Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; the hardest victory is over self.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
Restraint and discipline and examples of virtue and justice. These are the things that form the education of the world.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
No man is such a conqueror, as the one that has defeated himself.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.
—Buddhist Teaching
When things are steep, remember to stay level-headed.
—Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) (65–8 BCE) Roman Poet
A man in old age is like a sword in a shop window. Men that look upon the perfect blade do not imagine the process by which it was completed. Man is a sword; daily life is the workshop; and God is the artificer; and those cares which beat upon the anvil, and file the edge, and eat in, acid-like, the inscription on the hilt—those are the very things that fashion the man.
—Henry Ward Beecher (1813–87) American Clergyman, Writer
Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.
—Julie Andrews (b.1935) British Actress, Singer
First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits, or they’ll eventually conquer you.
—Rob Gilbert (b.1966) American Animator, Cartoonist
Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set. This is true of earthly as of heavenly things. Even the man whose object is to acquire wealth must be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his object; and how much more so he who would realize a strong and well-poised life.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission.
—Arnold Bennett (1867–1931) British Novelist, Playwright, Critic
Self-discipline is an act of cultivation. It require you to connect today’s actions to tomorrow’s results. There’s a season for sowing a season for reaping. Self-discipline helps you know which is which.
—Gary Ryan Blair
For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward.
—Jim Rohn (1930–2009) American Entrepreneur, Author, Motivational Speaker
Practice yourself, for heaven’s sake in little things, and then proceed to greater.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves … self-discipline with all of them came first.
—Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) American Head of State
What are numbers knit
By force or custom? Man who man would be,
Must rule the empire of himself; in it
Must be supreme, establishing his throne
On vanquished will, quelling the anarchy
Of hopes and fears, being himself alone.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Poet, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist
The man who masters his own soul will forever be called conqueror of conquerors.
—Plautus (Titus Maccius Plautus) (c.250–184 BCE) Roman Comic Playwright
Man must be disciplined, for he is by nature raw and wild.
—Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Prussian German Philosopher, Logician
There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it’s easy.
—Unknown
That discipline which corrects the eagerness of worldly passions, which fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, which enlightens the mind with useful knowledge, and furnishes to it matter of enjoyment from within itself, is of more consequence to real felicity than all the provisions which we can make of the goods of fortune.
—Hugh Blair (1718–1800) Scottish Preacher, Scholar, Critic
Without discipline, there’s no life at all.
—Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) American Actor, TV Personality
Self-control is the quality that distinguishes the fittest to survive.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
He who reins within himself and rules passions, desires, and fears is more than a king.
—John Milton (1608–74) English Poet, Civil Servant, Scholar, Debater
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.
—Hesiod (f.700 BCE) Greek Poet
No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No steam or gas ever drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.
—Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878–1969) American Baptist Minister
No man is free who is not master of himself.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
The consistent anarchist should be a socialist, but a socialist of a particular sort. He will not only oppose alienated and specialized labor and look forward to the appropriation of capital by the whole body of workers, but he will also insist that this appropriation be direct, not exercised by some elite force acting in the name of the proletariat. Some sort of council communism is the natural form of revolutionary socialism in an industrial society. It reflects the intuitive understanding that democracy is largely a sham when the industrial system is controlled by any form of autocratic elite, whether of owners, managers, and technocrats, a “vanguard” party, or a State bureaucracy.
—Noam Chomsky (b.1928) American Linguist, Social Critic
No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may not be subdued by discipline.
—Seneca the Younger (Lucius Annaeus Seneca) (c.4 BCE–65 CE) Roman Stoic Philosopher, Statesman, Tragedian
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.
—Frank Herbert (1920–86) American Science Fiction Writer
How shall I be able to rule over others, that have not full power and command of myself?
—Francois Rabelais (1494–1553) French Humanist, Satirist
Self-conquest is really self-surrender. Yet before we can surrender ourselves we must become ourselves. For no one can give up what he does not possess.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
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