Introspection Quotes

“Individual Desirability / Aggregate Desirability = Your Desirability Ratio

The higher a relationship’s Desirability Ratio, the more stable a relationship will be. If a relationship’s Desirability Ratio drops below one for either partner, the relationship becomes very likely to dissolve.

To put that in other words: When your partner is much more desirable to you than their “league” would suggest, and when this dynamic is mutual (i.e., each partner values the other more than society on average values that other partner), your relationship will be uniquely stable. However, if either partner values the other less than that person would be valued on an open market, the relationship becomes unstable.”
― Malcolm Collins, The Pragmatist's Guide to Relationships

“The painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself. If he sees nothing within, then he should stop painting what is in front of him.”
― Caspar David Friedrich

“Nothing is more intolerable than to have to admit to yourself your own errors.”
― Ludwig van Beethoven

“an adversarial mindset not only prevents us from understanding and responding to the other party, but also makes us feel like we've lost when we don't get our way”
― Harvard Business Review, Emotional Intelligence: Empathy

“Contemplation - A Haiku

Amber autumn gaze,
A pond of deep reflection,
Awareness ripples.”
― Amogh Swamy, On My Way To Infinity: A Seeker's Poetic Pilgrimage

“And who was I? Not nearly as much of a loner and outsider as I’d always thought. A bit odd, but others were more odd. And who else was I? A member of an expedition, or no, someone who’d been on an expedition all by himself, and after forging his way through all sorts of difficulties had come back here to civilization to freshen up, for the time being, before his next one-man venture. And who else? At first sight a disturbed person, who, when you got to know him, seemed much more normal, indeed the only normal person among a thousand, while the other nine hundred and ninety-nine eventually turned out to be as mad as hatters.

And who else was I? (As if, having seen my double, I suddenly couldn’t find out enough about myself - couldn’t get enough of myself.) Let me be someone else as well, play someone else: a pioneer, a deserter, a soccer referee or at least a linesman.

And what was I like, considering my double there in the restroom’s white neon glare? Not special. Not that bad. Maybe somewhat deficient in that certain something, but not entirely deficient either. Far from being a star, but if an idiot, a village idiot, not a provincial or city idiot. And what else was I like? And in what way? And in what other way? Well, what d’you know! Yes, just look at that! You didn’t expect that, did you? Look, just look! Yes, just look. Look!”
― Peter Handke, Quiet Places: Collected Essays

“...actions are the symbol of ourselves.”
― Jorge Luis Borges, The Aleph and Other Stories

“It is doubtful if any only child is to be envied, for the only child is bound to become introspective; having no one of its own ilk in whom to confide, it is apt to confide in itself. It cannot be said that at seven years old the mind is beset by serious problems, but nevertheless it is already groping, may already be subject to small fits of dejection, may already be struggling to get a grip on life—on the limited life of its surroundings. At seven there are miniature loves and hatreds, which, however, loom large and are extremely disconcerting. There may even be present a dim sense of frustration, and Stephen was often conscious of this sense, though she could not have put it into words. To cope with it, however, she would give way at times to sudden fits of hot temper, working herself up over everyday trifles that usually left her cold. It relieved her to stamp and then burst into tears at the first sign of opposition. After such outbursts she would feel much more cheerful, would find it almost easy to be docile and obedient. In some vague, childish way she had hit back at life, and this fact had restored her self-respect.”
― Radclyffe Hall, The Well of Loneliness

“Just as those who draw landscapes place themselves below in the plain to contemplate the nature of the mountains and the highlands, and in order to contemplate the plains, place themselves on high mountains, so to understand the nature of the peoples, one must be a prince, and to understand princes, one must be of the people”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, II principe

“Does it matter where I came from if I'm not going anywhere?”
― Aliya Whiteley, Fearsome Creatures

“Writing our eulogy can be a wake-up call to prioritize what truly matters.”
― Sam Izad, Snackable Existentialism: Small Portions, Big Ideas

“As time goes on, you’ll understand.
What lasts, lasts; what doesn’t, doesn’t.
Time solves most things.
And what time can’t solve, you have to solve yourself.”
― Haruki Murakami

“Reading gives you vocabulary and knowledge, two powerful communication tools. You are never at a loss for words, and you will always have something interesting to say.”
― Binod Shankar, Let's Get Real: 42 Tips for the Stuck Manager

“Experience alone is not enough. It isn’t automatic. You must get feedback and introspect and slowly your values get crystallized. It’s a fun journey and a wonderful place to be. Because it’s all about knowing yourself and the world around you and that knowledge is true power.”
― Binod Shankar, Let's Get Real: 42 Tips for the Stuck Manager

“So, I’ve had the benefit of experience. But experience alone means jackshit. You only get wiser if you are relentlessly curious, think deeply, can be honest with yourself and have a strong dose of humility.”
― Binod Shankar, Let's Get Real: 42 Tips for the Stuck Manager

“Introspection doesn’t always improve self-awareness”

For example, after an uncharacteristic outburst at an employee, a new manager may jump to the conclusion that it happened because she isn’t cut out for management, when the real reason was a bad case of low blood sugar.

Consequently, the problem with asking why isn’t just how wrong we are, but how confident we are that we are right.18 The human mind rarely operates in a rational fashion, and our judgments are seldom free from bias. We tend to pounce on whatever insights we find without questioning their validity or value, we ignore contradictory evidence, and we force our thoughts to conform to our initial explanations.”
― Susan David, Self-Awareness

“Therefore, to increase productive self-insight and decrease unproductive rumination, we should ask what, not why. “What” questions help us stay objective, future-focused, and empowered to act on our new insights.

For example, consider Jose, an entertainment industry veteran we interviewed, who hated his job. Where many would have gotten stuck thinking “Why do I feel so terrible?” he asked, “What are the situations that make me feel terrible, and what do they have in common?” He realized that he’d never be happy in that career, and it gave him the courage to pursue a new and far more fulfilling one in wealth management.”
― Susan David, Self-Awareness

“With access to the university libraries, I decided to embark on an intense journey of reflection, study, and introspection. As I did so, I realized that our beliefs and philosophies are the foundation upon which we build our lives and find our meaning. In essence, our core beliefs construct our identity. My belief that there was no objective right or wrong allowed me to justify drug use, sleeping around, and rebellion. My belief that there was no God allowed me to feel like I could do whatever I wanted and get away with it. The philosophies I believed in constructed my worldview and contributed to the sort of lifestyle I chose.”
― Michael J Heil, Pursued: God’s relentless pursuit and a drug addict’s journey to finding purpose

“A good deal of literature on the subject of women's power states that men are afraid of women's power. I always want to exclaim, "Mother of God! So many women themselves are afraid of women's power.”
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves

“If one wishes to love, there is no getting around it. The work of embracing her is a task. Without a task that challenges, there can be no transformation. Without a task there is no real sense of satisfaction. To love pleasure takes little. To love truly takes a hero who can manage his own fear.”
― Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves

“Society whispered, ‘Disagree with grace.’
Solitude shouted, ‘Question your own space.”
― Amogh Swamy, On My Way To Infinity: A Seeker's Poetic Pilgrimage

“What is there to live for if one only pursues what other people want and never considers their own dream?”
― Asif Hossain, Veronica

“Because Roland Barthes said it all, didn't he, when he coined the phrase "death of the author"? When you die--physically or metaphorically--the story is out of your hands.

No matter how you write something--to what insane, detailed, meticulous degree--you cannot control the mind of your reader, nor your reader's interpretation.

One masterpiece to you might read like drivel to the next.

And so we must come to terms with the fact that the story will never be complete nor perfect. no matter how much we work our fingers to the bone or allow our backs to bend under the incredible weight of possibility, potentiality.

Art is art is art.

What will be will be will be will be.”
― Abigail Mandlin, Muses

“I used the role of fight-or-flight in human survival as an excuse to justify my addiction to depression and anxiety; I saw them as survival traits, believing that I would perish without them. However, the key here is that fight-or-flight is an automatic physiological reaction, making it often more dependent on instinct, not initiative. When a person starts getting stressed, or when their fight-or-flight response is activated, they don’t carefully evaluate whether or not this is something worth getting anxious about; they just get anxious automatically. Having their brains become numb, their hearts palpitate, and their adrenaline course their veins just happens automatically; you don’t intentionally control that. That is what makes the woman so blank and emotionless—it is her, or my, strict and rigid dependency on fight-or-flight! By being so deeply contingent on an automatic instinct, I had little time for true introspection. It is like the instinct controlled me, instead of the other way around.”
― Lucy Carter, For the Intellect

“Ho reclamato, spazio dopo spazio, il pantano in cui ero caduto nullo.
Ho partorito il mio essere infinito, ma da me stesso mi sono estratto con il forcipe.”
― Pessoa Fernando, The Book of Disquiet

“Ho reclamato, spazio dopo spazio,
il pantano in cui ero caduto nullo.
Ho partorito il mio essere infinito, ma da me stesso mi sono estratto con il forcipe”
― Pessoa Fernando, The Book of Disquiet

“Ho reclamato, spazio dopo spazio, il pantano in cui ero caduto nullo. Ho partorito il mio essere infinito, ma da me stesso mi sono estratto con il forcipe.”
― Pessoa Fernando, The Book of Disquiet

“Guardo, come in una distesa al sole che irrompe fra le nuvole, la mia vita passata; e noto, con uno
spasimo metafisico, che tutti i miei gesti più sicuri, le mie idee più chiare, e i miei propositi più
logici, in fondo, non sono stati che una ubriacatura innata, una follia naturale, una immensa
ignoranza. Non mi sono neppure recitato. Sono stato recitato. Sono stato, non l’attore, ma i suoi
gesti.”
― Pessoa Fernando, The Book of Disquiet

“Piango sulle mie pagine imperfette, ma coloro che verranno, se le leggeranno, sentiranno più con
il mio pianto di quanto sentirebbero con la perfezione, se io la raggiungessi, che mi priverebbe del
pianto e pertanto persino dello scrivere. Il perfetto non si manifesta.”
― Pessoa Fernando, The Book of Disquiet

“The only mind they'd ever been inside of was their own.”
― Dashka Slater, The 57 Bus