I must die. I must be imprisoned. I must suffer exile.
But must I die groaning? Must I whine as well?
Can anyone hinder me from going into exile with a smile?
The master threatens to chain me: what say you? Chain me?
My leg you will chain—yes, but not my will—no,
not even Zeus can conquer that.
―Epictetus
I must have the right to say “No.” Only I can give myself this right on a meaningful basis. My no is a function of some of the deepest compassionate feelings for myself. This no of mine represents whatever force I can bring against anything in me or outside of me which I recognize as being antithetical to my well-being. This no represents me at my most grown up. This no makes my yes meaningful. Without this no I am without healthy, self-preserving defenses against infantile aspects of myself … Without this no I am indefensible against the demands of other people and their desires.
―Compassion and Self-Hate, Theodore Isaac Rubin
To live in the world of creation—to get into it and stay in it—to frequent it and haunt it—to think intently and fruitfully—to woo combinations and inspirations into being by a depth and continuity of attention and meditation—this is the only thing—and I neglect it, far and away too much; from indolence, from vagueness, from inattention, and from a strange nervous fear of letting myself go. If I can vanquish that nervousness, the world is mine.
—Henry James
Above all, avoid falsehood, every kind of falsehood, especially falseness to yourself. Watch over your own deceitfulness and look into it every hour, every minute. Avoid being scornful, both to others and to yourself. What seems to you bad within you will grow purer from the very fact of your observing it in yourself. Avoid fear, too, though fear is only the consequence of every sort of falsehood. Never be frightened at your own faint-heartedness in attaining love. Don’t be frightened overmuch even at your evil actions.
―The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Now is no time to think of what you do not have.
Think of what you can do with what there is.
―Ernest Hemingway