Quotes About Introspection

Avoid the False Path At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. —Lao Tzu

Daily Law: When it comes to the ideas and opinions you hold, see them as toys or building blocks that you are playing with. Some you will keep, others you will knock down, but your spirit remains flexible and playful. The Laws of Human Nature, 7: Soften People's Resistance by Confirming Their Self-Opinion—The Law of Defensiveness

Daily Law: Develop the habit of examining in depth your own emotional responses. You will end up slowly eliminating unnecessary reactions. The Laws of Human Nature, 1: Master Your Emotional Self—The Law of Irrationality

Recognize Your Aggressive Impulses

Daily Law: Look for signs of your own aggressive impulses in past actions—how they led to friction or success.

In other words, we do not have conscious access to the origins of our emotions and the moods they generate. Once we feel them, all we can do is try to interpret the emotion, translate it into language.

The reason for this is twofold: first, we are quick to discern the mistakes and defects of others, but when it comes to ourselves we are generally too emotional and insecure to look squarely at our own. Second, people rarely tell us the truth about what it is that we do wrong.

There are very few men—and they are the exceptions—who are able to think and feel beyond the present moment.

In all cases, the degree of awareness represents the difference. Rational people can readily admit their own irrational tendencies and the need to be vigilant. On the other hand, irrational people become highly emotional when challenged about the emotional roots of their decisions. They are incapable of introspection and learning. Their mistakes make them increasingly defensive.

The solution is a form of retreat inside ourselves, to the past, to more concentrated forms of thought and action. As Schopenhauer wrote, "Intellect is a magnitude of intensity, not a magnitude of extensity.

You] will tend to deny that you ever experience any envy, at least strong enough to act on. you are simply not being honest with yourself.

Moralizers who try to separate themselves and denounce the narcissists in the world today are often the biggest narcissists of them all - they love the sound of their voice as they point fingers and preach.

It is impossible to not have our inclinations and feelings somehow involved in what we think. Rational people are aware of this and through introspection and effort are able, to some extent, to subtract emotions from their thinking and counteract their effect. Irrational people have no such awareness. They rush into action without carefully considering the ramifications and consequences.

Related to mastering your emotions is the ability to distance yourself from the present moment and think objectively about the past and future.

It is an extremely human response to not look inward after a mistake or crime, but rather to look outward and to affix blame and guilt on a convenient object.

Daily Law: Embrace negative experiences. When was the last time you failed, felt embarrassed, got criticized? What were you doing? What did the experience teach you? The Laws of Human Nature, 13: Advance with a Sense of Purpose—The Law of Aimlessness

you must begin with the assumption that you are ignorant and that you have natural biases that will make you judge people incorrectly.

Daily Law: Examine the faults you see in others and how they are in you as well.

by embracing the full picture of themselves, their self-love is more real and complete. From this stronger inner position, they can turn their attention outward more often and more easily. This attention goes in one of two directions, and sometimes both.

everyone lives in a world of his own. The world in which a man lives shapes itself chiefly on the way in which he looks at it

También debes mantener a la gente a prudente distancia, para evitar que te comprenda.

We often notice a similar sensation of confusion and helplessness when it comes to ourselves and our own behavior. For instance, we suddenly say something that offends our boss or colleague or friend— we are not quite sure where it came from, but we are frustrated to find that some anger and tension from within has leaked out in a way that we regret.

that we are far more mysterious, complex, and interesting than we had imagined.

Having such clarity about ourselves and others could change the course of our lives in so many ways, but first we must clear up a common misconception: we tend to think of our behavior as largely conscious and willed.