QuoteProject
We have the need to be accepted and to be loved by others, but we cannot accept and love ourselves. The more self-love we have, the less we will experience self-abuse. Self-abuse comes from self-rejection, and self-rejection comes from having an image of what it means to be perfect and never measuring up to that ideal. Our image of perfection is the reason we reject ourselves the way we are, and why we don't accept others the way they are.
Miguel Angel Ruiz
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Self-love is essential for acceptance and reduces self-abuse stemming from unrealistic perfectionism.

This quote emphasizes the importance of self-love as a fundamental aspect of our emotional well-being. Miguel Angel Ruiz argues that many people struggle with self-rejection due to an unattainable image of perfection, leading to a cycle of self-abuse. When individuals cultivate self-love, they learn to accept themselves and, in turn, are more capable of accepting others, fostering healthier relationships.

Themes

Self-LoveAcceptancePerfectionSelf-RejectionRelationships

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used as a reminder during a workshop on self-acceptance.

More from Miguel Angel Ruiz

We have a tendency to make assumptions about everything! The problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are truth. We could swear they are real. We make assumptions about what others are doing or thinking-we take it personally-then we blame them and react by sending emotional poison in our word. That is why whenever we make assumptions, we're asking for problems. We make assumptions, we misunderstand, we take it personally, and we end up creating a whole big drama for nothing.
Miguel Angel RuizRead
...What you are is a force--a force that makes it possible for your body to live, a force that makes it possible for your whole mind to dream...You are life
Miguel Angel RuizRead
What you will see is love coming out of the trees, love coming out of the sky, love coming out of the light. You will perceive love from everything around you. This is the state of bliss.
Miguel Angel RuizRead
Humans punish themselves endlessly for not being what they believe they should be. They become very self-abusive, and they use other people to abuse themselves as well.
Miguel Angel RuizRead
When we try to describe the truth with words, we distort it and it's no longer truth--it's our story. The story may be true for us, but that doesn't mean it's true for anyone else.
Miguel Angel RuizRead
When we believe in lies, we cannot see the truth, so we make thousands of assumptions and we take them as truth. One of the biggest assumptions we make is that the lies we believe are the truth!
Miguel Angel RuizRead

Similar quotes

The drama and the trauma of the relationship you have when you're 16 can mirror the one you have when you're 26. Life repeats itself.
Taylor SwiftRead
If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die.
Maya AngelouRead
From their teenage years on, children are considerably more capable of causing parents unhappiness than bringing them happiness. That is one reason parents who rely on their children for happiness make both their children and themselves miserable.
Dennis PragerRead
People are not as nice as they used to be. There used to be a time when we conversed. You don't get a lot of real responses now. They used to be more polite and well-mannered people, generally. It's minimal now.
Aretha FranklinRead
Emotions are contagious. We've all known it experientially. You know after you have a really fun coffee with a friend, you feel good. When you have a rude clerk in a store, you walk away feeling bad.
Daniel GolemanRead
Empathy is like a universal solvent. Any problem immersed in empathy becomes soluble. It is effective as a way of anticipating and resolving interpersonal problems, whether this is a marital conflict, an international conflict, a problem at work, difficulties in a friendship, political deadlocks, a family dispute, or a problem with a neighbor.
Simon Baron-CohenRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.