Eugen Herrigel Quotes

I can't imagine, as a human being, not being able to grow.

I am who I am and I tune my training to the fighter I am.

I need to have perspective. That's one of the big things former players told me, to not try to live up to anything, just live up to yourself.

I'm fascinated by what makes up a self, how one becomes a self, how much is it an answer to others and how much is it an essence of self.

There is nothing one fears more or is more ashamed of than not being oneself. Yet few people realize even an approximation of their true potential. Most people must live with varying degrees of the shame and fear of not being fully in control of themselves.

We only get to be one person; we don't even get to choose that person. By the time we get ahold of ourselves, we are pieces already in play.

I've tested life and I've learned what works for me.

Everybody is determined by his own experience.

Carving out an identity for yourself is important so I'm trying to do that as well.

Before you can do something you must first be something.

How could I have been anyone other than me?

I know who I am by now. And I am my own brand.

I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human.

Your sole contribution to the sum of things is yourself.

I think the whole idea of me was that I wasn't going to be but that I wanted to be, desperately.

Everybody should be affected by their own realities in their own lives, their own struggles in their own lives. It makes us who we are, and we all know that.

I don't know that you can put a label on growth. I'm just me.

Being a full human being is difficult, frightening, and problematical.

My music is 100-percent me, so it's just who I developed into as a woman. I feel really grateful that I waited until I did because I feel like I really found who I was by doing that.

I wanted to do things that I knew were going to be me.

In all my lectures, I have taught one doctrine, namely, the infinitude of the private man.

I've always been fascinated by this idea of who we are versus who we want to be.

Everyone has their own process.

I think when you start changing things, you're not being yourself.

I stopped worrying about how other people define me a little bit ago. I used to care a lot. Now I just don't care that much. Really, what I'm worried about is, am I being the best me I can be?