phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Pride

Posted by Bob on April 05, 2001

In Reply to: Pride posted by ESC on April 05, 2001

: : : I am looking for a colorful proverb, saying, or idiom that reflects the same meaning as "to thine own self be true." I was using "a leopard can't change it's spots" but was told the origin of that phrase had a negative connotation, like someone who does evil can't necessarly change. I want a phrase that shows you can be proud of who you are and NOT HAVE TO change.

: : I'm OK, you're OK. March to your own drummer. Don't judge me until you've walked a mile in my moccasins. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You can't please all the people all the time. Everybody's a critic. Don't let the bastards grind you down. Have the courage of your convictions. Don't hide your light under a bushel.

: A few sayings from This Dog'll Really Hunt: An Entertaining Texas Dictionary by Wallace O. Chariton (Wordware Publishing, Piano, Texas, 1989, 1990):
: NONCONFORMIST - He throws a different loop; he two-steps to his own beat.
: INDEPENDENT - Independent as a hog on ice. Saddles his own horse. Rides his own trail. Totes her own skillet. Paddles his own canoe.

Pssst. I don't mean to interrupt, but we Do have to change. We all do. The world changes, society changes, we move to new places. Those who stubbornly refuse to change are victims of their own egotism. (I've got all the answers, and I ain't moving from here. I am, in other words, the still point in a spinning universe.) It's a sign of maturity, of a truly evolved person, that one continues to evolve. Sure, there are sad, narrow old souls who never change. At first they're odd, then eccentric, then marginalized, then irrelevant. You can live 70 years, or you can live the same year 70 times. Take pride in who you are? Fine. But take more pride in what you can become.

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.