No virtue is a virtue by itself. Even the noblest virtue have their limit.

[mgtidaho]

Honesty in the absence of compassion becomes cruelty. Tenacity unmediated by flexibility congeals into rigidity. Confidence untempered by humility is arrogance. Courage without prudence is recklessness. Because all virtues are connected to others, any strength overused ultimately becomes a liability. One must be able to exhale as much as we can inhale.

 In Chinese philosophy, yin and yang refer to opposing forces that are actually interdependent and part of a greater whole. "If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be 'for' or 'against'. The struggle between 'for' and against' is the mind's worst disease."

 We must be attentive to our strength and weaknesses. Loving oneself is no easy matter...because is includes loving the shadow where humiliating part is also the cure, but the moral dimension can never be abandoned. It is through this embracing self-acceptance that we're freed to both acknowledge the obstacles we face and build the capacities we need to perform at our best.

 by Tony Schwartz, author of "The Way We're Working isn't working" and "The Power of Full Engagement".