Josh McDowell Quotes

Total self acceptance is empowering. It means allowing others to see you as they choose, without being offended.

It's very tiring having other people tell you how much they dig you if you yourself don't dig you.

I so desperately wanted to be honest, and I so desperately wanted to love myself and accept myself for who I was.

When you acknowledge that there is nothing repulsive or unforgivable or shameful about yourself, it becomes easier to be that authentic person and feel like you're living a less performed life.

Of all the judgments we pass in life, none is more important than the judgment we pass on ourselves.

I don't like myself you know. I love myself. I'm devoted to myself till my dying day. But I don't like myself.

Your real influence is measured by your treatment of yourself.

I've been in situations where I've said to young people: "You're so personable, you're so articulate, you're clearly so bright, you're so good-looking - feel better about yourself!" But if at the core if you don't, all those words mean nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Self-love exaggerates our faults as well as our virtues.

It is easier to overcome people's judgments than to overcome our own self-judgment.

One of the biggest things I've done is learn how to love myself, flaws and all. Even the things I don't like about myself, I accept. People have made fun of me and made me self-conscious about talking so softly, for example, but I accept that as who I am and I'm not changing it for anybody. I'm at peace with who I am now, and once you've achieved that, all the other stuff disappears.

I like who I am, and am puzzled to find that not everybody shares this opinion.

It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinions than our own.

People who are insecure about themselves will avoid social comparisons that are potentially threatening to their self-esteem

Until we accept and approve of ourselves, no amount of approval from others will keep us permanently secure.

There are people who dislike you because you do not dislike yourself.

You can't hate/love others without loving/hating yourself first.

The most important opinion you'll ever have is the one you hold of yourself.

Self-acceptance begets acceptance from others, which begets even deeper, more genuine self-acceptance. It can be done. But no one is going to bestow it on you. It is a gift only you can give yourself.

I try to teach people that I believe God wants us to be positive toward ourselves, meaning that, you know what, I like the way I look, I like the way I sound, I'm happy with what I'm doing in my career - and not always be beating ourselves down.

Self-satisfaction and self-pity are both condemned. What are people permitted to feel about themselves?

If you don't like yourself, you're going to have a really hard time getting along with anyone else.

Today I will let go of my need for approval and my need to be liked. Instead, I will choose to like and approve of myself. The people who count (including me) will respect me when I'm true to who I really am.

When you stop caring what people think, you lose your capacity for connection. When you're defined by it, you lose our capacity for vulnerability.

There's absolutely no way you can feel the freedom to embarrass and humiliate yourself unless you have finally recognized that your identity is in someone other than yourself.