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Do Not Allow Your Anger To Control Your Reason, But Rather Your Reason To Control Your Anger.
-Nelson Mandela
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Do Not Allow Your

Nelson Mandela
...
Do Not Allow Your Anger To Control Your Reason, But Rather Your Reason To Control Your Anger.

Understanding the Quote: "do not allow your anger to control your reason, but rather your..."

This quote by Nelson Mandela reflects deeply on the theme of reason. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Reason, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Nelson Mandela interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is celebrated for insightful thoughts on reason and motivation. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Reason
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Light
Wish
Democracy Is Based On The Majority Principle. This Is Especially True In A Country Such As Ours Where The Vast Majority Have Been Systematically Denied Their Rights. At The Same Time, Democracy Also Requires That The Rights Of Political And Other Minorities Be Safeguarded.
Love
Country
Rights
When Those In Power Deny You Of Freedom The Only Path To Freedom Is Power
Inspirational
Life
Path
We Tried In Our Simple Way To Lead Our Life In A Manner That May Make A Difference To Those Of Others.
Inspiring
Simple
Differences
There Is A Universal Respect And Even Admiration For Those Who Are Humble And Simple By Nature, And Who Have Absolute Confidence In All Human Beings Irrespective Of Their Social Status.
Humble
Humility
Simple
When We Decided To Take Up Arms, It Was Because The Only Other Choice Was To Surrender And To Submit To Slavery.
Choices
Slavery
Arms
The Most Difficult Matter Is Not So Much To Change The World As Yourself.
World
Matter
Changing The World
It Is Important To Not Be Hostile To What A Greater Part Of Society Has Embraced, Whether As Christians, Hindus Or Muslims. It Is Important To Respect That Because Whether You Believe Or Not In The Existence Of A Superior Being, Humanity Does Believe In That.
Christian
Believe
Humanity
That Day, Miss Mdingane Told Me That My New Name Was Nelson. Why She Bestowed This Particular Name Upon Me I Have No Idea. Perhaps It Had Something To Do With The Great British Sea Captain Lord Nelson, But That Would Be Only A Guess.
Sea
Names
Ideas
If The United States Of America Or Britain Is Having Elections, They Don't Ask For Observers From Africa Or From Asia. But When We Have Elections, They Want Observers.
America
Political
United States
I Always Knew That Someday I Would Once Again Feel The Grass Under My Feet And Walk In The Sunshine As A Free Man.
Positive
Sunshine
Men
Freedom Cannot Be Achieved Unless Women Have Been Emancipated From All Forms Of Oppression... Our Endeavors Must Be About The Liberation Of The Woman, The Emancipation Of The Man And The Liberty Of The Child.
Children
Men
Liberty
Regarding African Education In This Country, There Was A Time When The Government Took No Interest Whatsoever In African Education. It Was The Churches, That Part Of Civil Society, Which Bought Land, Built Schools, And Employed And Paid Teachers. People Like Myself, Right From Grade Eight Up To University, I Was In Missionary Schools.
Country
Teacher
School
I Hate Racial Discrimination Most Intensely And All Its Manifestations. I Have Fought All My Life; I Fight Now, And Will Do So Until The End Of My Days. Even Although I Now Happen To Be Tried By One, Whose Opinion I Hold In High Esteem, I Detest Most Violently The Set-up That Surrounds Me Here. It Makes Me Feel That I Am A Black Man In A White Man's Court. This Should Not Be I Should Feel Perfectly At Ease And At Home With The Assurance That I Am Being Tried By A Fellow South African, Who Does Not Regard Me As An Inferior, Entitled To A Special Type Of Justice.
Hate
Home
Fighting
Sometimes, I Feel Like One Who Is On The Sidelines, Who Has Missed Life Itself.
Life
Sometimes
Sidelines
I Don't Think There Is Much History Can Say About Me. I Just Want To Be Remembered As Part Of That Collective.
Thinking
Want
Remembered
I Was Called A Terrorist Yesterday, But When I Came Out Of Jail, Many People Embraced Me, Including My Enemies, And That Is What I Normally Tell Other People Who Say Those Who Are Struggling For Liberation In Their Country Are Terrorists.
Country
Struggle
Yesterday
It Is My Deepest Conviction That The Children Should Be Seen And Heard As Our Most Treasured Assets.
Children
Conviction
Assets
Even Behind Prison Walls I Can See The Heavy Clouds And The Blue Sky Over The Horizon
Wall
Clouds
Blue
In Africa There Is A Concept Known As 'ubuntu' - The Profound Sense That We Are Human Only Through The Humanity Of Others; That If We Are To Accomplish Anything In This World It Will In Equal Measure Be Due To The Work And Achievement Of Others.
Ubuntu
Profound
Achievement
Freedom Would Be Meaningless Without Security In The Home And In The Streets.
Inspiring
Freedom
Home
I Am Aware Of What The Position Is In The United States Of America. If Somebody Gives To Charity, Then He Gets A Tax Incentive, Provided The Charity Is Registered In Terms Of The Law.
Law
America
Giving
The Curious Beauty Of African Music Is That It Uplifts Even As It Tells A Sad Tale. You May Be Poor, You May Have Only A Ramshackle House, You May Have Lost Your Job, But That Song Gives You Hope.
Uplifting
Song
Jobs
Once A Person Is Determined To Help Themselves, There Is Nothing That Can Stop Them.
Courage
Helping
Determined
We Can Build A Society Grounded On Friendship And Our Common Humanity - A Society Founded On Tolerance. That Is The Only Road Open To Us.
Common Humanity
Tolerance
Grounded
The United States Of America Is A Threat To World Peace. Because What [america] Is Saying Is That If You Are Afraid Of A Veto In The Security Council, You Can Go Outside And Take Action And Violate The Sovereignty Of Other Countries. That Is The Message They Are Sending To The World. That Must Be Condemned In The Strongest Terms.
Country
Iraq
America
The Time Has Come To Accept In Our Hearts And Minds That With Freedom Comes Responsibility.
Heart
Responsibility
Mind
I Learned That To Humiliate Another Person Is To Make Him Suffer An Unnecessarily Cruel Fate. Even As A Boy, I Defeated My Opponents Without Dishonoring Them.
Fate
Boys
Suffering
In Judging Our Progress As Individuals We Tend To Concentrate On External Factors Such As One's Social Position, Influence And Popularity, Wealth And Standard Of Education... But Internal Factors May Be Even More Crucial In Assessing One's Development As A Human Being. Honesty, Sincerity, Simplicity, Humility, Pure Generosity, Absence Of Vanity, Readiness To Serve Others - Qualities Which Are Within Easy Reach Of Every Soul - Are The Foundation Of One's Spiritual Life.
Love
Life
Family
An Initiative Was Essentially Led By Civil Society Because The Policy Of The Government Was That Africans Must Not Be Taught To Graze In Pastures Which Were Reserved For The Main White Group.
Government
White
Groups
There Are Many People Who Feel That It Is Useless And Futile To Continue Talking About Peace And Non-violence Against A Government Whose Only Reply Is Savage Attacks On An Unarmed And Defenceless People.
Peace
Government
Talking
There Is Nothing To Popularize A Person. Only Humility, Which Is The Ability To Remain In The Background And To Put Others In The Front Light.
Humility
Light
Ability
Sport Has The Power To Inspire And Unite People. In Africa, Soccer Enjoys Great Popularity And Has A Particular Place In The Hearts Of People. That Is Why It Is So Important That The Fifa World Cup Will, For The First Time Ever, Be Hosted On The African Continent In 2010. We Feel Privileged And Humbled That South Africa Has Been Given This Singular Honour Of Being The African Host Country.
Soccer
Sports
Country
To Truly Lead One's People, One Must Also Truly Know Them.
People
Knows
Does Anybody Really Think That They Didn't Get What They Had Because They Didn't Have The Talent Or The Strength Or The Endurance Or The Commitment?
Strength
Courage
Commitment
What He Means By This Is That Instead Of Saying You'll "try", You Need To "do". And As We Let Our 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.
Motivational
Mean
Light
Overcoming Poverty Is Not A Gesture Of Charity. It Is An Act Of Justice.
Hunger And Poverty
Hunger Poverty
Justice
In My Country We Go To Prison First And Then Become President.
Inspiring
Country
President
There Is Nothing Like A Fixed, Steady Aim, With An Honorable Purpose. It Dignifies Your Nature, And Insures Your Success.
Purpose
Fixed
Honorable
When You Are Behind Bars With No Hope Of Release, You Need To Find Strength Wherever You Can. Personally, I Found Strength In Michael Jackson.
Needs
Bars
Finding Strength
There's No Such Thing As Part Freedom.
Criminal Mind
Love Comes More Naturally To The Human Heart Than Its Opposite.
Life
Hate
Heart
In All Disputes, A Point Is Arrived At Where No Party, No Matter How Right Or Wrong It Might Have Been At The Start Of That Dispute, Will Any Longer Be Totally In The Right Or Totally In The Wrong. Such A Point I Believe, Has Been Reached In This Debate... Let Us Not Equivocate. A Tragedy Of Unprecedented Proportions Is Unfolding In Africa.
Party
Believe
Tragedy
Like Slavery And Apartheid, Poverty Is Not Natural. It Is Man-made And It Can Be Overcome And Eradicated By The Actions Of Human Beings. Overcoming Poverty Is Not A Gesture Of Charity. It Is An Act Of Justice... Sometimes It Falls Upon A Generation To Be Great. You Can Be That Great Generation. Let Your Greatness Blossom.
Inspiring
Fall
Greatness
When I Walked Out Of The Gate I Knew That If I Continued To Hate These People I Was Still In Prison.
Happiness
Hate
People
Hating Clouds The Mind. It Gets In The Way Of Strategy. Leaders Cannot Afford To Hate
Wisdom
Hate
Clouds
Sometimes It Falls Upon A Generation To Be Great, You Can Be That Generation
Inspiring
Peace
Fall
The Truth Is We Are Not Yet Free; We Have Merely Achieved The Freedom To Be Free.
Truth Is
I Started To Make A Study Of The Art Of War And Revolution And, Whilst Abroad, Underwent A Course In Military Training. If There Was To Be Guerrilla Warfare, I Wanted To Be Able To Stand And Fight With My People And To Share The Hazards Of War With Them.
Art
Military
War
There Are Many People Who Have Worked Just Because They Love The Community In Which They Are In, Without Expecting Any Financial Consideration.
People
Community
Financial
As Long As Poverty, Injustice And Gross Inequality Persist In Our World, None Of Us Can Truly Rest.
Compassion
Our World
Long
There Is An Absence Of Democratic Accountability And Control In Every Sphere Of Government And The State. To Address This Debilitating Legacy Requires Determined Action And A Deep Commitment To Transforming Our Society From A Crisis Ridden Present Into Something All South Africans Can Be Truly Proud Of.
Commitment
Government
Accountability
I Will Use The Rest Of My Life To Help The Poor Overcome The Problems Confronting Them - Poverty Is The Greatest Challenge Facing Humanity. That Is Why I Build Schools; I Want To Free People From Poverty And Illiteracy.
School
People
Challenges
If You Don’t Intend Having A Compromise, You Don’t Negotiate At All.
Compromise
Ifs
Apart From Life, A Strong Constitusion And An Abiding Connection To The Thembu Royal House, The Only Thing My Father Bestowed Upon Me At Birth Was A Name, Rolihlahla
Strong
Father
Names
We Know It Well That None Of Us Acting Alone Can Achieve Success.
Acting
Achieve
South Africa
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