Our Deepest Fear in Not That We Are Inadequate What does this mean?

This “Our Deepest Fear in Not That We Are Inadequate” speech can be found on the movie Coach Carter, but it was originally spoken by Nelson Mandella in 1994.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightening about shrinking so other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some; it’s in all, everyone. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Nelson Mandela, 1994 Inaugural Speech







[edit on 29-9-2008 by bounty]


[Mod Edit - remove quote tags from tittle]

[edit on 18/11/2008 by Sauron]

I humbly propose that Mr. Mandela was reminding his audience that each of us must strive to excel, to go beyond what we see as the limits of our abilities, to reach for the stars and do more than just 'hope' that things will get better.

Each of us has been conditioned to conform in society, such conformity ranges very close to submission, and certainly departs entirely from standing out and proclaiming a higher goal.

while nelson mandela did say this, it was not his quote originally. Infact, it was Marianne Williamson who first spoke these words.

Originally posted by bounty

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God....”

What a beautiful quote and so very profoundly true. I tell my children that every single human being on this planet has a unique and extraordinary gift inside of them.

And yet, if you look at the societal constructs which we have created, production depends upon people finding some measure of contentment with being average. From an early age, we make children compare themselves (think standardized testing) against baseline expectations in a broad spectrum of abilities. This would serve the child IF we took the information gained of where their excellence lies and developed an individualized study curriculum to help them grow their gifts. Instead, we push them to meet average in all areas and do not foster their uniqueness. We reward generalization.

I believe this model we follow in the raising and instruction of our youth is where this adherence to the concept of a mundane middle of the road existence begins to become ingrained. While we are a specialized society, we do not reward such concepts at an early enough age to create a path to brilliance for each.

This quote is a beautiful idea whose time may come someday. The challenge and resistance will come from the perpetual need for near mind-numbing slave labor which suffers in silence and performs tasks still necessary to society, yet which cannot and does not offer the rewards of individualism. If everyone were to find, experience and then live his/her own gifts, who would bend their will to keep the factory floors full of muscle and might. I believe, within each person, is the knowledge or even just an instinctual knowing, that they posses a potential ability which will never fully be allowed to bloom.

Thank you for sharing this. Perhaps our challenge is not to envision a way for the individual to find himself, but to imagine, illuminate and inspire a structure of human civilization within which this would be possible. It is the needs of the many, the all, stopping the realization of the one I think.

Thanks for the opening post. It is a moment of beauty when we are enticed away from the every day and allowed to image what if.....

The quote is not originally from Nelson Mandela.
Mr. Mandela quoted Marianne Williamson, "A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles" - Harper Collins, 1992 - From Chapter 7, Section 3 (Pg. 190-191)

Fix the "quote" please.

Title and first sentence post.

Thanks

Originally posted by DancedWithWolves
Originally posted by bounty

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God....”

What a beautiful quote and so very profoundly true. I tell my children that every single human being on this planet has a unique and extraordinary gift inside of them.enticed away from the every day and allowed to image what if.....

Every child is, until they fail to resist the temptations of peer pressure. Not many people, in fact, incredibly few only manage to survive 'outside' the cult of society. Outside this cult, it's common belief you are nothing, but the opposite is true, you are powerful because you don't crave for many things many people go after. You are not affected by anything, even in utter chaos, you keep your cool and it's only a matter of time, until people start looking up to you.

I'll given an example, if you don't crave for material wealth(money), then money has no power over you. The world's power basically revolves around money. If you don't mind money, the most powerful people don't have power over you, in fact you're a threat, a menace to be dealt with!

Actually this is true.

We all, as it is the human condition, carry within us the seed of our own destruction. Hermetically, we thus also carry within us the potential seeds of the destruction of the Universe itself.

To know the mind of God is to know madness, it is said. If we reflect God, in glory of our abilities, we also reflect the potential of epistemological closure, a realization of the Godhead beyond what any rational human can bear.

The eschaton can wait. I have more drinking to do.

Originally posted by bounty

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightening about shrinking so other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some; it’s in all, everyone. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

This quotation is about Mediocrity. A better movie for it's use is Akeela and the Bee, based on the true story of a little girl who went on to be the first Co-Winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

It's actually not so much about external influences on a person, although they do help to shape ones ego or id. It's really more about the internal pressures we place upon ourselves. The restrictions we foster for our characters and ingrain upon ourselves over time by not putting in the effort to evolve a stronger character within ourselves.
Ie: It's easy to be bad all you have to do is get up. You must work at being a good natured well rounded person until it becomes second nature if you have not been pre- conditioned to be so already.
We quickly blame the unknowable and the dark within ourselves, as well as the views of others, for our failure to see and act upon the good in ourselves; yet, that dark unknowableness, as well as the views of others, really has no more bearing on our opinion of ourselves than what we give it.
Don't ask "Who am I to be beautiful?" Ask, "Who am I not to be?" If you undervalue your worth, so will others. The value of your worth is yours, and yours alone, to decide. If you know you are an ugly person, then choose to know that you are beautiful. Where something is beautiful, something is already ugly. If you allow yourself to see your beauty, then the ugliness is simply those who can't see how beautiful you really are. Your perspective is your own. Tell yourself how you see yourself long enough and you will believe it and that is who you will become.
Consider the best you can see in others and the world around you and you can achieve that level of greatness in yourself. Consider also the inverse, the worst you can see in others and the world around you you can achieve that level of vileness in yourself.
And then of course, never allow external sources dictate your internal one.
Further, give your all or not at all, and others will see you as you see yourself and know you by your works. Outshine the Mediocre and the Vile and you will become the leader others will follow. Lead by example and lead big. Never sell yourself short, be honest and diligent with whatever you do, do your best and strive always for better still and you will alwys be a winner and can never fail yourself and those who support and believe in you.
For those of you who've no idea who they are: You are that part of you which answers when it hears its' name called from across a crowded room.
That's pretty much what that quotation is about.

[edit on 26-11-2008 by PhyberDragon]

reply to post by PhyberDragon


Hi PhyberDragon,

I'm sorry to point out that Akeelah and the Bee is a fictional story. Get the DVD and watch the special features section where Doug Atchison talks about how he came to write the story and direct it.

Having said this, it is a powerful film and that quote is so inspiring, it's about not being apologetic for being our best. In this world there are buckets of crabs trying to pull down every other crab who reaches for the edge of the bucket. Once in a while a crab escapes. But we all have it in us to become the escapee crab to excel within our amazing abilities. You gotta love that! I need to go excel now.

M.

what does dis quote reallyy mean?? please answer back fast