If I am not good to myself, how can I expect anyone else to be good to me?
Maya AngelouRead
All of childhood's unanswered questions must finally be passed back to the town and answered there. Heroes and bogey men, values and dislikes, are first encountered and labeled in that early environment. In later years they change faces, places and maybe races, tactics, intensities and goals, but beneath those penetrable masks they wear forever the stocking-capped faces of childhood.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Childhood experiences shape our understanding of the world and influence who we become.
This quote by Maya Angelou reflects on the idea that the foundational experiences of childhood—our heroes, fears, and values—are deeply influential in shaping our identity. As we grow older, these early labels and perceptions may evolve and shift, but they remain embedded within us, impacting our choices and perspectives throughout life. Ultimately, it suggests that we must confront and understand these childhood influences to navigate adulthood effectively.
Themes
ChildhoodIdentityExperienceGrowthInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about personal development during a psychology class.
More from Maya Angelou
All quotes →I find it interesting that the meanest life, the poorest existence, is attributed to God's will, but as human beings become more affluent, as their living standard and style begin to ascend the material scale, God descends the scale of responsibility at commensurate speed.
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The white American man makes the white American woman maybe not superfluous but just a little kind of decoration. Not really important to turning around the wheels of the state. Well the black American woman has never been able to feel that way. No black American man at any time in our history in the United States has been able to feel that he didn't need that black woman right against him, shoulder to shoulder-in that cotton field, on the auction block, in the ghetto, wherever.
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I dreamt we walked together along the shore. We made satisfying small talk and laughed. This morning I found sand in my shoe and a seashell in my pocket. Was I only dreaming?
Maya AngelouRead
I know that I'm not the easiest person to live with. The challenge I put on myself is so great that the person I live with feels himself challenged. I bring a lot to bear, and I don't know how not to.
Maya AngelouRead
I think Clinton, after getting into office and into Washington, was shocked at being bludgeoned. So he spent time trying to be all things to all people - one way guaranteed not to be successful or respected in a lion's den. You can't just play around with all those big cats - you've got to take somebody on.
Maya AngelouRead
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Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts.
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What can any one person do?' he said. 'Each person does a little something,' I said, 'and there you are.
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There is an interesting scientific dispute about realism and optimism. Some find that very optimistic people have benign illusions about themselves. These people may think they have more control, or more skill, than they actually do. Others have found that optimistic people have a good handle on reality. The jury is still out.
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