A butterfly does not wonder how it can stop being a caterpillar. It simply feels some feeling from within that tells it: isolate yourself in this cocoon and grow within it. It trusts that feeling. When it comes out, it is radiant and beautiful. All the little bug did was follow its nature. You are no different.
Be real. Be authentic. Be yourself, whatever the emotional cost. Pain goes away, while regret over a life lived trying to be a plastic version of yourself does not.
Sometimes, to love people, I must completely avoid them. Sometimes, to be strong, I must completely fall apart. Sometimes, to create, I must completely destroy.
You do not need any more strength. You only need to realize how strong you already are.
Your darkest moments are not meant to be swept under the carpet, hidden from the world in the silent pursuit of perfection. The darkness you’ve overcome is your ticket into leadership. It’s what you’re meant to light up in the world.
Watch your thoughts, for they will become the words of people you draw to yourself.
The sooner we heal our traumas, the sooner we liberate ourselves from the people who hurt us. By hating them, we hold onto them. We cannot heal.
Every person is driven to self-deceive, simply to get out of the discomfort of the truth. The best relationships are with people who will not let you be blind. They reveal your hidden strengths and your concealed wounds.
One of the most difficult things I ever did was learn to support myself through my whole range of emotional experiences without running away.
Emotions are not problems to be solved. They are signals to be interpreted.
Each moment of self-honesty builds intimacy, trust, and compassion. The more you look, the more you’ll love.
We can only discover our true strength through struggle. Don’t give up. Find out what you’re made of.
Most people spend their lives doing one of two things to their emotions: numbing or venting. Self-loving people do something very different – they accept each emotion as a piece of communication and they try to decode it. This way, emotions can become important guideposts on the journey of self-discovery, rather than annoying roadblocks.
Only you can allow yourself to explore the person in the mirror. Only you can coax yourself into a daring adventure to find your untapped potential.
Remember that when things don’t go according to plan, they go according to truth. No matter how painful the reality, it is reality nonetheless. There is dignity in facing the truth without trying to cut it down to a more manageable size. There is honour in acceptance.
If we learn to be responsible for our own emotions, thoughts, and needs, then we can see other people for who they are as opposed to what they can do for us.
Think of a wave: it washes onto the shore, and then it rolls back. Likewise, each of your activities has a backside of stillness. To be with people, you must be alone. To listen, you need silence. To exercise, you need rest. You do not need to inflict rest, silence, or aloneness. You can simply surrender to your existing urges for these essential actions.
A happy person is not without sorrow or grief. Happiness is the acceptance of pain, not the lack of it.
Kindness that turns to bitterness when it is not appreciated was never kindness at all.
It will take as long as it takes. Your work is to take the time and make the space. Everything else is beyond your influence.