So our self-feeling in this world depends entirely on what we back ourselves to be and do.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Our self‑feeling depends on what we commit to becoming and doing.
- In plain terms
- We feel like ourselves based on our commitments.
- What can you take from it?
- Choose identities and actions that align with your values.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you back yourself to be?
- How does that shape your emotions?
Another view
External circumstances can limit how much we can back ourselves.
More from William James
Properly speaking, a man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognise him.
Permalink to quote #26 Creatures extremely low in the intellectual scale may have conception. All that is required is that they should recognize the same experience again. A polyp wo…
Permalink to quote #28 In its widest possible sense, however, a man's Self is the sum total of all that he can call his, not only his body and his psychic powers, but his clothes and…
Permalink to quote #25
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