Julia Ward Howe Quotes

When I was an animal I evolved through selfishness. Now that I am a man my evolution can be achieved only through self-sacrifice.

I think I'm still figuring out how to be a little less selfish.

Hell is yourself and the only redemption is when a person puts himself aside to feel deeply for another person.

Present unhappiness is selfish; past sorrow is compassionate.

I wasn't good enough for abnegation," I say, "and I wanted to be free. So I chose Dauntless." "Why weren't you good enough?" "Because I was selfish." I say. "You were selfish? You aren't anymore?" "Of course I am. My mother said that everyone is selfish," I say, "but I became less selfish in Dauntless. I discovered there were people I would fight for. Die for, even.

We were willing to do so much for the people we loved, even if it meant hurting ourselves. Maybe that, in the end, was what love- all kinds- was really about.

Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to.

At the heart of the message of the Savior of the world is a single, glorious, wonderful, still largely untried concept. In its simplest terms the message is that we should seek to overcome the selfishness we all seem to be born with, that we should overcome human nature and think of others before self.

When we grow old, there can only be one regret - not to have given enough of ourselves.

Good character consists of recognizing the selfishness that inheres in each of us and trying to balance it against the altruism to which we should all aspire. It is a difficult balance to strike, but no definition of goodness can be complete without it.

It's kind of bittersweet. The human spirit is not measured by the size of the act, but by the size of the heart.

I don't know if it's ever OK for someone to be selfish. Perhaps there's a time and place to be self-centered, but I think selfish never wins the race.

All children are born pure egoists. They perceive their needs to the exclusion of all others. Only through socialization do they learn that some forms of gratification must be deferred and others denied.

My mom can't defend herself to the world. She is such an amazing woman, with such an open heart. It's a real hard line, and I crossed it. I took everyone's life story and assumed it would be a great thing to put on screen. I was being selfish and I feel so horrible about it. I feel so guilty.

I recognize that I have the ability to be selfish, but I also recognize that you can't be happy if you only care about yourself at the expense of other people.

The writer is someone who tears himself to pieces in order to liberate his neighbor.

I've certainly had a lot of experiences in my life where I was much too self-centered.

I fight for other people better than I fight for myself.

I've discovered new parts of my manhood, places I couldn't get to without loving someone else unconditionally and putting others before myself.

I am a great motivator. I have struggles in my life, and the only way I can push through them is to motivate others. It really is quite selfish.

Seek a common good beyond your comfort.

I am convinced that everyone can develop a good heart and sense of responsibility with or without religion.

One who has no love in his heart will try to possess everything for himself. One who has love in his heart is ready to sacrifice everything, including his own body, for the benefit of others.

I never sacrificed myself. I did what I did out of love.

That we are selfish gives us the opportunity to gain the power so that, in time, we might be selfless. To give back what we have learned. To teach what we know, and shorten the journey for those who will come after us.