Quotes By William James
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.
William James
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.
William James
The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.
William James
We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood.
William James
Our errors are surely not such awfully solemn things. In a world where we are so certain to incur them in spite of all our caution, a certain lightness of heart seems healthier than this excessive nervousness on their behalf.
William James
To be radical, an empiricism must neither admit into its constructions any element that is not directly experienced, nor exclude from them any element that is directly experienced.
William James
There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.
William James
Our faith is faith in someone else's faith, and in the greatest matters this is most the case.
William James
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.
William James
Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.
William James
Every man who possibly can should force himself to a holiday of a full month in a year, whether he feels like taking it or not.
William James
The god whom science recognizes must be a God of universal laws exclusively, a God who does a wholesale, not a retail business. He cannot accommodate his processes to the convenience of individuals.
William James
Do something everyday for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test.
William James
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.
William James
To be a real philosopher all that is necessary is to hate some one else's type of thinking.
William James
The history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.
William James
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.
William James
If the grace of God miraculously operates, it probably operates through the subliminal door.
William James
Be willing to have it so. Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
William James