William James, a pioneering psychologist and philosopher, offered profound quotes delving into the complexities of human consciousness, psychology, and philosophy. His words advocate for the power of choice, the significance of individual experience, and the exploration of one’s mind. James’s quotes emphasize the importance of self-reflection, the pursuit of truth, and the transformative nature of personal growth. They inspire introspection, resilience, and the understanding that our thoughts shape our reality, inviting us to embrace open-mindedness, curiosity, and the quest for a meaningful existence.
William James Quotes
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.
Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
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.
The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
To change one’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly.
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain.
Genius, in truth, means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.
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.
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
Man can alter his life by altering his thinking.
The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.
The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
To study the abnormal is the best way of understanding the normal.
The essence of genius is to know what to overlook.
The world we live in is a pluralistic world, it is a world of somebodies, and not merely of patterns or powers.
Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘This is the real me,’ and when you have found that attitude, follow it.
We forget that every good that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort. We postpone and postpone until those smiling possibilities are dead.
Act the part and you will become the part.
To change one’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
Wisdom is learning what to overlook.
Genius, when not the involuntary result of parentage, is the effect of the combined activity of temperament, environment, and passion.
It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers.
Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
To live at all is miracle enough.
The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.
To be conscious means not simply to be, but to be reported, known, to have awareness of one’s being added to that being.
It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
The great thing, then, in all education, is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy.
The most important thing is to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.
It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
Your hopes, dreams, and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.
The best argument I know for an immortal life is the existence of a man who deserves one.
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.
The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
There is but one cause of human failure. And that is man’s lack of faith in his true Self.
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.
The best use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
To study the abnormal is the best way of understanding the normal.
We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain.
Genius is only the power of making continuous efforts.
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.
The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
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.
It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.
To study the abnormal is the best way of understanding the normal.
The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.
Man can alter his life by altering his thinking.
Acceptance of what has happened is the first step to overcoming the consequences of any misfortune.
Wisdom is learning what to overlook.
The world we live in is a pluralistic world, it is a world of somebodies, and not merely of patterns or powers.
There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.
The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
William James Quotes in English
There is only one thing a philosopher can be relied upon to do, and that is to contradict other philosophers.
To change one’s life: Start immediately. Do it flamboyantly. No exceptions.
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.
The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
To live at all is miracle enough.
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.
To be conscious means not simply to be, but to be reported, known, to have awareness of one’s being added to that being.
Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.
The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.
The most violent element in society is ignorance.
It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.
The best argument I know for an immortal life is the existence of a man who deserves one.
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.
The best use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.
Your hopes, dreams, and aspirations are legitimate. They are trying to take you airborne, above the clouds, above the storms, if you only let them.
When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that in itself is a choice.
The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
The world is all the richer for having a devil in it, so long as we keep our foot upon his neck.
It is only by risking our persons from one hour to another that we live at all.
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.
Genius is only the power of making continuous efforts.
There is no more miserable human being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision.
I am done with great things and big things, great institutions and big success, and I am for those tiny, invisible molecular moral forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capillary oozing of water, yet which if you give them time, will rend the hardest monuments of man’s pride.
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.
If you want a quality, act as if you already had it.
The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.
