Melody Beattie Quotes

If there are people who treat me wrong, I either talk to them about it, or I don't talk to them anymore. It's been the most thoughtful and considerate thing I could do for myself and other people. I am going to try to do that forever.

Most people, it seems like they've only got one part of the equation down. Caring for themselves, or caring for someone else. And I'v learned how important it is to have both.

I will always be open to receive my friends. I will not force myself on them.

I've always been a caretaker; I think a lot of women are. We take care of everybody else first, and very rarely do we think about ourselves.

You have to fill your cup. You then give away the overflowing, but you keep a cupful for yourself.

Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless.

Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.

Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.

I have some regrets that I might have hurt men in my life. But they can take care of themselves.

I would say, as I'm into my 30s, I have become a better friend because I don't need as much from my friends, and so when you don't need as much, you can be better at giving.

I'll admit that I'm self-centered - all of us are - but I can also be external and giving and listening and empathetic and all that sort of stuff.

I admire how she protects her energy and understands her limitations.

One of the things I talk a lot about in my work that I try to practice - which is really hard - is in those moments where we're being asked to do things or asked to take over or asked to take care of something, we have to have the courage to choose discomfort over resentment. And to me, a huge part of my authenticity practice has been choosing discomfort and saying no.

Who am I helping, what am I breaking, what am I giving, what am I taking?

Caring works. Caretaking doesn't. We can learn to walk the line between the two.

It's not a very sane thing to try to be great all the time. You want to make something magical; you want to make something wonderful; you want to give to everybody; you want to heal people; you want to still be inspired. That's not easy.

One of the hardest obstacles I've had to overcome in my life was not understanding how to draw healthy boundaries. I finally learned it's perfectly OK to say no.

Trying to “fix” the people in your life that cause you pain is like massaging your shoes because your feet ache.

Boundaries and risk management are very important parts of living a healthy and positive life.

Each aspect within us needs understanding and compassion. If we are unwilling to give it to ourselves how can we expect the world to give it to us?

When you continue to give without receiving, the only thing you are proving is that you know how to be taken advantage of.

You have to give love to get love.

Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.

You should think about the world and feel about your heart.

I think was overly empathetic for a while in my life.