earning self-respect

If you relate to power as something to be opposed and fought, you have surrendered your own.

The technique of merging rests upon the rock of gentleness. When we are gentle towards others, it does not mean that we allow them to walk all over us. It simply means that when we decide to take a stand in anything, we do so with respect towards others. By adding a soft touch to our daily doings, we create curves where there are hard edges and we

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A man who lies to himself is often the first to take offense.

— Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

"There is a point beyond which we cannot return. That is the point that must be reached." —Franz Kafka

People who trust themselves trust themselves because they’re honest with themselves. More specifically, they’re honest about what they need to restrict themselves from or altogether avoid. We think that the more we trust ourselves, the fewer boundaries we’ll need; the opposite is true. The people who trust themselves the most are the ones who honor

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It's strange how much humility it takes to stop hating yourself. 'I am the cause of every problem in my life' is a grandiose belief just like any other. The fall from (dis)grace hits every bit as hard.

“A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”