The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can. Robert Cushing

We only become what we are by the radical and deep-seated refusal of that which others have made of us. Jean-Paul Sartre

The searching-out and thorough investigation of truth ought to be the primary study of man. Cicero

The only journey is the journey within. Rainer Maria Rilke

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere. Agnes Repplier

Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do. Menander

Yes, know thyself: in great concerns or small, Be this thy care, for this, my friend, is all. Juvenal

Men soon the faults of others learn A few their virtues, too, find out; But is there oneI have a doubt Who can his own defects discern? Sanskrit Proverb

Collect as precious pearls the words of the wise and virtuous. Abd-el-Kadar

If we do not plant knowledge when young, it will give us no shade when we are old. Lord Chesterfield

Our business in life is not to get ahead of other people, but to get ahead of ourselves. Maltbie D. Matlock

If you have an hour, will you not improve that hour, instead of idling it away? Lord Chesterfield

Follow your honest convictions, and stay strong. William Thackeray

As the sculptor devotes himself to wood and stone, I would devote myself to my soul. Toyohiko Kagawa

He who conquers others is strong; He who conquers himself is mighty. Lao Tzu

The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself. Thales

Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakes. Carl Jung

He that will not reflect is a ruined man. Asian Proverb

Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow. Doug Firebaugh

Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. Chinese Proverb

God ever works with those who work with will. Aeschylus

Insist on yourself. Never imitate. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Heaven never helps the man who will not act. Sophocles

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. Aristotle

Our ideas, like orange-plants, spread out in proportion to the size of the box which imprisons the roots. Edward Bulwer Lytton

We are sometimes as different from ourselves as we are from others. Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Do not think of your faults, still less of other's faults; look for what is good and strong and try to imitate it. Your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes. John Ruskin

In learning to know other things, and other minds, we become more intimately acquainted with ourselves, and are to ourselves better worth knowing. Philip Gilbert Hamilton

It's where we go, and what we do when we get there, that tells us who we are. Joyce Carol Oates

What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself. Hecato, Greek philosopher

It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who cannot change. Confucius

We are either progressing or retrograding all the while; there is no such thing as remaining stationary in this life. James Freeman Clarke

To conquer oneself is the best and noblest victory; to be vanquished by one's own nature is the worst and most ignoble defeat. Plato

Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The happiest life is that which constantly exercises and educates what is best in us. Hamerton

Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life. Herbert Otto

Heed the still small voice that so seldom leads us wrong, and never into folly. Marquise du Deffand

Your real influence is measured by your treatment of yourself. A. Bronson Alcott

One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again. Abraham Maslow

If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. Thomas Edison

A man who finds no satisfaction in himself will seek for it in vain elsewhere. La Rochefoucauld

Fear less, hope more, eat less, chew more, whine less, breathe more, talk less, say more, hate less, love more, and good things will be yours. Swedish Proverb

Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world. Miguel de Cervantes

The best rules to form a young man are: to talk little, to hear much, to reflect alone upon what has passed in company, to distrust one's own opinions, and value others that deserve it. Sir William Temple

Exert your talents, and distinguish yourself, and don't think of retiring from the world, until the world will be sorry that you retire. Samuel Johnson

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Quotes for Personal Growth and Self Knowledge