Don Miguel Ruiz Quotes

I'm not a victim, and I don't need to behave like one.

Character isn't inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action. If one lets fear or hate or anger take possession of the mind, they become self-forged chains.

Do you see yourself as a victim of the world, or do you see yourself as the world?

Life is challenging. I wish I could tell you that you’ll always be on top of the mountain, but the reality is that there are days when nothing will go right, when not only will you not be on top, you may not even be able to figure out which way is up. Do yourself a favor, and don’t make it any harder than it has to be. In those moments, be careful how you speak to yourself; be careful how you think of yourself; be careful how you conduct yourself; be careful how you develop yourself.

I've never really seen myself in the role of the victim.

The difference between a regular person and a warrior is not that you're not afraid. Hell, I was afraid. I don't want to go into combat with anybody who is not afraid because it's healthy to have fear. But what makes a warrior is the guy who can control that fear, channel it, and actually use it as a weapon.

But I still think it's mind over matter in the sense that if you're strong, you can combat anything.

Everybody is not a victim.

Nobody can hurt me without my permission.

One must not let oneself be overwhelmed by sadness.

No one can drive us crazy unless we give them the keys.

You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.

We don't have any power other than our intellect and our hearts.

I think it's okay to be afraid, but it's not okay to let it rule your life.

It's easy to fall into victim mode and feel like the world is against you. The truth is, people aren't against you: they're just for themselves. The only thing within your control is how you react and respond to the chaotic dance of life.

You find strength in your moments of weakness.

In any bad situation you can not let yourself be a victim.

We do not have to be victims of circumstance.

I will always have fears, but I need not be my fears, for I have other places within myself from which to speak and act.

I'm not a victim. And the people who are victims of something, my heart is completely with them. But I'm not. I know I've been treated like a woman in this business [acting]. I mean I've got lots of stories, but they don't have any control over me.

It takes a warrior's courage to acknowledge that your point of view matters, that your truth matters, that your gifts matter, and that your presence on this earth matters. You don’t have to earn this right; it’s yours as part of your birthright.

The hardest thing in the world is to assume the mood of a warrior. It is of no use to be sad and complain and feel justified in doing so,believing that someone is always doing something to us. Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior.

People who consider themselves victims of their circumstances will always remain victims unless they develop a greater vision for their lives.

As a peaceful warrior, I would choose when, where and how I would behave. With that commitment, I began to live the life of a warrior.

The big difference between a warrior and a victim is that the victim represses and the warrior refrains. Victims repress because they are afraid to show the emotions, afraid to say what they want to say. To refrain is not the same thing as repression. To refrain is to hold the emotions and to express them in the right moment, not before, not later. That is why warriors are impeccable.