Man, by his very nature and of his own accord, strives toward self-realization, and that his set of values evolves from such striving. Apparently he cannot, for example, develop his full human potentialities unless he is truthful to himself; unless he is active and productive; unless he relates himself to others in the spirit of mutuality. Apparently he cannot grow if he indulges in a "dark idolatry of self" and consistently attributes all his own shortcomings to the deficiencies of others. He can grow, in the true sense, only if he assumes responsibility for himself.

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"A perfectly normal person is rare in our civilization."

- Karen Horney

Awareness

"No one … can entirely step out of his time, that despite his keenness of vision his thinking is in many ways bound to be influenced by the mentality of his time."

- Karen Horney

Awareness

"Pride and self-hate belong inseparably together; they are two expressions of one process."

- Karen Horney

Self-awareness

"The neurotic, as long as he must adhere to his illusions about himself, cannot recognize limitations, the search for glory goes into the unlimited. Because the main goal is the attainment of glory, he becomes uninterested in the process of learning, of doing, or of gaining step by step — indeed, tends to scorn it. He does not want to climb a mountain; he wants to be on the peak. Hence he loses the sense of what evolution or growth means, even though he may talk about it. Because, finally, the creation of the idealized self is possible only at the expense of truth about himself, its actualization requires further distortions of truth, imagination being a willing servant to this end. Thereby, to a greater or lesser extent, he loses in the process his interest in truth, and the sense for what is true or not true — a loss that, among others, accounts for his difficulty in distinguishing between genuine feelings, beliefs, strivings, and their artificial equivalents (unconscious pretenses) in himself and in others. The emphasis shifts from being to appearing."

- Karen Horney

Self-awareness

"There is no good reason why we should not develop and change until the last day we live."

- Karen Horney

Personal Growth

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"True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline."

- Mortimer J. Adler

Self-improvement

"You will never always be motivated. You have to learn to be disciplined."

- Anon

Self-improvement

"Do not think about other things, there is only one thing you can do. So master that one thing. Do not forget. What you must imagine is always that you, yourself, are the strongest. You do not need outside enemies. For you, the one you have to fight is none other than your own image."

- Archer

Self-improvement

"You need to accept the fact that you’re not the best and have all the will to strive to be better than anyone you face."

- Roronoa Zoro

Self-improvement

"Take a page from the dragonfly's book – be vibrant and let your true colors shine"

Self-improvement