--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just as negative self-paradigms can put…" description: "\"“Just as negative self-paradigms can put limitations on us, positive self-paradigms can bring out the best in us, as the following story about the son ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/sean-covey-10136_paradigms_just-as-negative-self-paradigms-can-put_2931346.png" --- # Just as negative self-paradigms can put limitations on us… ![“Just as negative self-paradigms can put limitations on us, positive self-paradigms can bring out the best in us, as the following story about the son of King Louis XVI of France illustrates: King Louis had been taken from his throne and imprisoned. His young son, the prince, was taken by those who…” quote by Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/sean-covey-10136_paradigms_just-as-negative-self-paradigms-can-put_2931346.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/sean-covey-10136_paradigms_just-as-negative-self-paradigms-can-put_2931346.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/sean-covey-10136_paradigms_just-as-negative-self-paradigms-can-put_2931346.png) > ““Just as negative self-paradigms can put limitations on us, positive self-paradigms can bring out the best in us, as the following story about the son of King Louis XVI of France illustrates: King Louis had been taken from his throne and imprisoned. His young son, the prince, was taken by those who dethroned the king. They thought that inasmuch as the king’s son was heir to the throne, if they could destroy him morally, he would never realize the great and grand destiny that life had bestowed upon him. They took him to a community far away, and there they exposed the lad to every filthy and vile thing that life could offer. They exposed him to foods the richness of which would quickly make him a slave to appetite. They used vile language around him constantly. They exposed him to lewd and lusting women. They exposed him to dishonor and distrust. He was surrounded twenty-four hours a day by everything that could drag the soul of a man as low as one could slip. For over six months he had this treatment—but not once did the young lad buckle under pressure. Finally, after intensive temptation, they questioned him. Why had he not submitted himself to these things— why had he not partaken? These things would provide pleasure, satisfy his lusts, and were desirable; they were all his. The boy said, “I cannot do what you ask for I was born to be a king.”” [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A story illustrating that one's self‑belief determines whether external temptations can dominate or be resisted. **In simple terms:** Self‑belief shapes how we handle temptations. Key Takeaway Cultivate a strong self‑image. Themes self‑belief resilience temptation identity power Mood determined reflective Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - leadership training - overcoming addiction - ethical decision making Key Concepts psychology self‑concept willpower Questions to Reflect On - What core belief drives your choices? - How can you reinforce a positive self‑image? A Different Perspective If the self‑concept is weak, external pressures may easily sway behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [King Louis Xvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king-louis-xvi-227904/) [Louis Xvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/louis-xvi/) [Negative Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-self-309649/) [Paradigms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradigms/) [Paradigms Bring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradigms-bring-4322619/) [Positive self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/positive-self/) [Self Paradigms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-paradigms-4322618/) [Six months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six-months/) ## Related quotes > [Ilove king louis xvi he is so sexxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ilove-king-louis-xvi-he-is-so-sexxy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amy gritted her teeth. "King Louis XVI even put Franklin's picture on a chamber pot!" Jonah looked at his dad. "Do we have souvenir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/amy-gritted-her-teeth-king-louis-xvi-even-put-franklin-s-picture-on-a/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Commoners already paid the lion’s share of national taxes and, because of these old feudal records, they now also paid a whole host of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-reiss/commoners-already-paid-the-lion-s-share-of-national-taxes-and-because/) [Tom Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-reiss/) > [“...the former King Louis XVI, who, after titles were abolished, was now simply called "Louis Capet" - a mocking reference to his distant ancestor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-reiss/the-former-king-louis-xvi-who-after-titles-were-abolished-was-now/) [Tom Reiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-reiss/) > [“found that positive self-talk can dramatically improve mood, boost confidence, increase productivity, and more. Much more. In fact, as evidenced by Professor Hart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-john-bishop/found-that-positive-self-talk-can-dramatically-improve-mood-boost/) [Gary John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-john-bishop/) > [“Change the negative, self-loathing thoughts to positive, self-affirming ones. When you’re positive about yourself and everything around you, you begin to see the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-the-negative-self-loathing-thoughts-to-positive-self-affirming/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [“The offices are decorated with neon-Louis XVI furniture and are dominated by grey, Mr. Dior’s favourite colour when he opened the famous house on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-lafleche/the-offices-are-decorated-with-neon-louis-xvi-furniture-and-are/) [Isabelle Lafleche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-lafleche/) > [“We think of 1789 as the date of the French Revolution, and the storming of the Bastille as its defining event. Yet as late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-jay/we-think-of-1789-as-the-date-of-the-french-revolution-and-the/) [Mike Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-jay/) > [“In a recent Gallup poll conducted in France while riding a horse, two out of three sweaty Frenchman (there were only three people surveyed)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/in-a-recent-gallup-poll-conducted-in-france-while-riding-a-horse-two/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“It would mean Morny had no loyalty at all to Louis XVIII or the constitutional monarchy or anything else he has swon to defend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-messina/it-would-mean-morny-had-no-loyalty-at-all-to-louis-xviii-or-the/) [Lynn Messina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-messina/) > [I am the successor, not of Louis XVI, but of Charlemagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/i-am-the-successor-not-of-louis-xvi-but-of-charlemagne/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [In 2004, we opened our first store in Manhattan. I installed a big window so people could see me making the chocolates. That store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-torres/in-2004-we-opened-our-first-store-in-manhattan-i-installed-a-big/) [Jacques Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-torres/) > [“Aujourd’hui, rien. That’s what Louis XVI wrote in his diary on the day of the storming of the Bastille.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/aujourd-hui-rien-that-s-what-louis-xvi-wrote-in-his-diary-on-the-day/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“In Astrology, the moon, among its other meanings, has that of "the common people," who submit (they know not why) to any independent will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/in-astrology-the-moon-among-its-other-meanings-has-that-of-the-common/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“Louis XVI--Louis Capet--was led to the guillotine in the Place de la Revolution by Santerre, the brewer. Louis stepped firmly and resolutely up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernardine-kielty/louis-xvi-louis-capet-was-led-to-the-guillotine-in-the-place-de-la/) [Bernardine Kielty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernardine-kielty/) ## More by Sean Covey > [“Boyfriend/Girlfriend-Centered This may be the easiest trap of all to fall into. I mean, who hasn’t been centered on a boyfriend or girlfriend at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/boyfriend-girlfriend-centered-this-may-be-the-easiest-trap-of-all-to/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [Instead of trying to blend in and be like everyone else, be proud of and celebrate your unique differences and qualities. A fruit salad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/instead-of-trying-to-blend-in-and-be-like-everyone-else-be-proud-of/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [You can usually tell when a couple becomes centered on each other because they are forever breaking up and getting back together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/you-can-usually-tell-when-a-couple-becomes-centered-on-each-other/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [If you could envision the type of person God intended you to be, you would rise up and never be the same again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/if-you-could-envision-the-type-of-person-god-intended-you-to-be-you/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [Don't struggle about the struggle. In other words, life's full of ups and downs. So if you're struggling, don't worry, everyone else has or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/don-t-struggle-about-the-struggle-in-other-words-life-s-full-of-ups/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [“If who I am is what I have and what I have is lost, then who am I?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/if-who-i-am-is-what-i-have-and-what-i-have-is-lost-then-who-am-i/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [My dad told me that when I was born my cheeks were so fat the doctors didn't know which end to spank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/my-dad-told-me-that-when-i-was-born-my-cheeks-were-so-fat-the-doctors/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [Don't let your pride or a lack of courage stand in the way of saying you're sorry to people you may have offended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/don-t-let-your-pride-or-a-lack-of-courage-stand-in-the-way-of-saying/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [“We see them come. We see them go. Some are fast. And some are slow. Some are high. And some are slow. Not one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/we-see-them-come-we-see-them-go-some-are-fast-and-some-are-slow-some/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [Some of the more popular life-centers for teens include Friends, Stuff, Enemies, Self, and Work. They each have their good points, but they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/some-of-the-more-popular-life-centers-for-teens-include-friends-stuff/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [The average teen today spends about 35 hours a week in front of a screen of some kind: iPod, movie, TV, video. And a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/the-average-teen-today-spends-about-35-hours-a-week-in-front-of-a/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [You are free to choose what you want to make of your life. It's called free agency or free will, and it's your birthright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/you-are-free-to-choose-what-you-want-to-make-of-your-life-it-s-called/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [Having the courage to say no when all your friends are saying yes is one of the most difficult things you'll ever have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/having-the-courage-to-say-no-when-all-your-friends-are-saying-yes-is/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [“If we are what we have, and we have nothinh, thenwho are we? Are we nothing?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/if-we-are-what-we-have-and-we-have-nothinh-thenwho-are-we-are-we/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) > [Honesty is always the best policy, even when it's not the trend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-covey/honesty-is-always-the-best-policy-even-when-it-s-not-the-trend/) [Sean Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) [Explore all 66 Sean Covey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-covey/) ## More Paradigms quotes > [Because we believe that somewhere in the nest of paradigms contained in the phrase "missional church" lies nothing less that the future viability of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-hirsch/because-we-believe-that-somewhere-in-the-nest-of-paradigms-contained/) [Alan Hirsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-hirsch/) > [We see the world, not as it is, but as we are -- or, as we are conditioned to see it. When we open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/we-see-the-world-not-as-it-is-but-as-we-are-or-as-we-are-conditioned/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [We do have the ability to shift our paradigms - by shifting our belief systems, by working on ourselves, by looking very closely at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariel-hemingway/we-do-have-the-ability-to-shift-our-paradigms-by-shifting-our-belief/) [Mariel Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariel-hemingway/) > [Question Your Paradigms, your perceptions of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-n-robinson/question-your-paradigms-your-perceptions-of-reality/) [Daniel N. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-n-robinson/) > [I am a little suspicious of industry paradigms. I feel like so many movies and TV shows feel so familiar because of over-reliance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ball/i-am-a-little-suspicious-of-industry-paradigms-i-feel-like-so-many/) [Alan Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ball/) > [Paradigms can be asked to show their worth, an some of them do not stand up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-blackburn/paradigms-can-be-asked-to-show-their-worth-an-some-of-them-do-not/) [Simon Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-blackburn/) > [“In fact, over the last twenty years, authors have offered up over nine thousand different systems, languages, principles, and paradigms to help explain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-buckingham/in-fact-over-the-last-twenty-years-authors-have-offered-up-over-nine/) [Marcus Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-buckingham/) > [The more aware we are of our basic paradigms, maps, or assumptions, and the extent to which we have been influenced by our experience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-aware-we-are-of-our-basic-paradigms-maps-or-assumptions-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A CHANGE, you must challenge not only the models of Unreality, but the paradigms that underwrite them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stafford-beer/if-you-want-to-create-a-change-you-must-challenge-not-only-the-models/) [Stafford Beer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stafford-beer/) > [“The competition between paradigms is not the sort of battle that can be resolved by proofs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-kuhn/the-competition-between-paradigms-is-not-the-sort-of-battle-that-can/) [Thomas S. Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-kuhn/) > [“Paradigms are inseparable from character. Being is seeing in the human dimension. And what we see is highly interrelated to what we are. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/paradigms-are-inseparable-from-character-being-is-seeing-in-the-human/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [Independent will is our capacity to act. It gives us the power to transcend our paradigms, to swim upstream, to rewrite our scripts, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/independent-will-is-our-capacity-to-act-it-gives-us-the-power-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thinking outside of the box is great, unless you happen to be a cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/thinking-outside-of-the-box-is-great-unless-you-happen-to-be-a-cat/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [“The lens can act in many different ways and lenses can be stacked on top of each other in order to produce varying types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-juvenal/the-lens-can-act-in-many-different-ways-and-lenses-can-be-stacked-on/) [Gwen Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-juvenal/) > [“It becomes obvious that if we want to make relatively minor changes in our lives, we can perhaps appropriately focus on our attitudes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/it-becomes-obvious-that-if-we-want-to-make-relatively-minor-changes/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) [Browse all 47 Paradigms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradigms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Just as negative self-paradigms can put limitations on us, positive self-paradigms can bring out the best in us, as the following story about the son of King Louis XVI of France illustrates: King Louis had been taken from his throne and imprisoned. His young son, the prince, was taken by those who dethroned the king. They thought that inasmuch as the king’s son was heir to the throne, if they could destroy him morally, he would never realize the great and grand destiny that life had bestowed upon him. They took him to a community far away, and there they exposed the lad to every filthy and vile thing that life could offer. They exposed him to foods the richness of which would quickly make him a slave to appetite. They used vile language around him constantly. They exposed him to lewd and lusting women. They exposed him to dishonor and distrust. He was surrounded twenty-four hours a day by everything that could drag the soul of a man as low as one could slip. For over six months he had this treatment—but not once did the young lad buckle under pressure. Finally, after intensive temptation, they questioned him. Why had he not submitted himself to these things— why had he not partaken? These things would provide pleasure, satisfy his lusts, and were desirable; they were all his. 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