Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
It is only persons of firmness that can have real gentleness. Those who appear gentle are, in general, only a weak character, which easily changes into asperity.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
The affairs of life embrace a multitude of interests, and he who reasons in any one of them, without consulting the rest, is a visionary unsuited to control the business of the world.
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851) American Novelist
I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside.
—Wayne Dyer (1940–2015) American Self-Help Author
Never give anyone total access to your pockets, your pockets, your purse or your mind.
—Unknown
If things seem under control, you are just not going fast enough.
—Mario Andretti (b.1940) Italian-American Racing Driver, Entrepreneur
It is not enough to give orders they must be obeyed.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves.
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English Novelist
Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.
—Anonymous
If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
Drive thy business, let not that drive thee.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
When you inhabit any of these three roles, you’re reacting to fear of victimhood, loss of control, or loss of purpose. You’re always looking outside yourself, to the people and circumstances of life, for a sense of safety, security, and sanity.
—David Emerald
Nobody controls me. I’m uncontrollable. The only one who can control me is me, and that’s just barely possible. And that’s the lesson I’m learning. If someone’s going to impress me, whether it be a Maharishi or a Yoko, then there comes a point where the emperor has no clothes ’cause I’m naive, but I’m not stupid. For all you folks out there who think I’m having the wool pulled over my eyes, well, that’s an insult to me. But if you think you know me, or you have some part of me because of the music, and then you think I’m being controlled like a dog on a leash because I do things with her, then screw you, brother or sister, you don’t know what’s happening. I’m not here for you, I’m here for me and her, and now the baby.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
Authority poisons everybody who takes authority on himself.
—Golda Meir (1898–1978) Israeli Head of State
A little kingdom I possess,
Where thoughts and feelings dwell;
And very hard the task I find
Of governing it well.
—Louisa May Alcott (1832–88) American Novelist
Such power there is in clear-eyed self-restraint.
—James Russell Lowell (1819–91) American Poet, Critic
You brain shall be your servant instead of your master, You will rule it instead of allowing it to rule you.
—Charles E. Popplestone (1901–49) American Self-Help Book Author
The first and best victory is to conquer self; to be conquered by self is of all things most shameful and vile.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
This work somehow awakened my dormant powers of will and I began to practice self-control. At first my resolutions faded like snow in April, but in a little while I conquered my weakness and felt a pleasure I never knew before—that of doing as I willed.
—Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian-American Electrical Engineer, Inventor
Just imagine you’re four years old, and someone makes the following proposal: If you’ll wait until after he runs an errand, you can have two marshmallows for a treat. If you can’t wait until then, you can have only one—but you can have it right now. It is a challenge sure to try the soul of any four-year-old, a microcosm of the eternal battle between impulse and restraint, id and ego, desire and self-control, gratification and delay… There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their very nature, led to one or another impulse to act.
—Daniel Goleman (b.1946) American Psychologist, Author, Science Journalist
Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish.
—Anne Bradstreet (1612–72) American Poet
No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Are you a SNIOP? Someone who is Sensitive to the Negative Influence Of Others?
—Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American Author
No one can make you jealous, angry, vengeful, or greedy—unless you let him.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.
—Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970) French General, Statesman
The physical world, including our bodies, is a response of the observer. We create our bodies as we create the experience of our world.
—Deepak Chopra (b.1946) Indian-born American Physician, Public Speaker, Writer
Self mastery comes through denial of the little things.
—Unknown
I’m not against the police; I’m just afraid of them.
—Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) British-born American Film Director, Film Producer
Self-discipline begins with the mastery of your thoughts. If you don’t control what you think, you can’t control what you do. Simply, self-discipline enables you to think first and act afterward.
—Napoleon Hill (1883–1970) American Author, Journalist, Attorney, Lecturer
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.
—Brennan Manning (1934–2013) American Theologian, Author
Leave a Reply