Henry David Thoreau Quotes

I am struck by the fact that the more slowly trees grow at first, the sounder they are at the core, and I think that the same is true of human beings. We do not wish to see children precocious, making great strides in their early years like sprouts, producing a soft and perishable timber, but better if they expand slowly at first, as if contending with difficulties, and so are solidified and perfected. Such trees continue to expand with nearly equal rapidity to extreme old age.

How shall one who is so weak in his childhood become really strong when he grows older? We only change our fancies.

Everyone has challenges and lessons to learn - we wouldn't be who we are without them.

Is life so wretched? Isn't it rather your hands which are too small, your vision which is muddled? You are the one who must grow up.

I don't have regrets, there are only lessons. You learn from them, and you become a better person.

It was a great experience for me - the ups and downs - because I became a man in Philadelphia.

Everybody goes through hardships but hardships make you the person you are, and I feel that is important.

Me finding my confidence took me a while, but now I love that I went through everything I did before to get to where I am now.

Maturity is a compound of wisdom, goodwill, resilience, and creativity.

I can do more. I can grow. I can become a bigger and better human being.

When people feel that they have failed, it's usually because somebody or something caused them to feel that way and taste defeat. I refuse to dwell on that. Yes, it sucks at first, and the feeling is valid, but it all happens for a reason.

I don't think you learn as much about yourself when you are moving forwards as when you have fallen backwards. That's when you really learn who you are. And reach for the things that have propelled you forward and made you a better person.

I found my mind has changed over the last years. Different vulnerabilities - things that I was never vulnerable to before I am now. And vice-versa. Things I was vulnerable to then are like water off a duck's back. I have a lot less fear. I think I'm getting more determined.

I think everything in life happens for a reason. I always think there's room for me to improve as a person.

I'm a big believer in growth. Life is not about achievement, it's about learning and growth, and developing qualities like compassion, patience, perseverance, love, and joy, and so forth. And so if that is the case, then I think our goals should include something which stretches us.

When I have to do a scene where I feel vulnerable as an actress, I always grow from those experiences, so I welcome them. Even though it may not feel amazing at first. You have to embrace it and use it to improve yourself.

Let us all be men and women in full. Let us expect from ourselves more than we think we can give, more than we think we can do and more than we think we already know.

Don't wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don't wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom. The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you become. Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become.

I've always been confident with who I was, but my twenties were hard. I had to learn a lot of life lessons and I think my thirties will be a little easier because of all the wrong turns I took.

A coach wouldn’t throw you to the wolves if he didn’t think you had some wolf in you.

I think all of us are intrigued to imagine what we as individuals would become, if we were ever tested as hard as that golden generation was.

“How does one grow up?” I asked a friend the other day. There was a slight pause; then she answered, “By thinking.”

I 'spect I growed. Don't think nobody never made me.