1
Love' is the only weapon I have, I will defend with love, I will attack with love.Amit Kalantri
2
Why should you want to give up a child's wise not-understanding in exchange for defensiveness and scorn, since not-understanding is, after all, a way of being alone, whereas defensiveness and scorn are a participation in precisely what, by these means, you want to separate yourself from.Rainer Maria Rilke
3
So whenever that brittle voice of dissatisfaction emerges within me, I can say "Ah, my ego! There you are, old friend! " It's the same thing when I'm being criticized and I notice myself reaching with outrage, heartache, or defensiveness. It's just my ego, flaring up and testing its power. In such circumstances, I have learned to watch my heated emotions carefully, but I try not to take them too seriously, because I know that it's merely my ego that has been wounded--never my soul It is merely my ego that wants revenge, or to win the biggest prize. It is merely my ego that wants to start a Twitter war against a hater, or to sulk at an insult or to quit in righteous indignation because I didn't get the outcome I wanted. "At such times, I can always steady my life one more by returning to my soul. I ask it, "And what is it that you want, dear one?"" The answer is always the same: "More wonder, please."" As long as I'm still moving in that direction---toward wonder--then I know I will always be fine in my soul, which is where it counts. And since creativity is still the most effective way for me to access wonder, I choose it. .Elizabeth Gilbert
4
As wars dwindled to skirmishes and our strength grew, so David was able to spend less time with military commanders and more with the engineers and overseers who were fanning out throughout the land, digging cisterns, making roads, fortifying, connecting, and generally making a nation out of our scattered people.Geraldine Brooks
5
The most common emotional defense is avoidance (an ineffective coping skill for any stressor) as expressed through denial (e.g., "That wasn't really bad, I barely remember it").Brian Luke Seaward
6
Professing not to care is a primordial defense mechanism. Whenever a person finds oneself mired in failure and despondency, rebelling is a viable option to preserve false personal pride.Kilroy J. Oldster
7
You don't need to play every ball but every ball needs your judgement.Amit Ray
8
The ego with its protective defense mechanisms is the biggest impediment to attaining spiritual growth.Kilroy J. Oldster
9
The culture around us knows what it means when they see a church in perpetual bluster and outrage. They know that we are scared.Russell D. Moore
10
At best, people are open to scrutinizing themselves and considering their blind spots; at worst, they become defensive and angry.Sheryl Sandberg
11
Laine had been very proud of herself last night. Nicholas had talked about ghosts and magic and woven a bit of a spell himself. He'd sounded so convincing, so logical, so sad, that she'd found herself wanting to believe him. But testing prods at his argument had made him angry, and long years with Gavin had taught her that angry, defensive people shared the lousy habit of being wrong.Stephen M. Irwin
12
Have we become so defensive that we cannot even tolerate a kind act?Kyra Gregory
13
Defend myself? I cannot defend the verbal repressions of a boy. A curmudgeonly, cantankerous, ill-tempered, counterfeit boy.Coco J. Ginger
14
All defensiveness and emotional tumult is a fear response because of your need for acceptance and ruthless control of the territory of your safe fantasy world.Bryant McGill
15
Lacking an articulable defense of the cultural values under siege, he became a vessel of smoldering animosities.George F. Will
16
A person lives a false life whenever they are afraid to make contact with his or her authentic self. A sensitive ego — one that protects a person from pain — can also prevent a person from maturing mentally and emotionally by causing a person to distort truths and refuse to admit unpleasant facts.Kilroy J. Oldster
17
Often, vegan advocates assume that a person's defensiveness is the result of selfishness or apathy, when in fact it is much more likely the result of systematic and intensive social conditioning.Melanie Joy
18
All defensiveness stems from the need to be right and frustration over not being able to control others.Bryant McGill
19
The writer as boxer says he develops by, "learning from everyone who'll spar with me.Davis Miller
20
I stopped hating and started just being. My whole life, I had been the most defensive person you'd meet, unable to tolerate any criticism. But now I started listening and being.Anthony Kiedis