Sherman Alexie Quotes

I used to think that love was giving up everything of yourself and giving it to the other person. Now, I've realized that love is when you have somebody that doesn't make you give up half of yourself.

However much you love somebody, you should always keep a part of yourself to yourself. Never give it all. You can never be yourself otherwise.

There's the part of my life that the public and I share together. And there's the part that's mine to keep for myself. And that's mine. For me.

Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. To survive in the world, we have to act in concert with others, but to survive as ourselves, rather than simply as cogs in a wheel, we have to act alone.

I can't deal with someone wanting to take a relationship backward or needing space or cheating on you. It's a conscious thing; it's a common-sense thing.

Sometimes you have to be selfish to be selfless.

Two halves don't make a whole. Two wholes make a whole. In my relationship, I was giving myself away to make the relationship better, but in actuality, wasn't doing better by doing that. I became less of a man.

I want to tell women that you need to love yourself and make yourself a priority. It's only when you are happy yourself, can you make everyone else around you happy. I am still a dreamer and still believe in fairy tales, but there is only that much one should give another person. You need to keep something for yourself.

I have modes, mental modes that I get in, and when I'm on the road, I focus very much on doing the work. On playing the show, on being good every night. And part of me just gets switched off. The part that's very private and very personal and very intimate. That especially, that part of me gets shut off.

The thing is, I live a very public life, and I have to keep things personal, or else I have no personal life. It's very difficult.

I think I've preserved most of my private life, and I think that's still important for me, and that's still important for my family.

I'm a pleaser, but it's not a good thing because you forget about pleasing yourself at the end of the day.

Putting another human being above yourself isn't healthy. I think it's capitalistic.

Love respects the other. It is a give-and-take relationship. Love enjoys giving, and love enjoys taking. It is a sharing, it is a communication. Both are equal in love; in a sexual relationship both are not equal. Love has a totally different beauty to it.

Don’t sacrifice yourself too much, because if you sacrifice too much there’s nothing else you can give and nobody will care for you.

Our daily existence requires both closeness and distance, the wholeness of self, the wholeness of intimacy.

Knowing when someone's the real deal or not, but still with putting your guard up and self-protecting, you've got to stay open. It comes back to balance.

It is so important as a caregiver not to become so enmeshed in the role that you lose yourself. It's neither good for you nor your loved one.

I know you’ll be a good Queen, a strong, noble leader, and that’s more than these people deserve,” she said. “But don’t give too much. You need to keep some of yourself for you. And listen to your heart.

Detachment does not mean non-involvement. You can be deeply involved but not entangled.

It isn't love when another person cannot give you the space to live your own life.

Are you balanced? Do you share your time, your energy, your life, as much with yourself as you do with those around you?. . . . Know your limits. You are one of the most important people you need to look after and love. Balance your time, your energy, your life with those around you. You'll be able to give more freely and joyfully as a result, and you'll be more open to the gifts of the universe. It's not wrong to give to others. But it's okay to say yes to ourselves, too.

For any healthy relationship to work you have to be able have that time to spend with your friends. And to have a healthy relationship with your friends - and to be honest, if they "know you", pardon the pun, then they'll understand that you need to spend time with your partner. If people are pulling at you from both sides then maybe there's something a little off balance within the relationship. But it also depends on how you are as a person. You need to set the guidelines quite clearly, and say "I need my friends im my life. I got with you, but my friends are part of me also".

Not wanting to give everyone in your life one of your kidneys is not the same thing as hoping they die of kidney failure.

Sometimes we are to guard our heart...protect it from invasion and keep things safe and secure. Sometimes we should give our heart... let certain qualities out and release them to others