Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling book-turned Reese Witherspoon-starring movie Wild hit home with millions of people. Now Strayed, who “thinks of quotes as mini-instruction manuals for the soul,” shares some of her favorites in her new book, Brave Enough.
“Quotes, at their core, almost always shout Yes!” she says.
Here is a sampling of 10 of Strayed’s sayings to read, heed and if you’re so inclined, to shout.
1. “Stop asking yourself what you want, what you desire, what interests you. Ask yourself instead: What has been given to me? Ask: What do I have to give back? Then give it.”
2. “I believe in the integrity and value of the jagged path. We don’t always do the right thing on our way to rightness.”
3. “You will learn a lot from yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. Be a warrior for love.”
4. “No is golden. No is the power the good witch wields.”
5. “Love is our essential nutrient. Without it, life has little meaning. It’s the best thing we have to give and the most valuable thing we receive. It’s worthy of all the hullabaloo.”
6. “The greatest truth isn’t the confession, but rather the lesson learned.”
7. “If someone is being unkind or petty or jealous or distant or weird, you don’t have to take it in. You don’t have to turn it into a big psychodrama about your worth. That behavior so often is not even about you. It’s about the person who’s being unkind or petty or jealous or distant or weird. If this were summed up on a bumper sticker it would say: Don’t own other people’s crap. The world would be a better place if we all did that.”
8. “There are stories hidden in the language we use, whether we’re conscious of them or not. They tell the truth of our hearts and minds.”
9. “This isn’t a spotless life. There is much ahead, my immaculate peach.”
10. “This is not the moment to wilt into the underbrush of your insecurities. You’ve earned the right to grow.”
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