Make yourself necessary to somebody. Do not make life hard to any.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Emerson advises being useful to others while ensuring your presence does not burden them.
- In plain terms
- Be helpful to people and do not make their lives difficult.
- What can you take from it?
- Contribute value without creating burdens.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you balance helping others with maintaining boundaries?
- In what ways do you make life harder for those around you?
Another view
Sometimes being necessary can lead to dependency or exploitation.
More from Ralph Waldo Emerson
Our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can.
Permalink to quote #205 Conversation is an art in which a man has all mankind for his competitors, for it is that which all are practising every day while they live.
Permalink to quote #207 I wish that life should not be cheap, but sacred. I wish the days to be as centuries, loaded, fragrant.
Permalink to quote #204
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