Quotes About Introspection

I had written hundreds of memos during my 26 years at the company, and all had shared a common thread. They were about self-examination in the pursuit of excellence, and a willingness not to embrace the status quo. This is a cornerstone of my leadership philosophy.

Look at you.

It is very easy to sit in judgment upon the behavior of others but often difficult to realize that every judgment is a self-judgment.

You know I've smoked a lot of grass O' Lord, I've popped a lot of pills But I never touched nothin' That my spirit could kill.

Usually the space was dotted with people getting high, getting higher, or wondering why they werent high yet.

I sit, I read, I listen to music, I go or a walk, I ride to Prospect Park and sit under the Willow Tree, I remember, I forget, I look at pictures, I do, I do, I do... or I don't, but its peaceful... only me... no worries.

He flowed deeper and deeper into himself, wrapped in the comforting strength of hate.

For weeks Tyrone thought he was going to die any minute, and there were also times when he was afraid he wasnt going to die.

Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't be able to stand looking at it. But it's when we're willing to come face to face with that demon that we face the angel.

and he just sat back and stared at the tube, almost interested in what was happening, trying to find the ability to believe in that lie so he could believe the one within.

An intellectual crisis is such an invigorating walk in a freezing rain!

I began to read. What I discovered in books led me to think, to question, to explore, and finally to redirect my life.

Women are frightening. If you get to 41 as a man, you're quite battle-scarred.

By nature I'm not a brooder.

I have my moments. Ever since I was a boy, I never was someone who was at ease with happiness. Too often I embrace introspection and self-doubt. I wish I could embrace the good things.

You hope that your teenage self would like and forgive your 50-year-old self.

I had too many things to say, and too small a brain to sort them out with.

Normally, words are sent from the brain towards the mouth, and somewhere along the line you take a moment to check them, see that they are actually the ones you ordered and that they're nicely wrapped, before you bundle them on their way towards your palate and out into the fresh air. But when you're caught up in the flow of things, the checking part of your mind can fall down on the job.

I stayed where I was and watched. The man and the corridor. He didn't make any other noise, and the corridor didn't do anything that corridors don't normally do.

If things just keep going along as smoothly as if we're on a railway track, reassured by the regularity and predictability of that clickety-clack, clickety clack, why would we bother with introspection about the meaning and purpose of it all, let alone the direction we're taking? p37

The price of being a sheep is boredom. The price of being a wolf is loneliness. Choose one or the other with great care.

You can always somebody who is worse than you are to make you feel virtuous. It's a cheap shot: those awful terrorists, perverts, communists--they are the ones who need to repent! Yes, indeed they do, and for them repentance will be a full-time job, exactly as it is for all the rest of us.

Next time I will ... From now on I will ... What makes me think I am wiser today than I will be tomorrow

Unless I accept my faults, I will most certainly doubt my virtues.