--- 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: the ability to discriminate, to love and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/joan-didion-497_ability_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_331530.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: the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. To lack it is to be locked within oneself, paradoxically incapable of either love or indifference.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/joan-didion-497_ability_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_331530.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/joan-didion-497_ability_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_331530.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e5/joan-didion-497_ability_to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-wo_331530.jpg) > “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 remain indifferent. To lack it is to be locked within oneself, paradoxically incapable of either love or indifference.” [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 grants the power to choose love, indifference, and discernment; without it, one feels trapped and unable to feel fully. **In simple terms:** Self‑respect enables love, indifference, and judgment; lacking it causes emotional lock‑in. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑respect to expand emotional freedom. Themes self‑respect emotional intelligence autonomy Mood reflective empowering Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - career decisions - mental health - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology philosophy identity Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑respect influence your choices? - What practices strengthen it? A Different Perspective Self‑respect can be fragile and may be challenged by external criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [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-3/) [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.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-have-that-sense-of-one-s-intrinsic-worth-which-constitutes-self-2/) [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 > [Indifference is more truly the opposite of love than hate is, for we can both love and hate the same person at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/indifference-is-more-truly-the-opposite-of-love-than-hate-is-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [“When I pretended to be precocious, people started the rumor that I was precocious. When I acted like an idler, rumor had it I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osamu-dazai/when-i-pretended-to-be-precocious-people-started-the-rumor-that-i-was/) [Osamu Dazai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osamu-dazai/) > [“the fear of being indifferent is not the same as indifference itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-landweber/the-fear-of-being-indifferent-is-not-the-same-as-indifference-itself/) Michael Landweber ## 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 Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```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: the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. 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