GagBase Logo Explore

Words of Wisdom #25: True Power is Emotional Restraint

This is a text-based meme containing a piece of self-help and life advice, published as part of the 9GAG Words of Wisdom series. The quote explains that constantly reacting emotionally to every thing others say to you will keep you in a state of suffering, and argues that true personal power comes from remaining calm, observing situations logically, practicing emotional restraint, and not letting other people's words control your actions or mood. It closes with the advice to breathe and let unimportant things pass.
Make

Text content

You will continue to suffer if you have an emotional reaction to everything that is said to you. True power is sitting back and observing things with logic. True power is restraint. If words control you that means everyone else can control you. Breathe and allow things to pass.

Overview

This is a text-based meme containing a piece of self-help and life advice, published as part of the 9GAG Words of Wisdom series. The quote explains that constantly reacting emotionally to every thing others say to you will keep you in a state of suffering, and argues that true personal power comes from remaining calm, observing situations logically, practicing emotional restraint, and not letting other people's words control your actions or mood. It closes with the advice to breathe and let unimportant things pass.

Origin notes

According to the provided metadata, this image originates from the 9GAG platform, and is the 25th entry in 9GAG's recurring 'Words of Wisdom' series of shareable motivational and advice content. It is commonly reposted across other social media platforms as relatable self-improvement content.

Similar memes

This is a simple text-based meme on a plain white background, featuring bold black sans-serif text that reads: 'COMMON SENSE IS NOT A GIFT, IT'S A PUNISHMENT. BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE IT.' The joke subverts the common assumption that having common sense is a positive, desirable gift, instead framing it as an annoyance or punishment, as people with common sense are forced to navigate interactions with others who lack basic sensible judgment, leading to frequent frustration.

Common Sense Is A Punishment Not A Gift

This is a simple text-based m…

This image is a screenshot of a Tumblr thread titled 'Ominous Positivity'. Four different Tumblr users post sequential statements that each follow the same pattern: they open with a positive, encouraging message, then follow it with an ominous, fatalistic caveat that the positive outcome is completely unavoidable. This creates a humorous, unexpected contrast between wholesome encouragement and menacing inevitability. The full sequence of posts is: 1. spillybun: 'You will be okay. You have no choice.' 2. solluxismsnowaifu: 'Everything will turn out fine. You cannot stop it.' 3. abirdkeeper: 'You will succeed. It is inevitable.' 4. ratatoskr-the-shithead: 'Happiness is coming. You can't escape'

Ominous Positivity

This image is a screenshot of…

A minimalist image featuring a light gray background with centered bold black serif text. The text reads: 'If you're reading this, I hope something great happens to you today.' The design is simple, with no additional graphics, characters, or decorative elements, focusing solely on the encouraging message.

Hope Something Great Happens to You Today

A minimalist image featuring …

This is a screenshot of a dark-mode X (formerly Twitter) post from user Lekxaye (@WitchsHex). The post outlines two coexisting, seemingly conflicting truths related to accountability and interpersonal harm: first, that people who have committed harmful acts are capable of improving themselves and deserve access to resources and opportunities to do so, and second, that people who have been harmed by these individuals are under no obligation to forgive those who hurt them or allow them back into their lives, even if the harmful person has genuinely changed. An anime-style female profile picture for the original poster is visible at the top left corner of the screenshot.

Two Simultaneously True Statements About Personal Growth and Forgiveness

This is a screenshot of a dar…

This is a text-only meme set against a plain solid white background. It features three lines of text: the first line quotes the common pervasive toxic positivity saying "Your trauma made you stronger", the second line directly refutes that claim with the blunt statement "It absolutely did not.", and the third line adds a lighthearted, relatable humorous twist by noting "It did make me funnier though.". The joke subverts the common unhelpful narrative that all hardship inherently builds personal strength, instead highlighting the common relatable experience of developing a dark or coping sense of humor as a response to negative life experiences.

Trauma doesn't make you stronger, it makes you funnier

This is a text-only meme set …

A minimalistic image with a solid black background and centered white text. The text reads: 'Shoutout to people who haven't felt okay lately but still get up every day and refuse to quit. You got this.' The design is simple and focused, aiming to deliver an uplifting message to individuals experiencing hardship while maintaining daily resilience.

Shoutout to Those Struggling but Persisting

A minimalistic image with a s…

This image is a screenshot of a public post from X (formerly Twitter). At the top, the poster's profile is visible: their display name is Hegel Borg TM, their username is @xxclusionary, and they have a verified blue checkmark, with a profile picture of an edited image of 19th century philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel wearing a gaming headset. The main post text reads: 'I have a mental illness that makes me think that people will change their minds if I present the correct arguments with the appropriate facts and data.' The meme uses sarcastic self-deprecation to make a relatable joke about the common, often frustrating experience of believing that logical evidence and well-reasoned arguments can convince people to change pre-held opinions, framing this naive optimism as a 'mental illness' for comedic effect.

I have this mental illness

This image is a screenshot of…

This is a screenshot of a public post from the X (formerly Twitter) platform. The poster has a custom circular cartoon avatar depicting a light-skinned person with short brown hair, black glasses, a black choker, and a green jacket set against a pink background with sparkles, with display name 'friend shape' and handle @friend_shape. The post text is a humorous, relatable joke about living with anxiety: the poster explains that when they tell someone 'no worries', they are not dismissing the concern, but rather taking all of the other person's worries onto themselves, leaving the other person free of worry, as they already have anxiety and hold all the worries now, playfully stating they are 'stealing' the other person's worries and the other person cannot have them back.

Anxious person 'no worries' real meaning meme

This is a screenshot of a pub…

This is a screenshot of a public post from the X (formerly Twitter) platform, posted by user @roastmalone_ (display name 'stoned cold fox'). The post text reads 'due to foreseen circumstances well within my control I will be late', which is a humorous, self-aware subversion of the common formal excuse for lateness that typically cites 'unforeseen circumstances outside of one's control'. The joke openly admits that the upcoming lateness is entirely the poster's own fault, caused by choices they made intentionally or through poor planning. It has become popular as a relatable, lighthearted way to inform others of upcoming lateness without making up fake excuses.

Relatable Lateness Excuse Tweet Meme

This is a screenshot of a pub…

This image is a screenshot of a public post from the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). It shows the verified profile of user Zack Bornstein, paired with his post text that reads 'knowing stuff is probably the worst thing you could do for your mental health'. The joke relies on relatable sentiment about the mental toll of being constantly informed about distressing global events, bad news, and overwhelming information online, framing intentional limited information consumption as a valid mental health coping strategy.

Knowing Stuff Is Bad For Mental Health Tweet Meme

This image is a screenshot of…