What this quote means

This paradoxical quote suggests that to escape the grip of the personal (our egoistic concerns, wounds, limitations), we must become a person in the strong sense: an assumed, self-aware individual, thus capable of opening up to others and the world. It resonates because it shows that personal maturation is not a withdrawal into oneself, but a condition for transcending narcissism. It applies in the quest for personal development, where we learn to know ourselves to better free ourselves from our conditioning.

How to apply it daily

Choose an aspect of your personality you tend to avoid, and commit to exploring it through journaling or therapy to free yourself from it.