Ruby Dee Quotes

Have a strong mind and a soft heart.

I'm an emotional fighter.

Your sensitivity is power. Don't let people transform your qualities into weaknesses.

Resilience is, of course, necessary for a warrior. But a lack of empathy isn't.

I have learned that I really do have discipline, self-control, and patience. But they were given to me as a seed, and it's up to me to choose to develop them.

Without defeats, how do you really know who the hell you are? If you never had to stand up to something - to get up, to be knocked down, and to get up again - life can walk over you wearing football cleats. But each time you do get up, you're bigger, taller, finer, more beautiful, more kind, more understanding, more loving. Each time you get up, you're more inclusive. More people can stand under your umbrella.

Receptiveness is a rare and massive power, like fortitude.

Sometimes you have to take the focus off of you and put it on someone else and it's funny what you can accomplish and how much strength you really have.

In the end, it's a mental maturity to let your best come out.

We never know who we are going to be until we are tested, but perhaps we can test ourselves without going to the extremes of war. Perhaps we can be kinder now, live with less now, reach out to others now - and build an inner reserve of a strong identity that will hold us up even when everything else falls away.

Victory in physical battles requires strength, muscles, and skill; but the fight is never tougher and victory is never sweeter than in the battles over self.

Having a thick skin doesn't mean that you're hard or harsh. I was lucky because I was born with a thick skin. That doesn't mean that things don't bother me, but you have to keep it in perspective.

The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.

In a drama of the highest order there is little food for censure or hatred; it teaches rather self-knowledge and self-respect.

The ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your performance.

You learn who you really are in a fight - what you're really made of. You have to face yourself and rise above your own fears and failings.

I think the secret to happiness is having a Teflon soul. Whatever comes your way, you either let it slide or you cook with it.

Depression taught me the importance of compassion and hard work, and that you can overcome enormous obstacles.

Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion.

I don't put much pressure on myself, because I'm strong mentally.

Humility is important.

I am emotionally strong, passionate, empathetic, and sensitive towards others, especially the people I love.

Khushi is very sensitive but not very expressive. She is a little pricey as a person. She can be a little bit of a bully. But, there's strength and resilience in my sister that is magnanimous but it is silent.

I'm very very happy for my hardships and misfortunes: they build character and make you a better person. Even if I think it's something you have to carry with you, it's definitely something that makes you more empathic towards other people, makes you understand people and relationships so much better.

I think the very idea of character, of developing not just grit, but empathy and curiosity, emotional intelligence - you know, the things that I want my own daughters to develop - the idea that we're going to get there through rewards and punishments seems completely at odds with the idea of character itself.