Browsing Quotes By William James
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Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 22 Aug 2011 at 12:58 PMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 17 Aug 2010 at 10:16 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
The greatest discovery of our time is that man can change his environment by changing his attitude.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 20 Mar 2009 at 11:47 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
The art of being wise is the ability to know what to overlook.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 3:23 PMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
The turbulent billows of the fretful surface leave the deep parts of the ocean undisturbed; and to him who has a hold on vaster and more permanent realities, the hourly vicissitudes of his personal destiny seem relatively insignificant things. The really religious person is accordingly unshakable and full of equanimity, and calmly ready for any duty that the day may bring forth.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 8:19 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
We and God have business with each other; and in opening ourselves to His influence, our deepest destiny is fulfilled.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 8:19 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
Much of what we call evil… can often be converted into a bracing and tonic good by a simple change of the sufferer’s inner attitude from one of fear to one of fight.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 8:10 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
When once a decision is reached and execution is the order of the day, dismiss absolutely all responsibility and care about the outcome.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 8:04 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
Acceptance of what has happened is the first step in overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 7:59 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
The first thing to learn in intercourse with others is noninterference with their own peculiar ways of being happy.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 7:48 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
Let no youth have any anxiety about the upshot of his education, whatever the line of it may be. If he keeps faithfully busy each hour of the working day, he may safely leave the final result to itself. He can, with perfect certainty count on waking up some fine morning to find himself one of the competent ones of his generation, in whatever pursuit he may have singled out.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 7:23 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
Act in earnest, and you will become naturally earnest in all you do.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 7:10 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under the more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not.
Thus the sovereign voluntary path to cheerfulness, if our spontaneous cheerfulness be lost, is to sit up cheerfully and act and speak as if cheerfulness were already there. If such conduct does not make you feel cheerful, nothing else on that occasion can.
So, to feel brave, act as if we were brave. Use all of our will to that end, and a courage-fit will very likely replace the fit of fear.Speaker: William JamesPosted: 21 Aug 2008 at 7:08 AMComments: None... Be the first to comment! -
In almost any subject, your passion for the subject will save you. If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it. If you wish to be good, you will be good. If you wish to be rich, you will be rich. If you wish to be learned, you will be learned. Only then you must really wish these things and wish them with exclusiveness and not wish one hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.
Speaker: William JamesPosted: 20 Aug 2008 at 5:03 PMComments: None... Be the first to comment!