Awareness expands only as we dare to face what we’ve long avoided. It’s a simple but profound truth about personal and professional growth. You don’t get smarter by ignoring problems; you grow by confronting the uncomfortable stuff head-on.
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Meaning
The core message here is that growth isn’t passive. Real awareness, the kind that changes you, is an active, courageous process of confronting the things you’d rather not see.
Explanation
Look, I’ve seen this play out so many times. We all have our blind spots, right? Little (or big) truths about ourselves, our work, our relationships that we just… ignore. We build little mental walls to keep them out. But here’s the thing Goleman nails: those walls don’t just keep the pain out, they also keep you in. They limit your perspective. The moment you find the guts to turn and look directly at that avoided thing—a difficult feedback, a personal flaw, a tough conversation you’ve been putting off—that’s the moment your awareness expands. It’s like your field of vision literally gets wider. You see more options, more connections, more truth. It’s not easy, but it’s the only way to actually move forward.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Personal Development (697) |
| Topics | awareness (126), fear (92), growth (413) |
| Literary Style | inspirational (54) |
| Emotion / Mood | challenging (24), motivating (311) |
| Overall Quote Score | 90 (29) |
Origin & Factcheck
This comes straight from Daniel Goleman’s 1985 book, Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception. It’s a pre-cursor to his famous work on Emotional Intelligence. Sometimes you might see similar sentiments floating around, but this specific, powerful phrasing is all Goleman.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Goleman (125) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception (61) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Modern (530) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Daniel Goleman is a psychologist and bestselling author whose journalism at The New York Times brought brain and behavior science to a wide audience. He earned a BA from Amherst and a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and studied in India on a Harvard fellowship. Goleman’s research and writing helped mainstream emotional intelligence, leadership competencies, attention, and contemplative science. He co-founded CASEL and a leading research consortium on EI at work. The Daniel Goleman book list includes Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Primal Leadership, Social Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Awareness expands only as we dare to face what we’ve long avoided |
| Book Details | Publication Year: 1985; ISBN: 9780743240156; Last edition: 1996 Harper Perennial; Number of pages: 288. |
| Where is it? | Approximate page from 1996 edition, Chapter 5: The Costs of Denial |