Quotes About Autonomy

Nobody tells you what you can and can't do.

Nobody tells you what you can and can't do.

Employees, too, could sign on for a year's tour of duty, at a certain department, branch, or product line. Having the option to extend their stay or to apply for a lateral move into another assignment would give most employees a much appreciated sense of autonomy. Tours of duty could also be mandatory.

How good it felt to be alone, stacking blocks. That's what came to him again, a kind of weight solidifying in his chest: how much he had loved to be alone - to be outside of his own life, a giant, sentient cloud looming over his imaginary city, hovering above it. There was a certain kind of blank omniscience that felt like his true self, at last.

There's a rare few that are able to drift through life without being owned by someone.

It is better for you to take responsibility for your life as it is, instead of blaming others, or circumstances, for your predicament.

You are the expert on your life and destiny. When you are paying attention, no one knows you better than you can know yourself.

In so doing, it's important to place responsibility where it truly belongs by acknowledging that: You aren't responsible for what your parents did to you, they are. You are responsible for what you do with your life now, your parents aren't.

If someone comes I go out to meet him but not for his sake

The goal of attunement is not simply continual meshing, with an utter entrainment of every thought and feeling; it also includes giving each other space to be alone as needed. This cycle of connectedness strikes a balance between the individual's needs and the couple's. As one family therapist put it, "The more a couple can be apart, the more they can be together.

Carol Gilligan points to as a key disparity between the sexes: boys take pride in a lone, tough-minded independence and autonomy, while girls see themselves as part of a web of connectedness. Thus boys are threatened by anything that might challenge their independence, while girls are more threatened by a rupture in their relationships.

Attempts to take control violate the cardinal rule for providing a secure base: intervene only when asked to or when it is absolutely necessary.

Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement.

The ultimate freedom for creative groups is the freedom to experiment with new ideas. Some skeptics insist that innovation is expensive. In the long run, innovation is cheap. Mediocrity is expensive—and autonomy can be the antidote."   TOM KELLEY General Manager, IDEO

Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives.

we have three innate psychological needs—competence, autonomy, and relatedness. When those needs are satisfied, we're motivated, productive, and happy.

Goals that people set for themselves and that are devoted to attaining mastery are usually healthy. But goals imposed by others--sales targets, quarterly returns, standardized test scores, and so on--can sometimes have dangerous side effects.

Management isn't about walking around and seeing if people are in their offices," he told me. It's about creating conditions for people to do their best work.

There comes a point in a man's life when he has to take control of things. Otherwise, things will just keep controlling him.

The answer can't be found in books - or be solved by bringing it to other people. Not unless you want to remain a child all your life. You've got to find the answer inside you - feel the right thing to do. Charlie, you've got to learn to trust yourself

You want these back, don't you? You want me out of here so you can come back and take over where you left off. I don't blame you. It's your body and your brain-and your life, even though you weren't able to make much use of it. I don't have the right to take it away from you. Nobody does. Who's to say that my light is better than your darkness? Who's to say death is better than your darkness? Who am I to say?...

But with the freedom came a sadness.

The problem, dear professor, is that you wanted someone who could be made intelligent but still be kept in a cage and displayed when necessary to reap the honors you seek. The hitch is that I'm a person." He

Charlie, you amaze me. In some ways you're so advanced, and yet when it comes to making a decision, you're still a child. I can't decide for you, Charlie. The answer can't be found in books—or be solved by bringing it to other people. Not unless you want to remain a child all your life. You've got to find the answer inside you—feel the right thing to do. Charlie, you've got to learn to trust yourself.