William James

The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.

We don't laugh because we're happy - we're happy because we laugh.

Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task.

I don't sing because I'm happy; I'm happy because I sing.

Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they've got a second.

When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.

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.

There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man's lack of faith in his true Self.

Our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the filmiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different.

To change ones life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly.

Belief creates the actual fact.

Compared to what we ought to be, we are half awake.

The world we see that seems so insane is the result of a belief system that is not working. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of now, and dissolve the fear in our minds.

Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.

Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.

Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action.

If the grace of God miraculously operates, it probably operates through the subliminal door.

It is well for the world that in most of us, by the age of thirty, the character has set like plaster, and will never soften again.

We are all ready to be savage in some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad one is the choice of the cause.

Everybody should do at least two things each day that he hates to do, just for practice.

Could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state.

Time itself comes in drops.

Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.

Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference.

There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

Truth is what works.

We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.

The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour.

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.

Begin to be now what you will be hereafter.

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.

Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.

Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.

The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.

If you want a quality, act as if you already had it.

If you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it.

This life is worth living, we can say, since it is what we make it.

Why should we think upon things that are lovely? Because thinking determines life. It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment. Environment modifies life but does not govern life. The soul is stronger than its surroundings.

A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain.

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.

Success or failure depends more upon attitude than upon capacity successful men act as though they have accomplished or are enjoying something. Soon it becomes a reality. Act, look, feel successful, conduct yourself accordingly, and you will be amazed at the positive results.

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.

If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a different reality system.

It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.

The best argument I know for an immortal life is the existence of a man who deserves one.

There must be something solemn, serious, and tender about any attitude which we denominate religious. If glad, it must not grin or snicker; if sad, it must not scream or curse.

Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.