“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm”
“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm” (or “Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm”) is a saying that has been printed on many images. That is, one is not required to spend one’s life solely in service of others.
“@rainebow_: you needn’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm” was posted on Twitter by Downerdebbie 侍 (and others) on February 8, 2014. (The original tweet by @rainebow_ is no longer available.) “Don’t ever set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm” was posted on Twitter by PeterG™ on February 10, 2014.
“A Haiku On Self-Love” by Filipina poet Sade Andria Zabala was posted on tumblr on February 17, 2014:
“You are gold. Do not
set yourself on fire to keep
other people warm.”
“@ruthayl: ‘Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm’” was posted on Twitter by Krystiana Bouchard on March 12, 2014. “Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm” is a popular form of the saying.
“What is something someone said that forever changed your way of thinking?” was posted on AskReddit on October 22, 2014. “You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm” was an answer posted by maeEast. This form of the saying quickly went viral that day.
Twitter
SW
@YINkundalini
you needn’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm
1:14 AM · Feb 8, 2014·Twitter for iPhone
Twitter
Downerdebbie 侍
@_Aironsphere
Replying to @YINkundalini
“@rainebow_: you needn’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm”
1:18 AM · Feb 8, 2014·Twitter for iPhone
Twitter
PeterG™
@Peteypops13
Don’t ever set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm.
2:04 PM · Feb 10, 2014·Twitter for iPhone
tumblr
“You are gold. Do not
set yourself on fire to keep
other people warm.”
Sade Andria Zabala (surfandwrite) | A Haiku On Self-Love (via surfandwrite)
February 17, 2014
Twitter
Gregg Banks II
@geebeezy
“You are gold. Do not set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.” - Sade Andria Zabala… http://tmblr.co/Zp9tTx17hUcKf
11:33 AM · Feb 17, 2014·Tumblr
Twitter
holly
@hollyb__
“don’t set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.”
7:59 PM · Feb 17, 2014·Twitter for iPhone
Twitter
nic
@blankthh
do not set yourself on fire to keep others warm #wordstoliveby
6:34 PM · Feb 22, 2014·Twitter Web Client
Twitter
A. Carolina
@iinfinito
You are gold. Do not
set yourself on fire to keep
other people warm.
— Sade Andria Zabala | A Haiku On Self-Love
1:04 AM · Mar 10, 2014·OS X
Twitter
Krystiana Bouchard
@K_DOT76
“@ruthayl: ‘Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm’”
8:20 PM · Mar 12, 2014·Twitter for iPhone
Reddit—AskReddit
Posted by u/AWWWshetz October 22, 2014
What is something someone said that forever changed your way of thinking?
COMMENTS
maeEast
“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm”.
Really hit home for me, since I grew up trying to mediate my parents’ issues and had multiple friends in and out of the ER for mental health crises during my teen years, among other things. As someone who spent the majority of her life feeling like she had to take care of others at all costs, it was kinda a shock to the system to hear that I was allowed to have my limits even with people who truly needed help.
Edit: I’m amazed this has resonated with so many people! Glad to be of help 😊
Twitter
AJ Capano
@ajcap10
“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.”
1:11 PM · Oct 22, 2014·Twitter Web Client
Twitter
الجريتش
@algerich
You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.
1:13 PM · Oct 22, 2014·Twitter Web Client
Twitter
Alejandro Mahillo
@Mahillo16
“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm”.
1:15 PM · Oct 22, 2014·Twitter for Android
Reddit—Quotes
Posted by u/Soft-Lips February 9, 2015
“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.” -Sade Andria
HuffPost
You Do Not Owe the World Your Niceness
By Katie Portman
14/06/2016 12:46pm BST | Updated June 15, 2017
(...)
You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.
Elite Daily
18 Instagram Captions That Throw Shade At The Jerk Who Ghosted You
BY JASMINE VAUGHN-HALL
SEP. 18, 2017
(...)
6. “You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.”—Unknown
Reddit—Explainlikeimfive
Posted by u/vladdy- March 28, 2018
ELI5: What does the quote “don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm” mean?
COMMENTS
Kronq
Don’t burn yourself out looking after other people. A similar expression is: look after yourself first in order to look after others.
But the one you mention suggests level of exertion is disproportionate to the amount of benefit received by others (setting yourself ON FIRE to only warm others).
Business Insider—Australia
14 pieces of advice that will change the way you see the world
JACOB SHAMSIAN
JUL 1, 2018, 6:00 PM
(...)
‘You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.’
Google Books
Don’t Set Yourself on Fire to Keep Others Warm: Heaven, Hell and Somewhere-in-Between
Ph. D. Brian Lee Slovin
Lulu.com, May 4, 2019 - Education - 16 pages
This book addresses important concerns about substitute teaching. The main theme is to find one’s comfort zone and not be persuaded into subbing for classes that do not fit one’s peace of mind….that it is unwise to set oneself on fire to keep others warm.
Google Books
Title You Are Not Required to Set Yourself on Fire Too Keep Other People Warm: Lined Notebook Journal
Volume 1 of Lined Journals
Author Sirius Publications
Publisher Independently Published, 2019
ISBN 1072063751, 9781072063759
Length 120 pages
Reddit—Quotes
Posted by u/Master_Bruno_1084 August 21, 2019
“You are not required to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.” —Unknown