“"Tough love" is just the right phrase: love for the rich and privileged, tough for everyone else.”

“Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.”

Joss Whedon (1964) American director, writer, and producer for television and film

“If you take the tough decisions, people will hate you today, but they will love you in generations.”

Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British stateswoman and politician

“In every case, here's the challenging bottom line: practicing tough love is- without question- toughest on the man who loves the most.”

William G. Boykin (1948) Recipient of the Purple Heart medal

“Discipline is a symbol of caring to a child. Discipline is guidance. If there is love, there is no such thing as being too tough with a child.”

Bette Davis (1908–1989) film and television actress from the United States

“Everyone is always going through tough things, the irony in it is that everyone thinks what they're going through is just as hard as what you are. Life isn't about surviving this, it's about understanding this.”

Nicholas Sparks (1965) American writer and novelist

“Windbags can be right. Aphorists can be wrong. It is a tough world.”

James Fenton (1949) poet

“You try to be good, to be good and loving and nice and not hard, not tough, a sweet nice girl, not ugly, not full of ugliness, but people make it impossible.”

Michelle Tea (1971) American writer

“In a Stage I survival-focused world, a father needed to be a problem-solver. He needed to “tough it out” by denying feelings. He needed to persuade, argue, debate, set rules, distinguish right from wrong without flexibility. These skills made him “eligible,” they brought him a wife and children. In every sense of the word, these skills were his relationship language. Problem is, “toughing it out” fed his loved ones’ mouths, but didn’t nurture his loved ones’ souls.”

Warren Farrell (1943) author, spokesperson, expert witness, political candidate

“The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish writer and poet