--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is up to us to give ourselves…" description: "\"It is up to us to give ourselves recognition. If we wait for it to come from others, we feel resentful when it doesn't, and when it does, we may well r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/spencer-tracy-36540_appreciation_it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-recogni_189419.jpg" --- # It is up to us to give ourselves recognition. If we wait… ![“It is up to us to give ourselves recognition. If we wait for it to come from others, we feel resentful when it doesn't, and when it does, we may well reject it.” quote by Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/spencer-tracy-36540_appreciation_it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-recogni_189419.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/spencer-tracy-36540_appreciation_it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-recogni_189419.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/spencer-tracy-36540_appreciation_it-is-up-to-us-to-give-ourselves-recogni_189419.jpg) > “It is up to us to give ourselves recognition. If we wait for it to come from others, we feel resentful when it doesn't, and when it does, we may well reject it.” [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages self‑recognition rather than waiting for external validation, which can cause resentment. **In simple terms:** Seek self‑approval before expecting praise. Key Takeaway Cultivate internal confidence. Themes self‑esteem validation psychology Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - personal milestones - creative projects Key Concepts Self‑recognition resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we build self‑recognition? - What role does community feedback play? A Different Perspective External approval still influences many; balance is key. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Recognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognition/) ## Related quotes > [When things are shaky and nothing is working, we might realize that we are on the verge of something. We might realize that this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/when-things-are-shaky-and-nothing-is-working-we-might-realize-that-we-2/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Family and money is never a good mix. Someone is always going to feel resentful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/family-and-money-is-never-a-good-mix-someone-is-always-going-to-feel/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [Heterosexual women who've had long-term relationships see their man fall apart. They go, "I'm giving him my whole life - I'm giving him my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-biller/heterosexual-women-who-ve-had-long-term-relationships-see-their-man/) [Anna Biller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-biller/) > [Fail, and your friends feel superior. Succeed, and they feel resentful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/fail-and-your-friends-feel-superior-succeed-and-they-feel-resentful/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“I shall decide what I do. If you say my work is fighting, or healing, or exploring, or whatever you say, I'll always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-shall-decide-what-i-do-if-you-say-my-work-is-fighting-or-healing-or/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [The Government wants a peaceful settlement. But we totally reject a peaceful sell-out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/the-government-wants-a-peaceful-settlement-but-we-totally-reject-a/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [It's one thing for a person to live his life as a vacuous shell without fully comprehending the extent of his transgressions, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarek-saab/it-s-one-thing-for-a-person-to-live-his-life-as-a-vacuous-shell/) [Tarek Saab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarek-saab/) > [We must reject dictatorship in whatever form it takes--and especially when it rears its head in our own midst on the bench.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-keyes/we-must-reject-dictatorship-in-whatever-form-it-takes-and-especially/) [Alan Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-keyes/) > [Truly speaking, it is not instruction, but provocation, that I can receive from another soul. What he announces, I must find true in me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/truly-speaking-it-is-not-instruction-but-provocation-that-i-can/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [We reject any idea that one race of people is in any way better than another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-reject-any-idea-that-one-race-of-people-is-in-any-way-better-than/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [I'm a New Testament Christian. I reject and throw out titles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bright/i-m-a-new-testament-christian-i-reject-and-throw-out-titles/) [Bill Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bright/) > [We reject this illegal, barbarous, savage state that calls itself Israel. And you have to do the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/we-reject-this-illegal-barbarous-savage-state-that-calls-itself/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [I can see the use and value of religion, just as I can see the use of mud wrestling, yoga, astronomy and sadomasochism. but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-can-see-the-use-and-value-of-religion-just-as-i-can-see-the-use-of/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by Spencer Tracy > [This mug of mine is as plain as a barn door. Why should people pay 35 cents to look at it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/this-mug-of-mine-is-as-plain-as-a-barn-door-why-should-people-pay-35/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [Know your lines and don't bump into the furniture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/know-your-lines-and-don-t-bump-into-the-furniture/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [“I don't want to go to heaven, I want to go to Claridge's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/i-don-t-want-to-go-to-heaven-i-want-to-go-to-claridge-s/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [For a good book has this quality, that it is not merely a petrifaction of its author, but that once it has been tossed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/for-a-good-book-has-this-quality-that-it-is-not-merely-a-petrifaction/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [Acting to me is always reacting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/acting-to-me-is-always-reacting/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [I couldn't be a director because I couldn't put up with the actors. I don't have the patience. Why, I'd probably kill the actors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/i-couldn-t-be-a-director-because-i-couldn-t-put-up-with-the-actors-i/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [I'm tired of pretending that everything's fine just so I can please everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/i-m-tired-of-pretending-that-everything-s-fine-just-so-i-can-please/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [Concentrate, don't embroider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/concentrate-don-t-embroider/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [Acting is not the noblest profession in the world, but there are things lower than acting. Not many, mind you - but politicians give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/acting-is-not-the-noblest-profession-in-the-world-but-there-are/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [Acting is not an important job in the scheme of things. Plumbing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/acting-is-not-an-important-job-in-the-scheme-of-things-plumbing-is/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [I'm disappointed in acting as a craft. I want everything to go back to Orson Welles and fake noses and changing your voice. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/i-m-disappointed-in-acting-as-a-craft-i-want-everything-to-go-back-to/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) > [“Remember your lines and don't bump into the furniture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-tracy/remember-your-lines-and-don-t-bump-into-the-furniture/) [Spencer Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) [Explore all 13 Spencer Tracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-tracy/) ## More Appreciation quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/appreciation-is-the-purest-vibration-that-exists-on-the-planet-today/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Like gratitude, authentic appreciation in the workplace is a realisation that can be nurtured and accessed with daily mindful practice. By and large, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/like-gratitude-authentic-appreciation-in-the-workplace-is-a/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Recognize and appreciate little things, and enjoy what Life has to offer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/recognize-and-appreciate-little-things-and-enjoy-what-life-has-to/) Cesar Nikko Caharian III > [Men, when it comes to women, value diamonds and put no stock into copper. Diamonds are rare. You can find copper anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/men-when-it-comes-to-women-value-diamonds-and-put-no-stock-into/) Enhance Dreams > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 2,528 Appreciation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is up to us to give ourselves recognition. 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