#selfcriticism — Public Fediverse posts

Free Nervous System Reset

https://forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com/2026/07/27/free-nervous-system-reset/

A quotation from Hoffer

Self-contempt, however vague, sharpens our eyes for the imperfections of others. We usually strive to reveal in others the blemishes we hide in ourselves.

Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, Part 3, ch. 14, § 100 (3.14.100) (1951)

More about this quote: wist.info/hoffer-eric/11352/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #hoffer #erichoffer #accusation #error #flaws #guilt #imperfections #projection #selfcontempt #selfcriticism #selfdoubt #selfhatred #selfimage #selfloathing #sensitivity #shame #shortcomings #weaknesses

A quotation from Robert Louis Stevenson

Never allow your mind to dwell on your own misconduct: that is ruin. The conscience has morbid sensibilities; it must be employed but not indulged, like the imagination or the stomach.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1880-01/02?), “Reflections and Remarks on Human Life,” § 7.1 “Discipline of Conscience”

More about this quote: wist.info/stevenson-robert-lou…

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A quotation from Robert Louis Stevenson

It is the business of this life to make excuses for others, but none for ourselves. We should be clearly persuaded of our own misconduct, for that is the part of knowledge in which we are most apt to be defective.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish essayist, novelist, poet
Essay (1880-01/02?), “Reflections and Remarks on Human Life,” § 1.1 “Justice and Justification”

More about this quote: wist.info/stevenson-robert-lou…

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A quotation from Montesquieu

I suffer from the disease of writing books and being ashamed of them when they are finished.
 
[J’ai la maladie de faire des livres et d’en être honteux quand je les ai faits.]

Charles-Lewis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755) French political philosopher
Pensées Diverses [Assorted Thoughts], # 83 / 837 (1720-1755)

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/montesquieu/83690/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #montesquieu #author #dissatisfaction #selfcontempt #selfcriticism #selfdeprecation #selfdoubt #selfjudgment #selfloathing #selfperception #shame #writer #writing

A quotation from Emerson

   A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his.
   In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist, lecturer, poet
Essay (1841), “Self-Reliance,” Essays: First Series, No. 2

More about this quote: wist.info/emerson-ralph-waldo/…

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A quotation from La Rochefoucauld

Few men are sufficiently discerning to appreciate all the evil they do.
 
[Il n’y a guère d’homme assez habile pour connoître tout le mal qu’il fait.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶269 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959), ¶269]

More about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/la-rochefoucauld-fra…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #larochefoucauld #denial #ego #evil #evildoer #harm #pride #selfawareness #selfcondemnation #selfcriticism #selfdeception #selfdoubt #selfjudgment #selfopinion #selfpolicing #selfrationalization #selfreproach #selfrighteousness #vanity #wrongdoing

A quotation from Ben Franklin

Many complain of their Memory, few of their Judgment.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1745 ed.)

More about this quote: wist.info/franklin-benjamin/82…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #franklin #benfranklin #benjaminfranklin #poorrichard #poorrichardsalmanac #complaint #ego #fault #judgment #memory #pride #selfawareness #selfcriticism #selfdeprecation #vanity #weakness

A quotation from Samuel Johnson

But when thoughts and words are collected and adjusted, and the whole composition at last concluded, it seldom gratifies the author, when he comes coolly and deliberately to review it, with the hopes which had been excited in the fury of the performance: novelty always captivates the mind; as our thoughts rise fresh upon us, we readily believe them just and original, which, when the pleasure of production is over, we find to be mean and common, or borrowed from the works of others, and supplied by memory rather than invention.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-03-02), The Adventurer, No. 138

More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/81911…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #author #creativity #disappointment #editing #novelty #originality #plagiarism #repetition #review #selfconsciousness #selfcriticism #selfdefeat #selfdeprecation #selfdoubt #selfjudgment #selfopinion #selfreflection #selfsabotage #writing

A quotation from George Washington

Though in reviewing the incidents of my Administration I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest.

George Washington (1732–1799) American military leader, Founding Father, US President (1789–1797)
Letter (1796-09-17), "Farewell Address" [with J. Madison, A. Hamilton]

More about this quote: wist.info/washington-george/81…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #georgewashington #selfcriticism #selfassessment #retirement #administration #blame #error #fault #forgiveness #honestmistake #humility #mistake #oblivion #postmortem #president #review #selfdeprecation

A quotation from Samuel Johnson

Even the acquisition of knowledge is often much facilitated by the advantages of society: he that never compares his notions with those of others, readily acquiesces in his first thoughts, and very seldom discovers the objections which may be raised against his opinions; he, therefore, often thinks himself in possession of truth, when he is only fondling an errour long since exploded. He that has neither companions nor rivals in his studies, will always applaud his own progress, and think highly of his performances, because he knows not that others have equalled or excelled him. And I am afraid it may be added, that the student who withdraws himself from the world, will soon feel that ardour extinguished which praise or emulation had enkindled, and take the advantage of secrecy to sleep, rather than to labour.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Essay (1754-01-19), The Adventurer, No. 126

More about this quote: wist.info/johnson-samuel/81496…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #samueljohnson #study #studygroup #argument #collaboration #company #debate #education #error #interaction #isolation #learning #motivation #realitycheck #selfcongratulations #selfcontrol #selfcorrection #selfcriticism #selfdeception #selfdelusion #selfeducation #selfmotivation #selfpolicing #selfpraising #selfrationalization #selfrighteousness #selfsufficiency #society #solitude #truth

A quotation from Thomas Fuller

Dare not to be guilty of ill Things, tho’ thou wert sure to be secret and unpunished. Conscience will sit upon it, and that is Witness, Jury, Judge, and Executioner.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2216 (1727)

More info about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/79900/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thomasfuller #conscience #guilt #guiltyconscience #selfawareness #selfcondemnation #selfconsciousness #selfcriticism #selfdeprecation #selfesteem #selfinflictedwound #selfjudgment #selfregard #shame #wrongdoing

A quotation from A. A. Milne

   “I have been Foolish and Deluded,” said Pooh, “and I am a Bear of No Brain at All.”
   “You’re the Best Bear in All the World,” said Christopher Robin soothingly.

A. A. Milne (1882-1956) English poet and playwright [Alan Alexander Milne]
Winnie-the-Pooh, ch. 3 “Pooh and Piglet Go Hunting” (1926)

More info about this quote: wist.info/milne-a-a/2843/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #aamilne #pooh #winniethepooh #poohbear #christopherrobin #reassurance #comforting #delusion #folly #friendship #limitations #praise #selfassessment #selfawareness #selfblame #selfcondemnation #selfcontempt #selfcriticism #selfdefeating #selfdeprecating #selfdeprecation #selfdoubt #selfimage #selfloathing #selfopinion #selfregard #selfreproach #selfrespect #selfworth #soothing #stupidity

A quotation from Josh Billings

The quickest way to take the starch out ov a man who iz allwuss blameing himself, is to agree with him, this aint what he iz looking for.
 
[The quickest way to take the starch out of a man who is always blaming himself, is to agree with him; this ain’t what he is looking for.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Farmer’s Allminax, 1875-11 (1875 ed.)

More info about this quote: wist.info/billings-josh/79006/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #joshbillings #blame #criticism #falsemodesty #pretense #selfblame #selfcriticism #selfdeprecation #selfeffacing #selfserving

A quotation from Thomas Fuller

Thou never wast so good as thou shouldest be; if thou does not strive to be better. And thou never wilt be better, if thou doest not fear to grow worse.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2092 (1727)

More info about this quote: wist.info/fuller-thomas-1654/7…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thomasfuller #backsliding #regression #goal, #goodbehavior #goodperson #progress #selfawareness #selfcorrection #selfcriticism #selfdoubt #selfevaluation #selfimprovement #selfmotivation #selfpolicing #selfregard #selfunderstanding #selfworth

A quotation from Thomas Fuller

Be not deceived: it is not that which Men believe of thee will make thee happy or miserable; but that which thou believest of thyself.

Thomas Fuller (1654-1734) English physician, preacher, aphorist, writer
Introductio ad Prudentiam, Vol. 2, # 2073 (1727)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/fuller-thomas-1654/7…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #thomasfuller #believeinyourself #opinions #publicopinion #selfacceptance #selfappreciation #selfassessment #selfconfidence #selfcriticism #selfimage #selfloathing #selflove #validation

A quotation from Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Alas, one cannot assert authority by accepting one’s own fallibility. Simply, people need to be blinded by knowledge — we are made to follow leaders who can gather people together because the advantages of being in groups trump the disadvantages of being alone. It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one. Those who have followed the assertive idiot rather than the introspective wise person have passed us some of their genes. This is apparent from a social pathology: psychopaths rally followers.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb (b. 1960) Lebanese-American essayist, statistician, risk analyst, aphorist
The Black Swan, Part 2, ch. 12 “Epistemocracy, a Dream” (2007)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/taleb-nassim-nichola…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #blackswan #advantage #assertiveness #authority #fallibility #followers #groups #introspection #leaders #leadership #psychopath #selfconfidence #selfcriticism #tribalism

Alex Ward: "Last month in Saudi Arabia, Trump said: 'In the end the so-called nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built, and the interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand themselves'.”
#selfcriticism #IranWar #military #politics

A quotation from Adlai Stevenson

Self-criticism is the secret weapon of democracy.

Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) American diplomat, statesman
Speech (1952-07-21), Welcoming Address, Democratic National Convention, International Amphitheatre, Chicago

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/stevenson-adlai-ewin…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #adlaistevenson #accountability #democracy #improvement #selfawareness #selfcriticism #selfimprovement #transparency #continuousimprovement

A quotation from Cicero

Men ought to feel most annoyed with what has been brought about by their own fault.
 
[Ea molestissime ferre homines debent quae ipsorum culpa contracta sunt.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Epistulae ad Fratrem Quintum [Letters to His Brother Quintus], Book 1, Letter 1, sec. 3 (1.1.3) (60 BC) [tr. Williams (Loeb) (1928)]

Sourcing, notes, other translations: wist.info/cicero-marcus-tulliu…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #cicero #annoyance #blame #consequences #distress #error #fault #guilt #misfortune #selfcriticism #suffering #vexation

A quotation from Chamfort

He who tries to make his happiness depend too much on his reason, who holds it up for examination, who quibbles, as it were, with his delights, and admits no indelicate pleasures, ends by having none at all. He is a man who cards the wool of his mattress until nothing is left, and he ends by sleeping on the boards.
 
[Celui qui veut trop faire dépendre son bonheur de sa raison, qui le soumet à l’examen, qui chicane, pour ainsi dire, ses jouissances, et n’admet que des plaisirs délicats, finit par n’en plus avoir. C’est un homme qui, à force de faire carder son matelas, le voit diminuer, et finit par coucher sur la dure.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 2, ¶ 179 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

Sourcing, notes, alternate translations: wist.info/chamfort-nicolas/760…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #classiness #delight #enjoyment #fastidiousness #happiness #pleasure #reason #refinement #selfanalysis #selfcriticism #selfexamination

A quotation from Bertrand Russell

When I speak of “the sinner”, I do not mean the man who commits sin: sins are committed by everyone or no one, according to our definition of the word. I mean the man who is absorbed in the consciousness of sin. This man is perpetually incurring his own disapproval, which, if he is religious, he interprets as the disapproval of God. He has an image of himself as he thinks he ought to be, which is in continual conflict with his knowledge of himself as he is.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/russell-bertrand/758…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #BertrandRussell #divinejudgment #ideal #selfabsorption #selfapproval #selfcriticism #selfimage #sin #sinner

A quotation from Franklin

Search others for their virtues, thy self for thy vices.

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American statesman, scientist, philosopher, aphorist
Poor Richard (1738 ed.)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/franklin-benjamin/75…

#quote #quotes #quotation #judgment #neighbor #others #selfawareness #selfcriticism #self-judgment #vice #virtue

A quotation from Josh Billings

Thare iz two men, prowling around, who want cluss watching, the one, that iz allwuz praizing, and the one, who iz allwuz kondeming, himself.
 
[There are two men, prowling around, who want close watching: the one that is always praising, and the one who is always condemning, himself.]

Josh Billings (1818-1885) American humorist, aphorist [pseud. of Henry Wheeler Shaw]
Josh Billings’ Trump Kards, ch. 14 “A Ghost” (1874)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/billings-josh/75600/

#quote #quotes #quotation #ego #pride ?#selfaggrandizing #selfcondemnation #selfcriticism #selfpraising #unreliability

A quotation from Bertrand Russell

I enjoy life; I might almost say that with every year that passes I enjoy it more. This is due partly to having discovered what were the things that I most desired, and having gradually acquired many of these things. Partly it is due to having successfully dismissed certain objects of desire — such as the acquisition of indubitable knowledge about something or other — as essentially unattainable. But very largely it is due to a diminishing preoccupation with myself. Like others who had a Puritan education, I had the habit of meditating on my sins, follies, and shortcomings. I seemed to myself — no doubt justly — a miserable specimen. Gradually I learned to be indifferent to myself and my deficiencies; I came to centre my attention increasingly upon external objects: the state of the world, various branches of knowledge, individuals for whom I felt affection.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 1 “What Makes People Unhappy?” (1930)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/russell-bertrand/755…

#quote #quotes #quotation #BertrandRussell #puritanism #acquisitions #attention #desire #enjoyment #externalities #focus #happiness #life #living #selfabsorption #selfcriticism #selfdeprecation #selfloathing

A quotation from Cicero

It is a good thing to recognize one’s own faults.
 
[Bellum est enim sua vitia nosse.]

Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC) Roman orator, statesman, philosopher
Epistulae ad Atticum [Letters to Atticus], Book 2, Letter 17, sec. 2 (2.17.2) (59 BC) [tr. Winstedt (1912)]

Sourcing, notes, alternate translations: wist.info/cicero-marcus-tulliu…

#quote #quotes #quotation #failings #faults #selfawareness #selfcriticism #vices #meme

I've been dealing with perfectionism and being overly critical of the stuff I do for pretty much all my life. Recently, I've gotten better at dealing with my inner critic. There's still a long way to go, but I feel like I'm making progress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vft9lbOvhs

#perfectionism #innercritic #selfcriticism #mentalhealth

A quotation from Fuller, Thomas (1654):

«
Neither praise, nor dispraise thy self; thy Actions will do it enough.
»

Full quote, sourcing, notes:
https://wist.info/fuller-thomas-1654/29454/

#quote #quotes #quotation #actions #deeds #ego #gloat #praise #pride #reflection #selfcriticism #selfpraising #wordsanddeeds