self-transcendence

noun

self-tran·​scen·​dence ˌself-tran(t)-ˈsen-dən(t)s 

: the act of transcending oneself or the capacity to transcend oneself

"If you're going to be a leader, you're going to have to have a very loose relationship with this thing you call 'I' or 'me,'" he shouted. "Maybe … life is not about the self but about self-transcendence!"

—The New York Times

… self-transcendence means that the individual's own needs are put aside to some degree in favor of service to others.

—Jeremy Herschler

And awe itself can lead to what David Yaden, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Centre, describes as self-transcendence—the experience of shedding one's sense of self to feel part of something larger.

—Leigh Ann Henion

self-transcendent

ˌself-tran(t)-ˈsen-dənt 

adjective

self-transcendent values

self-transcendent altruism

self-transcending

ˌself-tran(t)-ˈsen-diŋ 

adjective

self-transcending love

Examples of self-transcendence in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is self-transcendence—not abandoning the self but expanding beyond a narrow sense of it. — Yujia Zhu, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Elsewhere in Queens, Wilson observes the contestants in guru Sri Chinmoy’s 3,100-mile self-transcendence race, who circle the same stretch of concrete for weeks on end. — Peter Debruge, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026

Our children provide us with a means of self-transcendence, the widest avenue open to us of living through time, not merely in time. — Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026

This is really the distinction between Maslow’s self-actualization and self-transcendence. — Arianna Huffington, Time, 8 Aug. 2025

Practitioners of jhana report unfettered calmness, clarity of mind and self-transcendence (going beyond the concept of the self and perceiving diminishing boundaries between oneself and others). — Matthew D. Sacchet, Scientific American, 25 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for self-transcendence

• ascendance
• attendance
• dependance
• dependence
• transcendence
• interdependence
• superintendence
• tendance