--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To have that sense of one's intrinsic…" description: "\"To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything.\" — Joan Didion" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/joan-didion-497_confidence_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_1790368.jpg" --- # To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which… ![“To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/joan-didion-497_confidence_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_1790368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/joan-didion-497_confidence_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_1790368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/joan-didion-497_confidence_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_1790368.jpg) > “To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑respect is the foundation that enables one to feel complete and capable of achieving anything. **In simple terms:** Self‑respect gives you everything. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑respect. Themes self‑esteem empowerment psychology Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - career confidence - relationship building Key Concepts human dignity intrinsic value Questions to Reflect On - What does self‑respect mean to you? - How can you protect it? A Different Perspective Self‑respect can be fragile and easily undermined by external criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/esteem/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) ## Related quotes > [To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self-3/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [The power to distinguish between person and performance and to communicate intrinsic worth flows naturally out of our own sense of intrinsic worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/the-power-to-distinguish-between-person-and-performance-and-to/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [There is no intrinsic worth in money but what is alterable with the times, and whether a guinea goes for twenty pounds or for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-de-mandeville/there-is-no-intrinsic-worth-in-money-but-what-is-alterable-with-the/) [Bernard de Mandeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-de-mandeville/) > [It is not in our drawing-rooms that we should look to judge of the intrinsic worth of any style of dress. The street-car is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-stuart-phelps-ward/it-is-not-in-our-drawing-rooms-that-we-should-look-to-judge-of-the/) [Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-stuart-phelps-ward/) > [No man is a good citizen, a good neighbor, a good friend, or a good man just because he obeys the law. The intrinsic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/no-man-is-a-good-citizen-a-good-neighbor-a-good-friend-or-a-good-man/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Thank God! we are in the full enjoyment of all these privileges. But can we be taught to prize them too much? or how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/thank-god-we-are-in-the-full-enjoyment-of-all-these-privileges-but/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“We believe that money is only a meaningless token of no intrinsic worth, yet we act as if it has a holy value. Moreover,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/we-believe-that-money-is-only-a-meaningless-token-of-no-intrinsic/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [There is this value in books, that they enable us to converse with the dead. There is something in this beyond the mere intrinsic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/egerton-brydges/there-is-this-value-in-books-that-they-enable-us-to-converse-with-the/) [Egerton Brydges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/egerton-brydges/) > [True virtue, wheresoever it moves, still carries an intrinsic worth about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/true-virtue-wheresoever-it-moves-still-carries-an-intrinsic-worth/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [The fact is that the intrinsic worth of the book, play or whatever the author is trying to sell is the least, last factor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-fact-is-that-the-intrinsic-worth-of-the-book-play-or-whatever-the/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Their intrinsic worth is not enough, for not all turn the goods over and look deep. Most run where the crowd is--because the others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balthazar-gracian/their-intrinsic-worth-is-not-enough-for-not-all-turn-the-goods-over/) Balthazar Gracian > [There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/there-is-no-magic-cure-no-making-it-all-go-away-forever-there-are/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Always be a first-rate version of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [Self-respect is the noblest garment with which a man can clothe himself, the most elevating feeling with which the mind can be inspired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-smiles/self-respect-is-the-noblest-garment-with-which-a-man-can-clothe/) [Samuel Smiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-smiles/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Confidence quotes > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I was just confident my work was good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bunny-yeager/i-was-just-confident-my-work-was-good/) [Bunny Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bunny-yeager/) > [I am confident when I take the penalty otherwise I would pass for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-fernandes/i-am-confident-when-i-take-the-penalty-otherwise-i-would-pass-for/) [Bruno Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-fernandes/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-would-rather-regret-the-things-that-i-have-done-than-the-things/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [You want to remain hungry and stay in a good place as a competitor; at the same time, you want to be confident but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-odom/you-want-to-remain-hungry-and-stay-in-a-good-place-as-a-competitor-at/) [Lamar Odom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-odom/) > [Get to know yourself well enough to not only expect, but also control, your response to the unexpected challenges in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/get-to-know-yourself-well-enough-to-not-only-expect-but-also-control/) Senoraroy > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I look for someone who has confidence. Also someone whose energetic, cause I'm NOT that energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-jonas/i-look-for-someone-who-has-confidence-also-someone-whose-energetic/) [Nick Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-jonas/) > [Why shouldn't I be confident? I'm well educated, I can deliver a line, and I have more than three expressions. That's good right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/why-shouldn-t-i-be-confident-i-m-well-educated-i-can-deliver-a-line/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [I was very confident on the stage, and I stood out in a red gown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-johnson/i-was-very-confident-on-the-stage-and-i-stood-out-in-a-red-gown/) [Nicole Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-johnson/) > [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) [Browse all 11,290 Confidence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Didion" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confidence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/joan-didion-497_confidence_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_1790368.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/joan-didion-497_confidence_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_1790368.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/joan-didion-497_confidence_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_1790368.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To have that sense of one's intrinsic worth which constitutes self-respect is potentially to have everything.” — Joan Didion", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joan Didion", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To have that sense of one's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```