Best Shame Quotes

We need never be ashamed of our tears.

Once we realize that imperfect understanding is the human condition there is no shame in being wrong, only in failing to correct our mistakes.

Empathy is the antidote to shame.

Shame derives its power from being unspeakable.

Shame produces trauma. Trauma produces paralysis.

Empathy is the antidote to shame.

Shame cannot survive being spoken. It cannot survive empathy.

Shame on such a morality that is worthy of pariahs, and that fails to recognize the eternal essence that exists in every living thing, and shines forth with inscrutable significance from all eyes that see the sun!

Whose life testifies to the truth that there is no shame in being oppressed: Those who should be ashamed are they who oppress others.

I have really sinned. I am going to pause now, and sit here on the mound repenting in deepest shame.

All men of goodwill have this in common – that our works put us to shame.

Every woman while she would be ready to die of shame if surprised in the act of generation, nonetheless carries her pregnancy without a trace of shame and indeed with a kind of pride. The reason is that pregnancy is in a certain sense a cancellation of the guilt incurred by coitus; thus coitus bears all the shame and disgrace of the affair, while pregnancy, which is so intimately associated with it, stays pure and innocent and is indeed to some extent sacred.

If we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can’t survive.

England has been offered a choice between war and shame. She has chosen shame and will get war.

When a nation has allowed itself to fall under a tyrannical regime, it cannot be absolved from the faults due to the guilt of that regime.

There comes into the life of every man a task for which he and he alone is uniquely suited. What a shame if that moment finds him either unwilling or unprepared for that which would become his finest hour.

This wicked man Hitler, the repository and embodiment of many forms of soul-destroying hatred. this monstrous product of former wrongs and shame.

Shame works like the zoom lens on a camera. When we are feeling shame, the camera is zoomed in tight and all we see is our flawed selves, alone and struggling.(page 68)

Guilt: I’m sorry. I made a mistake. Shame: I’m sorry. I am a mistake.

Shame is the most powerful, master emotion. It’s the fear that we’re not good enough.

Men walk this tightrope where any sign of weakness illicits shame, and so they’re afraid to make themselves vulnerable for fear of looking weak.

When perfectionism is driving us, shame is riding shotgun and fear is that annoying backseat driver!

Shame derives its power from being unspeakable…If we speak shame, it begins to wither. Just the way exposure to light was deadly for the gremlins, language and story bring light to shame and destroy it.

You cannot talk about race without talking about privilege. And when people start talking about privilege, they get paralyzed by shame.

Shame cannot survive being spoken. It cannot tolerate having words wrapped around it. What it craves is secrecy, silence, and judgment. If you stay quiet, you stay in a lot of self-judgment.

Shame corrodes the very part of us that believes we are capable of change.

Shame: We all have it. It’s that gremlin that says ‘I’m not enough.’ Or, if you’re feeling pretty confident,…’ooh, who do you think you are?’ Shame always has a seat.

You cannot shame or belittle people into changing their behaviors.

Shame hates it when we reach out and tell our story. It hates having words wrapped around it – it can’t survive being shared. Shame loves secrecy… When we bury our story, the shame metastasizes.

Some were beggars, some were kings, and some were masters of the arts. But in their shame they’re all the same, these men with broken hearts.

If we want to live and love with our whole hearts, and if we want to engage with the world from a place of worthiness, we have to talk about the things that get in the way- especially shame, fear and vulnerability

Self-compassion is key because when we’re able to be gentle with ourselves in the midst of shame, we’re more likely to reach out, connect, and experience empathy.

I think that shame is a universal, paralyzing, painful emotion.

If we share our shame story with the wrong person, they can easily become one more piece of flying debris in an already dangerous storm.(page 10)

We judge people in areas where we’re vulnerable to shame, especially picking folks who are doing worse than we’re doing. If I feel good about my parenting, I have no interest in judging other people’s choices. If I feel good about my body, I don’t go around making fun of other people’s weight or appearance. We’re hard on each other because we’re using each other as a launching pad out of our own perceived deficiency.