I have noticed that some people can be very critical of themselves. When people have low esteem or a tendency to judge themselves harshly, there is a danger that confronting their own faults can just end up reinforcing an unhealthy self-image. A negative fabricated identity can come to seem even more real and solid, and this makes it harder for people to transform. For such people in particular, but also for many of us in general, it is wiser to face our own faults within an overall spirit of forgiveness. Within relationships as well as within our own lives, we need space to grow and learn from our own mistakes. To that end, forgiving ourselves, as well as others, is a powerful tool for change.

17th Karmapa

from the book The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out

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Further quotes from the book The Heart Is Noble:

• Protective Inner Wisdom
• The Wealth of Contentment
• Social action
• Life in Balance
• Boxing Love with Our Expectations
• Just Love
• There are no fixed starting points
• Nothing is intrinsically bad
• Difference without Division
• Breaking barriers
• Healthy relationships
• Take joy in your sincere intentions
• Just not been introduced before
• Finding our nobility of heart
• Authentic love toward others
• There are no fixed starting points
• Expanding our sense of ourselves
• Our life is vast
• Open-minded
• Greed is a recipe for dissatisfaction