, and seeks how to make us die well.
—Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) Spanish Educator, Philosopher, Author
If you want to be respected by others the great thing is to respect yourself. Only by that, only by self-respect will you compel others to respect you.
—Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–81) Russian Novelist, Essayist, Writer
The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. Accept life, and you must accept regret.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
I was always willing to take a great deal of the burden of getting along in life on my own shoulders, but I wasn’t willing to give myself a pat on the back. I was always looking to somebody else to give me that … That was all wrong.
—Raquel Welch (b.1940) American Actress, Singer
I … know what I do, and am unmoved by men’s blame, or their praise either.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one’s work seriously and taking one’s self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous.
—Margot Fonteyn (1919–91) English Classical Ballet Dancer
I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do. That is character.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
To do all that one is able to do is to be a man; to do all that one would like to do is to be a god.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a sin the corrupt or evil man never practices. He always has hope. He never reaches the freezing-point of knowing absolute failure. Only the man of goodwill carries always in his heart this capacity for damnation.
—Graham Greene (1904–91) British Novelist, Playwright, Short Story Writer
When I decided to go into politics I weighted the costs. I would get criticism. But I went ahead. So when virulent criticism came I wasn’t surprised. I was better able to handle it.
—Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) 31st American President
It is enough that I am of value to somebody today.
—Hugh Prather (b.1938) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
When we see ourselves in a situation which must be endured and gone through, it is best to make up our minds to meet it with firmness, and accommodate everything to it in the best way practical. This lessons the evil, while fretting and fuming only serve to increase your own torments.
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) American Head of State, Lawyer
I’d rather be a few pounds heavier and enjoy life than be worried all the time.
—Drew Barrymore (b.1975) American Actress, Producer, Director
There is no such thing as pure pleasure; some anxiety always goes with it.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
The search for a new personality is futile; what is fruitful is the interest the old personality can take in new activities.
—Cesare Pavese (1908–50) Italian Novelist, Poet, Critic, Translator
Nobody holds a good opinion of a man who has a low opinion of himself.
—Anthony Trollope (1815–82) English Novelist
If you make friends with yourself you will never be alone.
—Maxwell Maltz (1899–1975) American Surgeon, Motivational Writer
He who cannot do what he wants must make do with what he can.
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
When you have got an elephant by the hind legs and he is trying to run away, it’s best to let him run.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Unless I accept my faults, I will most certainly doubt my virtues.
—Hugh Prather (b.1938) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
If you want a place in the sun, you’ve got to put up with a few blisters.
—Pauline Phillips (Abigail van Buren) (b.1918) American Columnist
Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall have peace.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
We have fought this fight as long, and as well, as we know how. We have been defeated. There is now but one course to pursue. We must accept the situation.
—Robert E. Lee (1807–70) Confederate General during American Civil War
An oak and a reed were arguing about their strength. When a strong wind came up, the reed avoided being uprooted by bending and leaning with the gusts of wind. But the oak stood firm and was torn up by the roots.
—Aesop (620–564 BCE) Greek Fabulist
Self-love is not opposed to the love of other people. You cannot really love yourself and do yourself a favor without doing other people a favor, and vice versa.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
We already have so much abundance. We truly do. We need not search too far. It is within. The reason we fail to recognize this is because we haven’t quite mastered the art of being. For abundance to prevail, we must have love, gratitude, acceptance and compassion.
—John Welwood (1943–2019) American East-West Psychologist
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
—Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803) Italian Poet, Dramatist
The unknown is what it is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what it is. Accept that it’s unknown, and it’s plain sailing.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist