All men are like in their lower natures; it is in their higher characters that they differ.

Fear, hunger, vanity and self-interest look much the same in everyone. What varies is what a person does with them, and that variation is where character lives. So the parts of yourself you are most ashamed of are usually the least unusual thing about you. Nobody is distinguished by having appetites; people are distinguished by what they build on top of them.

When you catch yourself feeling uniquely petty or grasping, assume the feeling is common and the response is yours. Spend your attention on the response. It makes other people easier to forgive too, since the impulse you are judging is one you recognise.