When you are content to be simply yourself meaning

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This is NOT a quote from Tao Te Ching:
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When you are content to be simply yourself, and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you. (Tao Te Ching) Ironically, you don't earn the respect or approval of others by pretending to be the person you imagine others want you to be. Lao Tzu Lao Tzu Quotes When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you. 6. "You can't compete where you don't compare." This is a great quote that reminds us that comparison is a mindset. If we don't compare ourselves to others, then we are not made to feel inferior to them. Lao Tzu's philosophy advocates naturalness, spontaneity and freedom from social conventions and desires. In the Tao, which means the way, Lao Tzu refers to the ultimate order of things and ultimate basis of reality. Adolf Hitler Quote by Adolf Hitler: “Do not compare yourself to others. Comparison Quotes

“How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy.” ...
“I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that's gotten me. ...
“Comparison is the death of joy.”

More items... The emotional feeling of bitterness is a complex mix of different emotions. Ekman, Friesen and Ellsworth (1972) identified six basic human emotions: surprise, disgust, happiness, sadness, anger and fear. Comparing ourselves to others allows them to drive our behavior. This type of comparison is between you and someone else. Sometimes it's about something genetic, like wishing to be taller, but more often it's about something the other person is capable of doing that we wish we could do as well. If you do so, you are insulting yourself.” Legend has it that the two Masters met more than once, Lao-tzu being somewhat senior to Confucius. ... Confucius had reached the age of fifty-one and still had not “heard the Tao.” Finally he went south to Pei and called on Lao-tzu. “Ah, here you are!” said Lao-tzu. 8 Practical Ways to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Practice gratitude. ...
Unlock the power of contentment. ...
Don't compare your life to everyone else's highlight reel. ...
Focus on your strengths. ...
Celebrate other people. ...
Learn to compete with yourself instead of others.

More items...•May 13, 2021

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This is NOT a quote from Tao Te Ching:

"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you."
The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained. The great Taoist philosophy classic by Lao Tzu translated, and each of the 81 chapters extensively commented. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

More about the book here.

So much in this sentence deviates from the perspectives of Lao Tzu. Comparing and competing is an obsession of modern man, but hardly of the people of ancient China. The idea of being oneself, too, is quite anachronistic. Lao Tzu would ask: What else can one be? Also "everyone will respect you" fits our days better than those of Lao Tzu.

But behind this modern lingo, thoughts similar to those of Lao Tzu can be detected. To be content without strife and allow one's life to be simple is what Lao Tzu recommended. The one who lives so will gain the admiration of others.

Lo and behold, this quote is found in a popular version of Tao Te Ching from 1988, written by Stephen Mitchell. His version has been the most bestselling one for years, and still is. He allowed himself plenty of poetic license to make Lao Tzu's text accessible to modern man.

90 of the most spread false Lao Tzu quotes, why they are false and where they are really from. Book by Stefan Stenudd. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

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The quote is from the end of chapter 8. His version of the chapter is decently close to the original text at times, but at others it deviates considerably. That's particularly evident in the last lines. The words and meaning of the lines are there, but Mitchell's addition about being yourself sticks out. That turns the perspective away from Lao Tzu's idea.

For comparison, here is my version of the end of chapter 8:

Where there is no conflict, there is no fault.

Where I wrote "conflict" it is also possible to write competition, or for that matter strife or struggle. D. C. Lau used "contend" in his 1963 version, where he had the whole chapter be about the good example of water (page 64):

It is because it does not contend that it is never at fault.

Furthermore, my wording "no fault" can be interpreted as in the eyes of others, which is indeed an expression of respect. That is how James Legge understood it in 1891 (page 53):

And when (one with the highest excellence) does not wrangle (about his low position), no one finds fault with him.

So, the remaining problem with Mitchell's version is that thing about being yourself. It is superfluous and leads the reader astray. Lao Tzu was not much for self-reflection. As so often in Tao Te Ching, what the end of chapter 8 points out is not to overdo things. Bernhard Karlgren in 1975 simply translated it (page 2):

If one does not strive there will be no blame.

For more about Stephen Mitchell and his version of Tao Te Ching, see the chapter A good traveler has no fixed plans.

Stefan Stenudd
April 2, 2017, revised September 10, 2020.

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Tao Te Ching

The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained. The great Taoist philosophy classic by Lao Tzu translated, and each of the 81 chapters extensively commented. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

More about the book here.

Tao Quotes

The Ancient Wisdom of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. 389 quotes from the foremost Taoist classic, divided into 51 prominent topics. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

More about the book here.

Fake Lao Tzu Quotes

Erroneous Tao Te Ching Citations Examined. 90 of the most spread false Lao Tzu quotes, why they are false and where they are really from. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

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I Ching Online

The 64 hexagrams of the Chinese classic I Ching and what they mean in divination. Try it online for free.

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The ancient Chinese life energy qi (chi) explained, with simple instructions on how to exercise it.

Life Energy

The many ancient and modern life force beliefs all over the world explained and compared.

Taoismen på svenska

Other Books by Stefan Stenudd:

Cosmos of the Ancients

The Greek philosophers and what they thought about cosmology, myth, and the gods. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

Qi — Increase Your Life Energy

The life energy qi (also chi or ki) explained, with exercises on how to awaken, increase and use it. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

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Basic concepts of the peaceful martial art. Aikido principles, philosophy, and fundamental ideas. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

Life Energy Encyclopedia

Qi, prana, spirit, ruach, pneuma, and many other life forces around the world explained and compared. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

Psychoanalysis of Mythology

Freudian theories on myth and religion examined, from Sigmund Freud to Erich Fromm. Click the image to see the book at Amazon (paid link).

Stefan Stenudd

About me

I'm a Swedish author and aikido instructor. In addition to fiction, I've written books about Taoism and other East Asian traditions. I'm also an historian of ideas, researching ancient thought and mythology. Click the image to get to my personal website.