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Quotes about Being Yourself

    “Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier.  The way it actually works is the reverse.  You must first be who you really are, then do what you really need to do, in order to have what you want.” ~ Margaret Young

      “Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us.  Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it.  Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” ~ Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

        “People may call what happens at midlife ‘a crisis,’ but it’s not.  It’s an unraveling – a time when you feel a desperate pull to live the life you want to live, not the one you’re ‘supposed’ to live.  The unraveling is a time when you are challenged by the universe to let go of who you think you are supposed to be and to embrace who you are.” ~ Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

          “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

            “What we seek in love is finding someone with whom we feel safe to reveal our true self.” ~Karen Salmansohn

              “Being is so significant that it is irreplaceable. You are just yourself. Do something that comes out of you – not to assert, but to express! Sing your song, dance your dance, rejoice in being whatever nature has chosen you to be.”

              Osho, The Book of Understanding (page 180)

                “Each person is born with a unique individuality, and each person has a destiny of his or her own. Imitation is crime, it is criminal. If you try to become a Buddha, you may look like Buddha, you may walk like him, you may talk like him, but you will miss. You will miss all that life was ready to deliver to you. Buddha happens only once.”

                Osho, The Book of Understanding (page 146)

                  “Be yourself, and let others be themselves.  Do not harm others with your beliefs.  There’s only so much we can know about right and wrong, but as far as I’m able to tell, the genesis of evil lies in forceful ideology.  If we act with mindful compassion over and over again, we can tangentially and unconsciously influence others to do the same.  With such an attitude, one would hope the world would grow more peaceful and intelligent over time.” ~ Unknown, The Daily Zen