--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You are your best self when you give…" description: "\"You are your best self when you give yourself away.\" — Karen Armstrong" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b8/karen-armstrong-1053_away_you-are-your-best-self-when-you-give-you_280407.jpg" --- # You are your best self when you give yourself away. ![“You are your best self when you give yourself away.” quote by Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b8/karen-armstrong-1053_away_you-are-your-best-self-when-you-give-you_280407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b8/karen-armstrong-1053_away_you-are-your-best-self-when-you-give-you_280407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b8/karen-armstrong-1053_away_you-are-your-best-self-when-you-give-you_280407.jpg) > “You are your best self when you give yourself away.” [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. One reaches their highest potential when they selflessly serve others. **In simple terms:** Giving to others brings out your best self. Key Takeaway Serve others to grow personally. Themes service self‑actualization altruism Mood inspiring serene Type spiritual motivational When to use this quote - volunteering - mentorship - community projects - personal development Key Concepts spirituality psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑care with giving? - What does “best self” mean to you? A Different Perspective Self‑neglect can lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away/) [Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) [Best self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-self/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-away-2721303/) ## Related quotes > [Up, then, with speed, and work; Fling ease and self away-- This is no time for thee to sleep-- Up, watch, and work, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatius-bonar/up-then-with-speed-and-work-fling-ease-and-self-away-this-is-no-time/) [Horatius Bonar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatius-bonar/) > [I just can't pull my self away. Under her spell I can't break I just can't stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/i-just-can-t-pull-my-self-away-under-her-spell-i-can-t-break-i-just/) [Ne-yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [“We all have our own special talents and gifts that make us unique, but because they’re part of us, we can have a hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-hallis/we-all-have-our-own-special-talents-and-gifts-that-make-us-unique-but/) [Tina Hallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-hallis/) > [Our world is drowning in a sea of self-centeredness. You can make yourself quite unique right away by leaving this ocean of selfishness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/our-world-is-drowning-in-a-sea-of-self-centeredness-you-can-make/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“In the offseason, you should be working, reading, developing, growing, evolving, and becoming your best self. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/in-the-offseason-you-should-be-working-reading-developing-growing/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [“everything. If you are lucky, you meet four or five people in a lifetime who you’re totally comfortable with. Comfortable in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-harpham/everything-if-you-are-lucky-you-meet-four-or-five-people-in-a/) [Heather Harpham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-harpham/) > [I have a two-year-old at home, and my whole life is - besides revolved around keeping this little person alive, just watching them on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemarie-dewitt/i-have-a-two-year-old-at-home-and-my-whole-life-is-besides-revolved/) [Rosemarie DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemarie-dewitt/) > [“Why would you be anything other than your unique and best self?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/why-would-you-be-anything-other-than-your-unique-and-best-self/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [“Be true to yourself, to your best self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-v-shearin-karres/be-true-to-yourself-to-your-best-self/) [Erika V. Shearin Karres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-v-shearin-karres/) > [What destroys us most effectively is not a malign fate but our own capacity for self-deception and for degrading our own best self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-destroys-us-most-effectively-is-not-a-malign-fate-but-our-own/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Take the day one cautious step at a time. Remember how fearless tastes. Remember how your grandmother told you 'always prepare for the worst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/take-the-day-one-cautious-step-at-a-time-remember-how-fearless-tastes/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) > [The best self promotion is your next book. And the book after that and after that …](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-andre/the-best-self-promotion-is-your-next-book-and-the-book-after-that-and/) [Bella Andre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-andre/) > [A lot of people hurl themselves into relationships to lose themselves, but I think the best relationships help us to be more ourselves, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/a-lot-of-people-hurl-themselves-into-relationships-to-lose-themselves/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“If we are better rested, take care of ourselves, and become a priority in our lives, we can gain the internal strength to choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-cantoni/if-we-are-better-rested-take-care-of-ourselves-and-become-a-priority/) [Jackie Cantoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-cantoni/) ## More by Karen Armstrong > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [A gentleman is not born but crafted. He had to work on himself in the same way as a sculptor shaped a rough stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/a-gentleman-is-not-born-but-crafted-he-had-to-work-on-himself-in-the/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I was a lousy nun. I couldn't do it. I couldn't find God. It wasn't suitable for me. It is suitable for very few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-was-a-lousy-nun-i-couldn-t-do-it-i-couldn-t-find-god-it-wasn-t/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [In the past some of the most influential Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologians, such as Maimonides, Aquinas and Ibn Sina, made it clear that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/in-the-past-some-of-the-most-influential-jewish-christian-and-muslim/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [The great task of our time is to build a global society, where people can live together in peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/the-great-task-of-our-time-is-to-build-a-global-society-where-people/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [We want to create, never mind the leaders or the bishops or chief rabbis or imams, or Popes. We want to create a grassroots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/we-want-to-create-never-mind-the-leaders-or-the-bishops-or-chief/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [If we don't manage to implement the Golden Rule globally, so that we treat all peoples, wherever and whoever they may be, as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-we-don-t-manage-to-implement-the-golden-rule-globally-so-that-we/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [After I left the convent, for 15 years I was worn out with religion, I wanted nothing whatever to do with it. I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/after-i-left-the-convent-for-15-years-i-was-worn-out-with-religion-i/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“As we have seen, so many of the things we once took for granted have proved unreliable that we may have to “forget” old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/as-we-have-seen-so-many-of-the-things-we-once-took-for-granted-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet a personal God can become a grave liability. He can be a mere idol carved in our own image, a projection of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/yet-a-personal-god-can-become-a-grave-liability-he-can-be-a-mere-idol/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“I discovered that I felt at home and alive in the silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and around there. Without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-discovered-that-i-felt-at-home-and-alive-in-the-silence-which/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Each of the world religions has its own particular genius, its own special insight into the nature and requirements of compassion, and has something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/each-of-the-world-religions-has-its-own-particular-genius-its-own/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“all rightly guided religion that submitted wholly to God, refused to worship man-made deities and preached that justice and equality came from the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/all-rightly-guided-religion-that-submitted-wholly-to-god-refused-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“advocates of evolutionary theory since Thomas H. Huxley (1825–95) have found altruism problematic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/advocates-of-evolutionary-theory-since-thomas-h-huxley-1825-95-have/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) [Explore all 296 Karen Armstrong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) ## More Away quotes > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [Some shows just go away - and that's fine. 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And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Beauty fades away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-fades-away/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't kind of take away, you either do or you don't. If you kind of take away something you're a failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/you-can-t-kind-of-take-away-you-either-do-or-you-don-t-if-you-kind-of/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [We all have time away from football to get our head down. 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