The 60 best phrases of William James

William James (1842-1910) was an important philosopher and psychologist who, together with Charles Sanders Peirce, he founded the philosophical school of pragmatism, which holds that the meaning of an idea must be sought in its practical effects, that the function of thought is to guide action, and that the truth must be proved by the practical consequences of belief.

Phrases and famous quotes of the psychologist William James

This author delivered countless quotes with great meaning and wisdom. Below you can find some of the best reflections of him.

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1. Our vision of the world is shaped by what we choose to listen to

We interpret the world based on our knowledge and our beliefs.

2. We are ready to be wild for some cause. The difference between a good man and a bad man is the choice of cause

People can choose between being good or bad, depending on what is or is not socially accepted.

3. An idea, to be suggestive, must reach the individual in the form of revelation

The ideas that we value the most are those that give us something.

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

The attitude we have towards life makes us act in a certain way.

5. It is our attitude at the beginning of something difficult, more than anything else, that will affect a successful outcome.

Like the previous quote, a positive attitude will help us to behave in a positive way.

6. Is life worth living? It all depends on the player

It is up to us to live life to the fullest or to live anchored in the past.

7. It seems that action is followed by emotion, but in reality action and feeling go together; and by regulating action, which is under the control of the will, we can directly regulate emotion

William James has always been interested in providing knowledge about why and how human beings experience emotions.

8. Studying the abnormal is the best way to understand the normal

A play on words that hides an idea with a lot of sense.

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

Sometimes you have to put aside some things to continue on our way.

10. Age is a high price to pay for maturity

Over the years, one matures. That does not mean that you should feel older.

11. Nothing is as tiring as leaving a task unfinished forever

A quote that talks about procrastination.

• You can learn more about this phenomenon in our article: "Procrastination or the "I'll do it tomorrow" syndrome: what it is and how to prevent it”

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

Happiness depends in large part on what we want and strive to achieve.

13. Habit is the enormous flywheel that moves society, its most valuable agent of conservation

William James used part of his life to learn more about the habits of people.

14. Belief creates current fact

What we think determines our action and the path we take.

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

The attitude we have has a great impact on the results we achieve.

16. To change life: start immediately. Do it ostentatiously

Action is essential to transform our day to day. Without action there is no change.

17. It is always wrong, anywhere, and for anyone, to believe something without sufficient evidence

We cannot believe in something without having seen that it is really so.

18. There is only one cause of human failure. And it's the man's lack of faith in himself

When a person does not believe in his possibilities, he is destined to fail.

19. Many people think they are thinking when they are rearranging their prejudices

Prejudices determine how we interpret what surrounds us.

20. Anything you can hold firmly in your imagination can be yours

A quote that refers to the wishes that people have.

21. The greatest thing in all education is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy

A phrase by William James that invites deep reflection.

22. Common sense and sense of humor are the same although moving at different speeds. Common sense is like a sense of humor but dancing

A reflection that has a certain touch of irony.

23. If you can change your mind you can change your life

To change, it is necessary to transform the way of thinking first.

24. Begins to be now what you will be from now on

To transform your life, you must first change your mind.

25. The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. Momentum dies without community sympathy

People are social beings and, therefore, better united.

26. Accepting what has happened is the first step to overcome the consequences of any misfortune

Acceptance is key to keep moving forward.

27. If an organism fails to fulfill its potentialities, it becomes sick

Personal development and self-fulfillment are key to enjoying greater satisfaction in life.

28. The deepest principle of human nature is the longing to be appreciated

People are social beings and we like to be respected and appreciated.

29. Whenever you are in a conflict with someone, there is a factor that can make the difference between damaging the relationship or reinforcing it. That factor is attitude

Attitude is also important in interpersonal relationships. .

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

Even if you do not decide on something, you have made the decision not to decide.

31. In the depths of mind we know what we should be doing but somehow we can't start

Sometimes it happens that we think about changing but we do not take action.

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

Stress many times it has its origin in our beliefs.

33. As a general rule, we do not believe in facts and theories for which we are not prepared

We usually believe those things that best fit our knowledge and beliefs.

34. I don't sing because I'm happy, I'm happy because I sing

The mind greatly influences our body and our actions.

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

A phrase full of meaning and that makes the reader think deeply.

36. Act like what you do makes a difference. It does

In the attitude is the key to be successful or not.

37. Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power

The way of thinking has a great impact on our behavior.

38. Genius means little more than the ability to perceive in an unusual way

The genius They are people with rare intelligence.

39. If you want a quality, act like you already have it

Better to believe yourself good and act with confidence than to believe yourself bad and act pessimistically.

40. Everyone should do at least two things they hate a day, just for practicing

A phrase that has a certain sense of humor but is very true.

41. A paradise of inner tranquility seems to be the result of faith

With faith we seek to be at peace with ourselves.

42. The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that lasts longer than it.

When we enjoy doing something that we like, time passes and it seems not to move forward.

40. The ideas obtained by the man before the twenty-five, are practically the only ideas that they will be able to have in their lives

Meaning that at that age a person thinks with the heart and not with the mind.

41. The most immovable barrier in nature is the one between the thought of one man and that of another

Differences in opinions between two people are often insurmountable.

42. Success or failure depends more on attitude than ability. Successful men act like they've achieved something or enjoyed something. Act, look, feel, like you are successful and you will see impressive results

Our thoughts can act as limiting or empowering beliefs.

43. Compared to what we should be, we're half awake

William James always had great reflections like the one in this quote.

44. Wherever you are from, your own friends make your world

Friendships are a big part of our life, and accompany us throughout our existence.

45. If you think that feeling bad or worrying will change the past or the future, you are living on another planet with a different reality

There is no use thinking about the past over and over again, it is best to turn the page.

46. For most of us over thirty, character has established itself like plaster, and will never soften again.

As the years go by, it becomes more difficult to change.

47. To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our system of beliefs, letting go of the past, expanding our sense of now and dissolving the fear of our minds

To change, you need to be open to change and have an open mind.

48. To be a real philosopher, all you need to do is hate someone else's way of thinking.

Disagreeing with the opinion of others can make us think deeply.

49. Each way of classifying a thing is only one way of handling it for a certain particular purpose.

A quote that deals with how people can be prejudiced.

50. Whenever two people meet, there are six people present. How each person sees himself, how he sees one person another and each person as he really is

A funny quote that refers to how people see us how others see us.

51. As a rule we do not believe in facts and theories for which we have no use

A theory does not make much sense if it is not useful and applicable.

52. The sense of humor is a philosophical state of mind; seems to say to nature that we do not take her more seriously than she takes us

Again, another quote with a certain joking tone about taking life seriously.

53. Life only has meaning if we give it meaning

There is no use living life if we are constantly sad.

54. It is not easy to choose the path in front of so many choices

William James reminds us that sometimes it can be difficult for us to make a choice about where we want to shoot.

55. He believes that life is worth living and that belief will help create the fact.

Almost always, when we believe in our possibilities, we can achieve what we want.

56. We are like islands in the sea, separated from the surface but connected in the deep

A comparison of the islands with the way of being of the people.

57. If we consider the world of geometric relationships, there lies the thousandth decimal of Pi, although no one ever tries to calculate it

A quote about the number Pi and geometric relationships. When something worries you, it is common for you to take steps to fix it.

58. The voluntary and sovereign path to joy, if we lose joy, consists in proceeding with joy, acting and speaking joyfully, as if that joy were already with us

We have no better choice than to face life with a positive attitude.

59. The uncalculated decimals of pi, sleep in a mysterious abstract realm, where they enjoy a weak reality, until they are not calculated, they do not become fully real, and even then their reality is merely a matter of grade

The truth is not absolute, but people can have different points of view.

60. If you are concerned enough about a result, you will possibly do something to fix it

Negative thinking can be helpful in many circumstances.