--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So release yourself from that. Don't be…" description: "\"So release yourself from that. Don't be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word 'love' ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cheryl-strayed-605_be-brave_so-release-yourself-from-that-don-t-be-s_234998.jpg" --- # So release yourself from that. Don't be strategic or coy… ![“So release yourself from that. Don't be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word 'love' to the people you love so when it matters the most to say it, you will.” quote by Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cheryl-strayed-605_be-brave_so-release-yourself-from-that-don-t-be-s_234998.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cheryl-strayed-605_be-brave_so-release-yourself-from-that-don-t-be-s_234998.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cheryl-strayed-605_be-brave_so-release-yourself-from-that-don-t-be-s_234998.jpg) > “So release yourself from that. Don't be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word 'love' to the people you love so when it matters the most to say it, you will.” [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authenticity requires abandoning strategic posturing and embracing genuine love, especially in crucial moments. **In simple terms:** Be real and express love when it matters. Key Takeaway Speak love openly. Themes authenticity courage love Mood reflective encouraging Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - conflict resolution - supportive communities Key Concepts self‑expression vulnerability emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice authentic love daily? - When is it hardest to be brave? A Different Perspective May feel unsafe or overly vulnerable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) ## Related quotes > [“Don't be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dear-sugar/don-t-be-strategic-or-coy-strategic-and-coy-are-for-jackasses-be/) Dear Sugar > [From now on practice saying to everything that appears unpleasant: You are merely an appearance and NOT what you appear to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/from-now-on-practice-saying-to-everything-that-appears-unpleasant-you/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [“Beware of anyone who says, “I love you” without hesitation; they’ve had a lot of practice saying it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-dehaven/beware-of-anyone-who-says-i-love-you-without-hesitation-they-ve-had-a/) [Benjamin DeHaven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-dehaven/) > [“No.' It's not a bad word. And it is very important to use at times. Practice saying it in the mirror. It's empowering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hall/no-it-s-not-a-bad-word-and-it-is-very-important-to-use-at-times/) [Christy Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hall/) > [“Do not trouble about those who practice philosophy, whether they are good or bad; but examine the thing itself well and carefully. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/do-not-trouble-about-those-who-practice-philosophy-whether-they-are/) [Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/) > [No' is golden. 'No' is the kind of power the good witch wields. It's the way whole, healthy, emotionally evolved people manage to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/no-is-golden-no-is-the-kind-of-power-the-good-witch-wields-it-s-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [We like to pretend that our generous impulses come naturally. But the reality is we often become our kindest, most ethical selves only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-like-to-pretend-that-our-generous-impulses-come-naturally-but-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [But the reality is we often become our kindest, most ethical selves only by seeing what it feels like to be a selfish jackass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/but-the-reality-is-we-often-become-our-kindest-most-ethical-selves/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [So on one hand, because the wilderness was familiar to me, it really helped me be brave. But it still was scary sometimes. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/so-on-one-hand-because-the-wilderness-was-familiar-to-me-it-really/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [The most important thing for aspiring writers is for them to give themselves permission to be brave on the page, to write in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-important-thing-for-aspiring-writers-is-for-them-to-give/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Be brave enough to break your own heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/be-brave-enough-to-break-your-own-heart/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [The jackasses at Elections Canada are out of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-harper/the-jackasses-at-elections-canada-are-out-of-control/) [Stephen Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-harper/) > [Ma'am, when I got up this morning, I didn't want to be jackass. You just pushed my jackass button.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-engvall/ma-am-when-i-got-up-this-morning-i-didn-t-want-to-be-jackass-you-just/) [Bill Engvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-engvall/) > [Friends don't let Jackasses drink and drive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/friends-don-t-let-jackasses-drink-and-drive/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [And I will not be beaten by that jackass." "Jackass?" said Foaly, wounded. "My favorite uncle is a jackass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-colfer/and-i-will-not-be-beaten-by-that-jackass-jackass-said-foaly-wounded/) [Eoin Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-colfer/) ## More by Cheryl Strayed > [“She understands that attention is the first and final act of love, and that the ultimate dwindling resource in the human arrangement isn’t cheap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/she-understands-that-attention-is-the-first-and-final-act-of-love-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The most terrible and beautiful and interesting things happen in life. For some of you, those things have already happened. Whatever happens to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-terrible-and-beautiful-and-interesting-things-happen-in-life/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Of course you want someone special to love you. A majority of the people who write to me inquire about how they can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/of-course-you-want-someone-special-to-love-you-a-majority-of-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [It's still true that literary works by women, gays, and writers of color are often framed as specific, rather than universal, small rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-still-true-that-literary-works-by-women-gays-and-writers-of/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [My whole life sort of ended when my mom died.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-whole-life-sort-of-ended-when-my-mom-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“And you have to do it no matter what is true. No matter what is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/and-you-have-to-do-it-no-matter-what-is-true-no-matter-what-is-hard/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Don’t listen to those people who suggest you should be “over” your daughter’s death by now. The people who squawk the loudest about such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/don-t-listen-to-those-people-who-suggest-you-should-be-over-your/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“. . . there was the actual doing it, quickly followed by the grim realization of what it meant to do it, followed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/there-was-the-actual-doing-it-quickly-followed-by-the-grim/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“The sky didn't wonder where it was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-sky-didn-t-wonder-where-it-was/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [He was the most ordinary man in all the world, and yet in her memory he'd become luminous, like the prince in a fairy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/he-was-the-most-ordinary-man-in-all-the-world-and-yet-in-her-memory/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/love-is-our-essential-nutrient-without-it-life-has-little-meaning-it/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“I never believed the boys were angry. I believed they were hurt and anger was the safest manifestation of their sorrow. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-never-believed-the-boys-were-angry-i-believed-they-were-hurt-and/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“It’s wrong that this is required of you. It’s wrong that your son died. It will always be wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-wrong-that-this-is-required-of-you-it-s-wrong-that-your-son-died/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Your ultimatum is simple. It’s fair. And it’s stating your own intentions, not what you hope theirs will be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/your-ultimatum-is-simple-it-s-fair-and-it-s-stating-your-own/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“We aren't poor," my mother said, again and again. "Because we're rich in love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/we-aren-t-poor-my-mother-said-again-and-again-because-we-re-rich-in/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) [Explore all 450 Cheryl Strayed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) ## More Be brave quotes > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-live-and-train-in-iraq-under-these-circumstances-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless! Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/be-brave-be-strong-be-fearless-once-you-have-taken-up-the-spiritual/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Sometimes I think I'm a nihilist because it doesn't matter, none of this matters. We're all following the will of some unknowable higher power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/sometimes-i-think-i-m-a-nihilist-because-it-doesn-t-matter-none-of/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [Let us be brave in the face of adversity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-elder/let-us-be-brave-in-the-face-of-adversity/) [Seneca the Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-elder/) > [So that my life be brave, what though not long?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-drummond/so-that-my-life-be-brave-what-though-not-long/) [William Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-drummond/) > [You can plan to be brave - it's even better if you just try to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/you-can-plan-to-be-brave-it-s-even-better-if-you-just-try-to-be-brave/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [We are in a tight corner, now, I agree. But we have been in tight corners before and come out of them. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-hoffman/we-are-in-a-tight-corner-now-i-agree-but-we-have-been-in-tight/) [Mary Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-hoffman/) > [ Before \[Hindus and Moslems\] dare think of freedom, they must be brave enough to love one another, to tolerate one another's religion, even prejudices… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/before-hindus-and-moslems-dare-think-of-freedom-they-must-be-brave/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The real problem with big issues like Medicare is that both parties have to be brave at the same time. Every pollster will tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/the-real-problem-with-big-issues-like-medicare-is-that-both-parties/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured. Without it, we wouldn't even know what it means to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/fear-is-the-raw-material-from-which-courage-is-manufactured-without/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Pain nourishes courage. You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you. Pain is inevitable. Misery is optional. Physical pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara/pain-nourishes-courage-you-can-t-be-brave-if-you-ve-only-had/) [Barbara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara/) > [You make choices and sometimes they're good and sometimes they backfire. The most important thing is to be brave, forgive yourself when you do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersey-clemons/you-make-choices-and-sometimes-they-re-good-and-sometimes-they/) [Kiersey Clemons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersey-clemons/) Browse all 333 Be brave quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So release yourself from that. Don't be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic. 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