Today, from Howard Thurman:
“A man who depends upon externals for his significance, who must look to others for the nod of the head, is one whose life is constantly at the mercy of whatever it is he is courting in his environment. He can easily become the victim of envy and jealousy. Often, he ends up by stretching himself out of shape in trying to be to others what he can never be but what someone else could be without trying. Where do you place your emphasis.”
Boy, there’s a lot to unwind there: “stretching himself out of shape in trying to be to others what he can never be but what someone else could be without trying.”
That brings to mind the Emerson quote: “Make the most of yourself, for that is all of you there is.”
It occurs to me... 