Francis Spufford Quotes

I'm hard on myself, so I'm working on shifting perspective toward self-acceptance, with all my flaws and weaknesses.

Self-awareness is value-free. It isn't scary. It doesn't imply that you will subject yourself to needless pain.

I think I have a better sense of my weaknesses - being self-important, selfish and having a big ego probably triggers all the other stuff. I can see myself more clearly.

Self-awareness is not self-centeredness, and spirituality is not narcissism. 'Know thyself' is not a narcissistic pursuit.

Knowing ourselves and how we feel can help us improve.

I do not take to the field to defend myself from certain criticisms. If I do, in this kind of career, it is because I'm very self-critical.

Love yourself. KNOW thyself. And be mindful of your thoughts.

Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my thoughts, and an inability to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of confidence, which cause me to back down from forcefully stated positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense of careful, 'scientific' though. I was thirty-seven years old and still discovering who I was.

We should always look back on our own past with a sort of contempt, as long as the tenderness is there - but please let some of the contempt be there.

As one grows older one becomes more critical of oneself and less of other people.

I just have to be myself. I'm not perfect, and I'm going to make mistakes; I might say the wrong thing. I have to be responsible to my community, and I feel like I am, but then I have to not be so hard on myself.

I used to blame my problems on other people. But my moment of clarity, if you want to call it that, came when I was looking in the mirror one day and just burst into tears. It wasn't just that I looked bad, it was that I knew my problem was me.

If only I may grow: firmer, simpler, quieter, warmer.

I'm my worst critic, and I like the fact that I can listen to myself now and make fun of myself, listen, make changes - 'Oh, man, that's messed up. Okay, I need to work on that; I need to work on this.'

Neither blame or praise yourself.

I find that we must be careful not to judge or weigh in on anything other than ourselves. I am living and learning this still!

I know my flaws before other people point them out to me.

I am very self-critical, but that's a good thing because it keeps me growing as a human being and as a musician.

It is more profitable to be mindful of our own faults than of those of our age.

I'm never impressed with myself!

It's important to have an examined life - but it's a fine line between having an examined life and being hypercritical of oneself. There has to be balance in there somewhere.

I'm not afraid to blame myself for any of my own faults or just to analyze things in a different way, but I don't overanalyze, either.

All the work I do is personal, so the good stuff and the bad stuff that you see in there is all good stuff and bad stuff that I have, and part of the journey, for me, has been to embrace these things that I find embarrassing about myself: my stubbornness, my ego, my maudlin-ness - these things that I see myself do, and I go, 'Oh, David, stop that!'

I need to learn to be happy and enjoy the achievement rather than already thinking about what I could have done better.

Don't compare yourself with other people; compare yourself with who you were yesterday.