Quote by William James

I am often confronted by the necessity of standing by one of my empirical selves and relinquishing the rest. Not that I would not. If I could, be... a great athlete and make a million a year, be a wit, a born -- vivant and a lady killer, as well as a philosopher, a philanthropist ... and saint. But the thing is simply impossible. The millionaire's work would run counter to the saint s; the bon-vivant and the philanthropist would trip each other up; the philosopher and the lady killer could not well keep house in the same tenement of clay. Such different characters may conceivably, at the outset of life. Be alike possible for a man. But to make any one of them actual, the rest must more of less be suppressed. So the seeker of his truest, strongest, deepest self must review the list carefully and pick out on which to stake his salvation. All other selves thereupon become unreal, but the fortunes of this self are real. Its failure are real failures, its triumphs real triumphs carrying shame and gladness with them.

Summary

In this quote, the speaker reflects on the dilemma of having multiple potential versions of themselves and the necessity of choosing one to pursue. They acknowledge that while they would love to embody various qualities such as being a great athlete, a witty individual, a lady killer, a philosopher, a philanthropist, and a saint, it is simply impossible to be all of these at once. Each of these personas have conflicting values and actions, making it difficult to navigate life with coherence. To truly find one's authentic self, one must carefully evaluate their choices and decide which path to embrace. This choice comes with the burden of accepting that the other potential selves will no longer be realized, making both the successes and failures of the chosen self all the more significant.