Bernard of Clairvaux Quotes

I have been my own disciple and my own master. And I have been a good disciple but a bad master.

Only in the crucible of self-mastery can freedom be smelted

Learn to self-conquest, persevere thus for a time, and you will perceive very clearly the advantage which you gain from it.

All reform aims, in some one particular, to let the soul have its way through us; in other words, to engage us to obey.

The highest strength is acquired not in overcoming the world, but in overcoming one's self. Learn to be cruel to thyself, to withstand thy appetites, to bear thy sufferings, and thou shalt become free and able.

Love yourself and be awake- Today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the way, Then teach others, And so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked You must first do a harder thing- Straighten yourself. You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself, And discover your master.

because the hardest boss a man can ever have is himself.

If you want to overcome the whole world, overcome yourself.

One of the main goals of self-education is to eradicate that vanity in us without which we would never have been educated.

Every attainment, every step forward in knowledge, follows from courage, from hardness against oneself, from cleanliness in relation to oneself.

Mature striving is linked to long-range goals. Thus, the process of becoming is largely a matter of organizing transitory impulses into a pattern of striving and interest in which the element of self-awareness plays a large part.

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far.

I take responsibility for myself and what I do now.

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.

There is no other way to change something or someone for the better except to occupy it first. The only person you can occupy is yourself. That is why the only person who can change you for the better is you. Without your decision to change and your commitment to change, you will not change.

You need to put what you learn into practice and do it over and over again until it's a habit. I always say, 'Seeing is not believing. Doing is believing.' There is a lot to learn about fitness, nutrition and emotions, but once you do, you can master them instead of them mastering you.

Long-term, we must begin to build our internal strengths. It isn't just skills like computer technology. It's the old-fashioned basics of self-reliance, self-motivation, self-reinforcement, self-discipline, self-command.

The only competition worthy a wise man is with himself.

It's in the act of having to do things that you don't want to that you learn something about moving past the self. Past the ego.

I had to learn, really, how to rein in my energies and discipline myself. And I found it very very useful. I rebelled against it at first, but it's a good thing to have.

Every man who rises above the common level has received two educations: the first from his teachers; the second, more personal and important, from himself.

All personal achievement starts in the mind of the individual. Your personal achievement starts in your mind. The first step is to know exactly what your problem, goal or desire is.

We fail to see that we can control our destiny; make ourselves do whatever is possible; make ourselves become whatever we long to be.

Well, any time you do anything good, it's man versus himself, right? That's the art, the challenge.

Happiness is dependent on self-discipline. We are the biggest obstacles to our own happiness. It is much easier to do battle with society and with others than to fight our own nature.