Motivational Quotes: Self-Esteem
Posted: Thursday, March 20, 2008
by Jeff Brown
Inner Projection
No one gets out of here alive when it comes to our feelings. Everyone at some point or another has their feelings hurt. Some have them hurt a great deal, some not so much, and some very rarely have them hurt at all.
Why?
Some play it safe and never venture outside their circle of safety. Others take flight--early and often--willing to stub a toe, bang a shin, and offer up a heart to the gods of trial-and-lesson-learned. And those who go to this school of hard knocks, find the skill to quickly cauterize cardiacal injuries but don't forget the lesson or allow the heart to harden. These are those who are the true doers, mover and shakers. For they are tough enough to go out the door every day, but knowing what's in that tender organ, not allowing those in who may disagree with or abuse their soul-acknowledged vision.
It lies in others. For it is here and only here where the greatest motivation and reward can be found. How many achieve greatness for only the self? The self is too small for perpetual interest. The Hindu believes that selfish desires are like toys along the path of life. A child without toys is sad, sadder still is an adult fixated at this same level. For it is only natural progression to eventually seek the betterment of the other.
We begin barely able to see a few feet past our nose. If our papa didn't move we'd mistake him for a lamp yet to be lit. But we do see him, and mother, siblings, peers, strangers, and move along in our seeing to seeing a town, city, state, country, countries and world. Do we keep seeing? Where goes our gaze? To the heavens, of course. And it is here where we are inspired to keep our heart and minds celestial but our feet back on the ground beating a path to aide our brothers and sisters.
It is here where we find ourselves, and only when we have followed this path do we progress in our ability to improve ourselves, our self-esteem, by working for and through others. May our eyes, ears, heart and soul turn more and more to those who need us most. So here's to mutual benefit--to the esteem of all we love, including ourselves.
God bless. And enjoy.
Self--Esteem
"You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims."-- Harriet Woods
"Self-esteem must be earned! When you dare to dream, dare to follow that dream, dare to suffer through the pain, sacrifice, self-doubts, and friction from the world, you will genuinely impress yourself."-- Dr. Laura Schlessinger
"Whoever you are, there is some younger person who thinks you are perfect. There is some work that will never be done if you don't do it. There is someone who would miss you if you were gone. There is a place that you alone can fill."-- Jacob M. Braude
"It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself."-- Muhammad Ali
"The first great step is to like yourself enough to pick someone who likes you, too."- Jane O'Reilly
"The longest journey is the journey inwards of him who has chosen his destiny."-- Dag Hammarskjold
"There is nothing stronger in the world than gentleness."-- Han Suyin
"Life's most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?"-- Martin Luther King Jr.
"When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you."-- African proverb
"If you think you're too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito."-- Bette Reese
"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be."-- Clementine Paddelford
"Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world."-- Helen Keller
"If a woman is sufficiently ambitious, determined and gifted -- there is practically nothing she can't do."-- Helen Lawrenso
"If you think you can do a thing or you think you can't do a thing, you're right."-- Henry Ford
"With confidence, you can reach truly amazing heights; without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp."-- Jim Loehr
"The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs."-- Joan Didion
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."-- Joseph Chilton Pearce
"Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind. You are as old as your doubt, your fear, your despair. The way to keep young is to keep your faith young. Keep your self-confidence young. Keep your hope young."-- Luella F. Phean
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Team: "T.E.A.M. (T)ogether, (E)veryone, (A)Achieves, (M)ore"
Team: "We become successful by helping others become successful."
Team: "None of us are as strong as all of us."
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)hi jeff, i liked your format. this article was well written and interesting. thanks for sharing, best regards, sueThanks Susan. Happy Easter!
jeff, I love the fact that you pepper the quotes with some quotable stuff too. Well done. Really enjoyed the read. Kepp 'em coming.Johnny, Thanks for the kudos! Have a great week!
Jeff, Some wise words here! I especially love the Henry Ford and the Clementine Paddelford quotes, which are two of my 'old' favourites. I look forward to reading more of your articles.Hannah, Yes, they do get to the point quickly and stay with you, don't they? That's why quotes can be so motivational. Succinct and memorable. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Jeff, Self- Esteem, to me , is when we look in the mirror and see the reflection of the good we have done for others and can see that we look better for it. Thanx for helping us look a little closer at ourselves by reading your article and the great quotes. JeanneJeanne, That's a great one. Can I quote you? ;=)
Jeff- you know you're the man. This came at an interesting time for me- I am reading Bradshaw: On the Family, because my father is the Adult Child of an alcoholic and at age 70, is finally in therapy. Everything seems to boil down to surviving a damaged self esteem. Anyway the book has been helpful in understanding him and consequently myself. Recognizing the far reaching influence of your self esteem in all aspects of your life (and your childrens') is surprising. And good to know that it is not irreversible once identified-... like you said- looking up and serving others will go a long way in repairing it.I feel that everyone could benefit from regular, general maintenance of the heart, head, and soul. Us humans are kinda crazy. We take our car in for regular maintenance, a mere machine, but we treat ourselves like we're super- men and women. Even if you look at marriage, so many getting hooked up who don't know the first thing about relationships, children, and the long haul challenges of staying married. Hell, once again, we are tested before we get a simple license to drive a car but to get a marriage license we just go to town hall and pay a few bucks. No test necessary. Well, thanks for dropping by and may God be with your father, you and your family. God bless.
i wish i weren't as sensitive as i am sometimes. my brother always tells me that i "wear my heart on my sleave." and yet, i keep doing it again and again. i've always thought that being an artist was something that i would not wish upon someone else.I've heard from some enlightened people that in the after-life there will only be teachers and artists to teach the truth and to create better worlds. I imagine, to a great degree, this is true, for all that exists in reality must be created by the mind initially. Ah, but being an artist is a blessing, you just have to work at toughening up your outerwear, especially that sleeve, and making the world around you work to your benefit. As the Zen Buddhist says, we create our own world through our thoughts, mostly through the discipline of those that are the healthiest. God bless.
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