Shelley Duvall Quotes

Silence, exile, cunning and so on... it's my nature to keep quiet about most things. Even the ideas in my work.

I have to remind myself constantly to not be antisocial, because I stay to myself a lot. I'm a lot more introspective than my characters.

I'm trying to make work that is reflective and is encouraging of reflection.

Mindfulness has helped me succeed in almost every dimension of my life. By stopping regularly to look inward and become aware of my mental state, I stay connected to the source of my actions and thoughts and can guide them with considerably more intention.

A writer needs a life of introspection.

No one's policing their own minds more than an author. You spend a lot of time in your own head analysing what you think about things, and a philosophy comes.

The best rules to form a young man, are, to talk little, to hear much, to reflect alone upon what has passed in company, to distrust one's own opinions, and value others that deserve it.

I'm just not that fascinating a person to have had all those lives that I've written about.

I think I tend to live in sort of a meta state of existence where I'm always analyzing and analyzing whatever I'm going through at any given moment, and a lot of times I'll reflect back on and go, 'Oh look at that - if I acted this way when that happened, I might not have thought of that that way.'

Self criticism must be my guide to action, and the first rule for its employment is that in itself it is not a virtue, only a procedure.

Observe all men, thyself most.

I don't look at my work in a critical or analytical way; I just don't think of myself objectively. It doesn't interest me.

Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself

The one thing I've tried to do is be insightful.

For me, my greatest weakness is also my greatest strength: I'm a complete overthinker about everything.

I'm a deep person. I'm not a superficial person at all.

When you hang out with yourself, you learn to keep yourself in check.

It's very important for people to know what gives them meaning. But it's hard for people to figure out if you're not connecting with yourself and taking the time to just be introspective and daydream.

I'm very inquisitive. I love hanging around people who can teach me. I ask a lot of questions. And I'm very introspective and self-critical.

In this metallic age of barbarians, only a relentless cultivation of our ability to dream, to analyse and to captivate can prevent our personality from degenerating into nothing or else into a personality like all the rest.

When you feel the desire for power, you should stay in solitude for some time

The highest purpose of intellectual cultivation is to give a man a perfect knowledge and mastery of his own inner self.

Self-awareness is a key to self-mastery

One of the goals of analysis is you become your own analyst. You continue the process even if you're not in therapy, whether you continue the process by walking down the street thinking about things or whether you continue the process, as I do, by writing about them.

I've never done anything but dream. This, and this alone, has been the meaning of my life. My only real concern has been my inner life.