Eleanor Roosevelt Quotes

I went looking for the exact wording of this quote, I knew was by Eleanor Roosevelt.

• No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

I was surprised to find so many other fitting quotes, so I decided to post them here also.

I was looking for this quote because I was reflecting on language we commonly use, such as "You made me feel bad", "You make me feel like I'm not good enough". We ascribe that responsibility to someone else, when really, it's us that is making ourselves feel badly or not good enough. We have a choice, we often fail to take, which is to tell ourselves that the opinion of the other is incorrect, not important, inaccurate, faulty, insignificant, or whatever will allow us to retain a positive sense of self. We are responsible for creating our own personal security, which includes protecting ourself from the negative messages of others. Just because someone speaks or behaves negatively towards us, doesn't mean we need to accept that. The deflection of that negative message or action will allow us to stay strong, able, positive, and free to make choices that support our joy.

It surprises me how easily we give away our joy. I don't think we do it consciously, but we do it often. We get distracted by emotion, activity, distress, other people's wishes, time, money, YOU NAME IT! Joy is a choice. Joy is made. Joy can be found. Joy is ours to claim. Joy is meant to be shared. Our journey is not about making others happy (or unhappy), but about sharing the joy we have with others along the way. It's a small difference, but an enourmous one all the same. We make/find/choose our own joy, and when we choose to share it, we help others find their joy as well. We can't make them happy, but they will be more able to choose joy also when they share our joy.

So, what's your joy? What brings you peace? What causes you to want to celebrate life? Embrace it! Exclaim it! Bring it on!

• You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

• People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.

• A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.

• Friendship with oneself is all-important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world.

• I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.

• It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.

• Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.

• Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

• Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.

• Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

• The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

I've decided I really like how this woman thinks (or I guess I should say, thought), so I'm going to find her autobiography and biography and learn more about her. I'll let you know what I discover.