--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So i learned both to accept myself and to…" description: "\"So i learned both to accept myself and to aim beyond myself\" — Stephen Spender" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/stephen-spender-10665_accept_so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-t_2337913.jpg" --- # So i learned both to accept myself and to aim beyond myself ![“So i learned both to accept myself and to aim beyond myself” quote by Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/stephen-spender-10665_accept_so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-t_2337913.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/stephen-spender-10665_accept_so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-t_2337913.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/stephen-spender-10665_accept_so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-t_2337913.jpg) > “So i learned both to accept myself and to aim beyond myself” [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing self‑acceptance with personal growth is essential for fulfillment. **In simple terms:** Accept yourself, then strive higher. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑love and ambition. Themes self‑acceptance growth ambition Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - personal development - career planning - creative projects - relationship building Key Concepts psychology humanism Questions to Reflect On - What does “aim beyond myself” mean to you? - How can you honor who you are while pursuing new goals? A Different Perspective Self‑acceptance may limit push for change if not paired with effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept/) [Accept Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-aim-5648616/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [Aim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aim/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned/) [Learned Accept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-accept-876403/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [I learn from my mistakes and I learned how to accept things and how to take them whenever my opponent changes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-johnson/i-learn-from-my-mistakes-and-i-learned-how-to-accept-things-and-how/) [Anthony Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-johnson/) > [You learned to accept, or you ended up in a small room writing letters home with Crayolas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/you-learned-to-accept-or-you-ended-up-in-a-small-room-writing-letters/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [A lot of times, we think we're set out to do one thing, but then you realise that's maybe not what's best for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-sestero/a-lot-of-times-we-think-we-re-set-out-to-do-one-thing-but-then-you/) [Greg Sestero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-sestero/) > [I've learned to accept death better than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-boeheim/i-ve-learned-to-accept-death-better-than-most-people/) [Jim Boeheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-boeheim/) > [I finally learned to accept that I can't make radio play blues any more than I could get Reagan out of the White House.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/i-finally-learned-to-accept-that-i-can-t-make-radio-play-blues-any/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [“I learned to accept not finishing a particular event as a mode of self-care and injury prevention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirna-valerio/i-learned-to-accept-not-finishing-a-particular-event-as-a-mode-of/) [Mirna Valerio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirna-valerio/) > [“I learned to accept the things I could not change (in this case my vision) and change the things I can (I could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alcoholics-anonymous/i-learned-to-accept-the-things-i-could-not-change-in-this-case-my/) [Alcoholics Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alcoholics-anonymous/) > [If I'm out somewhere to eat and people yell, 'Hey, Red Rifle!' I'm kind of like, 'Oh, come on!' I've learned to accept it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-dalton/if-i-m-out-somewhere-to-eat-and-people-yell-hey-red-rifle-i-m-kind-of/) [Andy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-dalton/) > [“An intelligent woman learned to accept men for who they were and work around them to get what they wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhys-glover/an-intelligent-woman-learned-to-accept-men-for-who-they-were-and-work/) [Nhys Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhys-glover/) > [“Until I learned to accept I was a victim, but I didn’t have to stay one. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/until-i-learned-to-accept-i-was-a-victim-but-i-didn-t-have-to-stay/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I learned to accept who I was in spite of living in a world that did not feel accepting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/i-learned-to-accept-who-i-was-in-spite-of-living-in-a-world-that-did/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [“I have learned to accept the things I don't approve and those I cannot change and I have learned to release and to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/i-have-learned-to-accept-the-things-i-don-t-approve-and-those-i/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [I learned to accept the audience's happiness for me, which is one of the hardest things for me to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-learned-to-accept-the-audience-s-happiness-for-me-which-is-one-of/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [I do think I learned to accept myself through the eyes of others when I was young because I wasn't brought up to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisa-berenson/i-do-think-i-learned-to-accept-myself-through-the-eyes-of-others-when/) [Marisa Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisa-berenson/) > [I've learned to accept all criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/too-short/i-ve-learned-to-accept-all-criticism/) [Too Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/too-short/) ## More by Stephen Spender > [I think continually of those who were truly great . Who, from the womb, remembered the soul 's history Through corridors of light where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/i-think-continually-of-those-who-were-truly-great-who-from-the-womb/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [History is the ship carrying living memories to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/history-is-the-ship-carrying-living-memories-to-the-future/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [All that you can imagine you already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/all-that-you-can-imagine-you-already-know/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Since we are what we are, what shall we be But what we are? We are, we have Six feet and seventy years, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/since-we-are-what-we-are-what-shall-we-be-but-what-we-are-we-are-we/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [One of my great surprises when I was in America was about twenty-five years ago in Harvard, hearing Randall Jarrell deliver a bitter attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/one-of-my-great-surprises-when-i-was-in-america-was-about-twenty-five/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [What is precious is never to forget, The delight of the blood drawn from ancient springs, Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/what-is-precious-is-never-to-forget-the-delight-of-the-blood-drawn/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [I think continually of those who were truly great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/i-think-continually-of-those-who-were-truly-great/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [If you get to a certain age, all people want to know about you is people you knew. ...An American student once said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/if-you-get-to-a-certain-age-all-people-want-to-know-about-you-is/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [There is a certain justice in criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/there-is-a-certain-justice-in-criticism/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Involved in my own entrails and a crust Turning a pitted surface towards a space, I am a world that watches through a sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/involved-in-my-own-entrails-and-a-crust-turning-a-pitted-surface/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Although Poets are vain and ambitious, their vanity and ambition are of the purest kind attainable in this world. They are ambitious to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/although-poets-are-vain-and-ambitious-their-vanity-and-ambition-are/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/great-poetry-is-always-written-by-somebody-straining-to-go-beyond/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [My brothers and sister and I were brought up in an atmosphere which I would describe as 'Puritan decadence'. Puritanism names the behaviour which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/my-brothers-and-sister-and-i-were-brought-up-in-an-atmosphere-which-i/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [“Him I delight in accepts joy as joy; He is richened by sorrow as a river by its bends”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/him-i-delight-in-accepts-joy-as-joy-he-is-richened-by-sorrow-as-a/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) > [I think of those who were truly great. The names of those who in their lives fought for life, Who wore at their hearts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/i-think-of-those-who-were-truly-great-the-names-of-those-who-in-their/) [Stephen Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) [Explore all 64 Stephen Spender quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/) ## More Accept quotes > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [The fans can accept a poor performance, but they won't take it when you choose not to put in the effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pep-guardiola/the-fans-can-accept-a-poor-performance-but-they-won-t-take-it-when/) [Pep Guardiola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pep-guardiola/) > [“See, I know what they think about me. That I’m some project. And, yeah, I’ll accept their help. But I’m gonna pay my way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-eagar/see-i-know-what-they-think-about-me-that-i-m-some-project-and-yeah-i/) [Kirsty Eagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-eagar/) > [If you're disabled or different from what general society deems normal, it's fine. There will always be people who won't accept you, but there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millicent-simmonds/if-you-re-disabled-or-different-from-what-general-society-deems/) [Millicent Simmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millicent-simmonds/) > [Things don't go on forever, and the quicker you accept that change is inevitable, the happier you're gonna be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-anastasio/things-don-t-go-on-forever-and-the-quicker-you-accept-that-change-is/) [Trey Anastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-anastasio/) > [It's very important to me that people accept me as a transgendered female. But it's ridiculous to a lot of people and I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-arquette/it-s-very-important-to-me-that-people-accept-me-as-a-transgendered/) [Alexis Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-arquette/) > [I've always taken care of myself, and I'm a non-conformist, so I don't accept the negativity that comes with birthdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-van-dam/i-ve-always-taken-care-of-myself-and-i-m-a-non-conformist-so-i-don-t/) [Rob Van Dam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-van-dam/) > [Not harder than it should be, no. We're about the business, we're about the work. It's all about the work, always. We have fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-fuqua/not-harder-than-it-should-be-no-we-re-about-the-business-we-re-about/) [Antoine Fuqua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-fuqua/) > [I wish I could just accept that I'm not that good and not be shy about the fact that I'm not that professional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-gainsbourg/i-wish-i-could-just-accept-that-i-m-not-that-good-and-not-be-shy/) [Charlotte Gainsbourg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-gainsbourg/) > [I cannot accept being silent in the face of injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-crockett/i-cannot-accept-being-silent-in-the-face-of-injustice/) [Jasmine Crockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-crockett/) > [“I hope there is less stigma and judgment against working moms and childless career women. All should be acceptable positions and society should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chan-heng-chee/i-hope-there-is-less-stigma-and-judgment-against-working-moms-and/) [Chan Heng Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chan-heng-chee/) > [“Of course I can accept you for who you are. You are someone I need to change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-glasbergen/of-course-i-can-accept-you-for-who-you-are-you-are-someone-i-need-to/) [Randy Glasbergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-glasbergen/) > [I can't be that kind of person others want me to be.I know I can't please everybody for just being me But I'm glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/i-can-t-be-that-kind-of-person-others-want-me-to-be-i-know-i-can-t/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [I don't care who you are,Where you from,As long as you love me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mks-vibz/i-don-t-care-who-you-are-where-you-from-as-long-as-you-love-me/) [Mks Vibz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mks-vibz/) [Browse all 2,963 Accept quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So i learned both to accept myself and to aim beyond myself", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Spender" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-to-aim-beyond-myself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accept" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-to-aim-beyond-myself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/stephen-spender-10665_accept_so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-t_2337913.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/stephen-spender-10665_accept_so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-t_2337913.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1d/stephen-spender-10665_accept_so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-t_2337913.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So i learned both to accept myself and to aim beyond myself” — Stephen Spender", "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": "Stephen Spender", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-spender/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "So i learned both to accept...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-to-aim-beyond-myself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-spender/so-i-learned-both-to-accept-myself-and-to-aim-beyond-myself/#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 } } ] } ```