Love is generally confused with dependence; but in point of fact, you can love only in proportion to your capacity for independence.
Rollo MayRead
In my clinical experience, the greatest block to a person's development is his having to take on a way of life which is not rooted in his own powers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A person's growth is hindered when they adopt a lifestyle that does not align with their true self.
Rollo May highlights a fundamental barrier to personal development: when individuals adopt a way of life that is not authentic to their innate abilities and strengths, they restrict their potential for growth and fulfillment. By emphasizing the importance of aligning one's lifestyle with their true self, May encourages individuals to reflect on their values and capabilities, ultimately fostering a more genuine and effective path toward personal advancement.
Themes
Personal DevelopmentAuthenticitySelf-DiscoveryGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared during a personal development workshop to highlight the importance of authenticity.
More from Rollo May
All quotes βTo love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive - to grief, sorrow, and disappointment as well as to joy, fulfillment, and an intensity of consciousness we did not know was possible before
Rollo MayRead
Terrorism and the whole drug scene are vivid examples of the fact that what persons abhor most of all in life is the possibility that they will not matter.
Rollo MayRead
Humor is the healthy way of feeling "distance" between one's self and the problem, a way of standing off and looking at one's problem with perspective.
Rollo MayRead
Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously.
Rollo MayRead
The poet, like the lover, is a menace on the assembly line.
Rollo MayRead
Similar quotes
Please don't settle for happiness. It's not good enough. Of course you deserve it, but if that's all you have in mind - happiness - I want to suggest to you that personal success devoid of meaningfulness, free of a steady commitment to social justice - that's more than a barren life. It's a trivial one.
Toni MorrisonRead
Lord, enlighten thou our enemies. Sharpen their wits, give acuteness to their perceptions, and consecutiveness and clearness to their reasoning powers: we are in danger from their folly, not from their wisdom; their weakness is what fills us with apprehension, not their strength.
John Stuart MillRead
"Difficulty" is the name of an ancient tool that was created purely to help us define who we are.
Paulo CoelhoRead
Keep a little space in your heart for the improbable. You won't regret it.
Elizabeth WarrenRead
Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.
Yehuda BergRead
Once you know the nature of anger and joy is empty and you let them go, you free yourself from karma.
Gautama BuddhaRead