Quotes about thinking

A collection of quotes on the topic of thinking, doing, people, likeness.

Best quotes about thinking

“I think a lot, but I don't say much.”

Anne Frank (1929–1945) victim of the Holocaust and author of a diary

Source: The Diary of a Young Girl

“Thinking is talking of soul with itself.”

Plato (-427–-347 BC) Classical Greek philosopher

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962) American politician, diplomat, and activist, and First Lady of the United States

Source: You Learn by Living (1960), p. 29–30
Context: You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." … You must do the thing you think you cannot do.

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”

Stephen Chbosky book The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Source: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“Do you not know I am a woman? when I think, I must speak.”

William Shakespeare As You Like It

Source: As You Like It

“We think too much and feel too little.”

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) British comic actor and filmmaker

“I think being humble is sexy.”

Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor

1990s, MTV interview with Tabitha Soren (1995)

“Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides.”

André Malraux (1901–1976) French novelist, art theorist and politician

“Thinking is difficult, that’s why most people judge.”

C.G. Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology

“The trouble is, you think you have time.”

Jack Kornfield (1945) American writer

Source: Buddha's Little Instruction Book

Meryl Streep quote: “The minute you start caring about what other people think, is the minute you stop being yourself.”

Anne Frank quote: “I think a lot, but I don't say much.”

Kurt Cobain quote: “I don't care what you think unless it is about me.”

Allen Ginsberg quote: “I don't think there is any truth. There are only points of view.”

Virginia Woolf quote: “As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking.”

Yoko Ono quote: “You may think I’m small, but I have a universe inside my mind.”

+ 7 quotes

Louise L. Hay quote: “You are the only person who thinks in your mind! You are the power and authority in your world.”

Johnny Depp quote: “I think the thing to do is to enjoy the ride while you're on it.”

Neil Armstrong quote: “I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges.”

Ian McEwan quote: “And though you think the world is at your feet, it can rise up and tread on you.”

Ernest Hemingway quote: “Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”

Maya Angelou quote: “If you're for the right thing, you do it without thinking.”

Rudyard Kipling quote: “Bite on the bullet, old man, and don't let them think you're afraid.”

Quotes about thinking

“I think that a literary work should not be a piece of spit thrown onto the road.”

José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor

Source: Interview. "No más cuentos para princesas".

“.. When an individual, e. g. higher forms of animals, thinks, it is always for his own advantage whether the resulting action or expression is favorable or not to the onlookers or observers.”

Isidro A. T. Savillo (1959) Filipino biologist

The Overpowering Influence of the Environment to Gene Expression, Biologybrowser.org, 2002 http://biologybrowser.org/node/1154589,

Animals

“I think that living only from writing is a privilege, in economic terms, that only some writers have achieved and to which, probably, all authors aspire: a difficult goal that is not impossible.”

José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor

Original: Pienso que vivir solo de la escritura es un privilegio, en términos económicos, que solo algunos escritores y escritoras han conseguido y al que, probablemente, todos los autores aspiramos: una meta difícil que no imposible. Source: Cazas Fernández, A. (2022). "La escritura le aportó sentido, coherencia e identidad a mi vida". En Correo Gallego. https://www.elcorreogallego.es/el-correo-2/la-escritura-le-aporto-sentido-coherencia-e-identidad-a-mi-vida-AP10794051. Consultado el 16 de junio de 2022.

“The person on foot realizes that there is no misery in cities like Madrid or Barcelona, first world cities that, I think, have lost the heart that Latin Americans still have.”

José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor

Source: https://www.peruinforma.com/entrevista-cultural-al-escritor-chileno-jose-baroja/

Personality, Heart, World

“I think of the northern country, the United States, where they are specialists, very good at what they do, but sometimes, many times, they have no memory of the things that have happened, because they are so interested in raising money that the past is blurred and give meaning to ignorance on the basis of consumption.”

José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor

Source: https://www.peruinforma.com/entrevista-cultural-al-escritor-chileno-jose-baroja/

Money, Memory, Time, Country

“The tragedy of a thoughtless man is not that he doesn't think, but that he thinks that he's thinking.”

Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer

Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”

Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician

love, Love, Life, People

“The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds. Think big anyway!”

Matka Tereza (1910–1997) Roman Catholic saint of Albanian origin

People, Idea

“Think different and then again.”

Steve Jobs (1955–2011) American entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc.

“If you’re going to set goals, it’s better for them to be big. If you write them down decisively, it’s easier to succeed. Indeed, my way of thinking is quite mathematical.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Translation source: https://kaerb.tumblr.com/post/170346243034/if-youre-going-to-set-goals-its-better-for (user-translation) from 31 January 2018. Annotation: This quote is excerpted from an interview filmed in Yokohama on 22 November 2009 after an official practice at Japanese Junior Nationals, aired 23 December 2009 in 2009全日本フィギュアスケートジュニア選手権大会 (2009 All Japan Figure Skating Junior Championships) by BS Fuji. Page: 124. Original: (ja) 目標を書くなら大きいほうがいい。具体的に書いたほうが達成しやすい。けっこう理数系です。

Mathematics, Decision, Way

“The objective of education reform is to creat learning individual, organization, and society. An educated person or the authentic learning outcome should possess the following abilities and characteristics which are based on Thai cultural heritage and appropriate level of education: good physical and mental health, critical thinking, intellectual inquisitiveness, professionalism, sense of responsibility, honesty, selfsacrifice, perseverance, team spirit, adherence to democracy, and love for King, Country and Religion.”

Sukavich Rangsitpol (1935) Thai politician

The Reason and the objective of Education Reform

Love, Health, Education, Religion

“Looking back on each element, the absence of the audience this time meant that it was difficult to make that connection [with the crowd], but there are a lot of movements in the choreography that try to speak to the audience, so I think that’s also a key appeal for this program.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Translation source: Yuzuru Hanyu – World Championships 2021 Post-SP Interview https://axelwithwings.com/2021/03/26/eng-translation-yuzuru-hanyu-world-championships-2021-post-sp-interview-210326/ by Axel with Wings, published 26 March 2021. (Retrieved 31 March 2021) Annotation: Hanyu had to perform his short program Let me entertain you by Robbie Williams in front of empty rinks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was asked, what he wanted to express with that piece of music in particular. Other quotes, 2021 Original: (ja) 振り付け1つ1つに、今回はお客さんがいないのでなかなかコネクトすることは難しいですけれども、1つ1つにお客さんとつながるような振りが多くあるので、それもまたこのプログラムの魅力かなと思います。 Source: Part 1 of the interview after the men's short program at Worlds 2021, as quoted in an article https://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2021/03/25/kiji/20210326s00079000182000c.html by Nippon Sports (Sponichi), published 26 March 2021. (Retrieved 31 March 2021)

Time

“Because it’s the music that engenders the expression, artistry, and technique that is figure skating, I think that music and figure skating are essentially one and the same. [...] It’s my raison d'être. It’s the reason I skate.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Other quotes, 2020
Original: (ja) そこに音楽があるから、フィギュアスケートっていう表現だったり、芸術だったり、技術っていうものがそこに生まれてくるのであって、音楽とフィギュアスケートっていうのがほぼイコールだと僕は思ってます。で、僕にとっては… なんて言うか、生きがいです。フィギュアスケートをやる理由です。
Source: Hanyu in an interview from 2019 about the meaning of the music, aired 28 March 2020 in フィギペディア～2019-2020シーズン特別編 (Figurepedia 2019-2020 season special edition) on TV Asahi.

Music

“I bet my life to skate, everytime. I think, that's the mission of my life. That's why I was born here. [...] I was born for my skate.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

CBC interview with Scott Russell

Life

“I don't dislike adversities. What I dislike is myself being weak. I really hate it, but I think being weak means that you have the potential to become strong.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Other quotes, 2014
Original: (ja) 逆境は嫌いじゃないので。弱くなってる自分がすごく嫌なんです。それは本当に嫌いですけど、でも弱いというのは強くなれる可能性があると思ってるんで。
Source: Excerpt from a press conference at the NHK Trophy 2014, held on 30 November 2014, aired the same day in ネオスポ (Neospo) on TV Tokyo and 15 December 2014 in News Every on NTV.

Hate, Strong

“Since we all came from a women, got our name from a women, and our game from a women. I wonder why we take from women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think its time we killed for our women, be real to our women, try to heal our women, cus if we dont we'll have a race of babies that will hate the ladies, who make the babies. And since a man can't make one he has no right to tell a women when and where to create one”

Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor

Women, Hate, Game, Time

“I am not really into making a lot of comments for myself. More than anything, I am already feeling a lot of love from many supporters. So... in that sense, I don't think I need to do anything special.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Other quotes, 2018 Original: (ja) 特に自分からコメントを常に発信したいなとは思ってないし、何よりも、自分がたくさんの方々に愛してもらってるのはすごく分かってるので…うん…あのー、何だろう？特別自分から何かをしなくてもいいかなという風に思っています。 Source: Hanyu about his absence from social media in an interview https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/video/detail/yuzuru-hanyu-happy-to-say-nothing-at-all/ at the Olympics 2018, published 27 February 2018 on the Olympic Channel. (Retrieved 18 September 2020)

Support, Sense, Love, Feeling

“More than anything else, I want to make every day count now. I want to make every single normal day, every ice show, every practice and every competition count. That's what I have been thinking about the most since the day of the earthquake.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Page: 165.
Blue Flame
Original: (ja) 今はとにかく、一日一日を大事にしたいと思う。何気ない日常の一日一日、アイスショーの日々、練習の日々、試合の日々をすべて大切にしたい。そんなことを、あの日を境により強く感じるようになりました。

“I'm telling you this because you don't get it. You think you get it, which is not the same as actually getting it. Get it?”

Hatake Kakashi book Naruto

“You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She's not perfect—you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break—her heart. So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze and don't expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she's not there.”

Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician

Variant: You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She's not perfect — you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break — her heart. So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze and don't expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she's not there.

love, Love, Smile, Change

“There is nothing that can take the pain away. But eventually you will find a way to live with it. There will be nightmares. And every day when you wake up, it will be the first thing you think about. Until one day, it will be the second thing.”

Raymond Reddington

The Blacklist

Way, Pain

“Never stop. Never stop fighting. Never stop dreaming. And don’t be afraid of wearing your heart on your sleeve - in declaring the films that you love, the films that you want to make, the life that you’ve had, and the lives you can help reflect in cinema. For myself, for a long time… maybe I felt inauthentic or something, I felt like my voice wasn’t worth hearing, and I think everyone’s voice is worth hearing. So if you’ve got something to say, say it from the rooftops.”

Tom Hiddleston (1981) English actor, producer and musical performer

Time, Dreams, Help, Heart

“Haters never win. I just think that's true about life, because negative energy always costs in the end.”

Tom Hiddleston (1981) English actor, producer and musical performer

Life

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”

Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996) American jazz singer

Success, love, Wise, For women

“Wake up in the morning, now you doing the impossible Find out what's important, now you're feeling philosophical When I die, I'll pack my bags, move somewhere more affordable Isn't life horrible? I think that life is horrible”

Lil Peep (1996–2017) American rapper

Song Life is Beautiful, Album: Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 2

Life, Feeling

“It’s not possible, and nor should it be possible, to control what anyone thinks about you. Especially if it’s not based in any reality.”

Tom Hiddleston (1981) English actor, producer and musical performer

Reality

“If you have ever seen the play Peter Pan you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possibly when the time came for him to die he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of goodbye.

Remember, it is the last you will ever hear from me, so think it over.

I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have as happy a life too.

I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness doesn't come from being rich, nor merely from being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so can enjoy life when you are a man.

Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.

But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn come to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. "Be Prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die happy - stick to your Scout promise always - even after you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you do it.”

Robert Baden-Powell (1857–1941) lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, founder and Chief Scout of the Scout Movement

Life, God, People, World

“There's good in all of us and I think I simply love people too much, so much that it makes me feel too sad.”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

Feeling, People, Sadness, Love

“Think highly of yourself, that's how you get to the top”

Cornelius Keagon (1996) Liberian humanitarian aid worker

“People see me and think I have lots of girlfriends, do I look like I have lots of girlfriends?”

Cornelius Keagon (1996) Liberian humanitarian aid worker

People

“People in general, not just girls, but people who are younger are obviously extremely impressionable. And I do think it’s important. There's obviously a lot of different body images that are thrown around in society in general. Some things look like they’re more acceptable and some things are made to feel like they’re unacceptable. So, I think it’s very important that it empowers people in general. I think that anytime you can make someone who potentially might not feel as great about themselves as they should, feel better about themselves, I think that’s always a positive thing.”

Harry Styles (1994) English singer, songwriter, and actor

Interview with Polish website Plejada (25 November 2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNqJC-ZSseU&t=552

People, Feeling, Girl

“I dream big because I believe I am what I think I am”

Cornelius Keagon (1996) Liberian humanitarian aid worker

Dreams

“Think Thousand times before taking a decision But - After taking decison never turn back even if you get Thousand difficulties!!”

Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Führer and Reich Chancellor of Germany, Leader of the Nazi Party

Decision, Time

“I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is self destructive. If you hate somebody, you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. It's a healing, actually, it's a real healing… forgiveness.”

Louis Zamperini (1917–2014) Italian-American middle distance runner

Variant: I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. Hate is self destructive. If you hate somebody, you're not hurting the person you hate, you're hurting yourself. It's healing, actually, it's real healing...
Forgiveness.

Life, Hate, Forgiveness, Hurt

“The minute you start caring about what other people think, is the minute you stop being yourself.”

Meryl Streep (1949) American actress

People

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor

First attibution is to Ralph Bergstresser who claims to have heard this from Tesla in a conversation "following an experience with the Maharaja's son". Disputed Source: Coments From The Inventor of the Purple Harmony Plates http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/esp_ciencia_universalenergy02.htm,

Deep, Secret, Universe

“She raised an eyebrow. "You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?"

You'd probably kick my butt."

YouI'd kick your butt."

I brushed the cake off my hands. "When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable… Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

Annabeth kept her eyes on the horizon. "Yeah?"

Then up on Olympus," I said, "when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking-"

Oh, you so wanted to."

Well, maybe a little. But I didn't, because I thought-I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because things could always get better. And I was thinking…" My throat felt really dry.

Anyone in particular?" Annabeth asked, her voice soft.

I looked over and saw that she was trying not to smile.

You're laughing at me," I complained.

I am not!"

You arenot making this easy."

Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands
around my neck. "I am never, going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it.”

Rick Riordan book The Last Olympian

Source: The Last Olympian

God, World, Smile

“I don't think anybody's necessarily ready for death. You can only hope that when it approaches, you feel like you've said what you wanted to say. Nobody wants to go out in mid-sentence.”

Johnny Depp (1963) American actor, film producer, and musician

Death, Hope, Feeling

“There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking it-self is dangerous.”

Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) Jewish-American political theorist

“In my mind, I'm always the best. I don't care what people think, what they say. In my mind, not just this year but always, I'm always the best.”

Cristiano Ronaldo (1985) Portuguese association football player

[BBC Sport, Cristiano Ronaldo: I'm the best player in the world, 5 November 2015, 4 February 2018, http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/34737914]
In an interview with the BBC ahead of the release of Ronaldo.

People

“We must, at once re-educate the next generation not to fall prey to this lowly level of thinking. Thus, making them strong enough to survive the next episode of life.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Strong, Education, Life

“I think everybody's weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.”

Johnny Depp (1963) American actor, film producer, and musician

“I don't care what you think unless it is about me.”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

Variant: I don't care what you think unless it is about me

“Just keep moving forward and don't give a sh** about what anybody thinks. Do what you have to do, for you.”

Johnny Depp (1963) American actor, film producer, and musician

Variant: Just keep moving forward and don't give a shit about what anybody thinks. Do what you have to do, for you.

“I believe in equal rights for everyone. I think God loves all”

Harry Styles (1994) English singer, songwriter, and actor

Twitter response to anti-gay religious group Westboro Baptist Church picketing a One Direction concert (19 July 2013) https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/westboro-baptist-church-one-direction_n_3634663 Context: Despite the company outside, I believe in equal rights for everyone. I think God loves all. Thanks for coming to the show though.

Love, God

“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.”

James Baldwin book Nobody Knows My Name

"In Search of a Majority: An Address" (Feb 1960); reprinted in Baldwin, "Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobody_Knows_My_Name (1961)

love, Wise, Relationship, Cute

“It isn't what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”

Jane Austen book Sense and Sensibility

Variant: It is not what we think or feel that makes us who we are. It is what we do. Or fail to do...
Source: Sense and Sensibility

“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”

Terry Pratchett book Reaper Man

Source: Reaper Man

Travel, Light, Waiting

“We're all damaged in our own way. Nobody's perfect. I think we're all somewhat screwy. Every single one of us.”

Johnny Depp (1963) American actor, film producer, and musician

Quoted in Bernard Weintraub, "Playboy Interview: Johnny Depp," Playboy (May 2004)
Context: I do have an affinity for damaged people, in life, in roles. I don't know why. We're all damaged in our own way. Nobody's perfect. I think we are all somewhat screwy, every single one of us.

Way, Perfection

“It's so much easier to know who you are when there aren't a thousand people telling you who they think you are.”

Miley Cyrus (1992) American actor and singer-songwriter

People

“I don't think there is any truth. There are only points of view.”

Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997) American poet

Truth

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian writer

Motivational, Deep, Success, Inspirational

“My methods are really methods of working and thinking; this is why they have crept in everywhere anonymously.”

Emmy Noether (1882–1935) German mathematician

Letter to Helmut Hasse (1931) as quoted in Auguste Dick, Emmy Noether, 1882-1935 (1981) Tr. H. I. Blocher, p. 61.

“I didn’t grow up in a man’s man world. I grew up with my mum and my sister. But I definitely think in the last two years, I’ve become a lot more content with who I am. I think there’s so much masculinity in being vulnerable and allowing yourself to be feminine, and I’m very comfortable with that. Growing up you don’t even know what those things mean. You have this idea of what being masculine is and as you grow up and experience more of the world, you become more comfortable with who you are. Today it’s easier to embrace masculinity in so many different things. I definitely find – through music, writing, talking with friends and being open – that some of the times when I feel most confident is when I’m allowing myself to be vulnerable. It’s something that I definitely try and do.”

Harry Styles (1994) English singer, songwriter, and actor

In conversation with Timothée Chalamet for i-D Magazine (2 November 2018) https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/evwwma/harry-styles-interviews-timothee-chalamet-photos

Confidence, Time, Music, Self-confidence

“Consider again that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar", every "supreme leader", every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there — on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”

Carl Sagan book Pale Blue Dot

Source: Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (1994), p. 8, Supplemental image at randi.org http://www.randi.org/images/122801-BlueDot.jpg

Love, Life, World, Religion

“I think that truth is the highest value, although it has to be embedded in love. What I mean by that is that truth should serve the highest good imaginable. For me, that is what is best for each individual, in the manner that is simultaneously best for the family, and the state, and nature itself. But you can only want that good if you love Being.”

Jordan Peterson (1962) Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology

Other

Love, Truth, Family, Imagination

“I don’t think that everyone should become a mathematician, but I do believe that many students don’t give mathematics a real chance.”

Maryam Mirzakhani (1977–2017) Iranian mathematician

Interview with Research Fellow Maryam Mirzakhani | january 2008

Mathematics, Chance

“There are many variables intertwined in every problem and components of all the variable involved have to be carefully studied. Forming solutions by studying and synthesizing the relationship among key variables seems to be very much in need. The ability to identify a meaning from observable and obtained data is the core of human characteristics in such changing society. Hence, inductive thinking has to be instilled in every learner for a productive citizenship in the changing world of tomorrow.”

Sukavich Rangsitpol (1935) Thai politician

citizenship in the changing world of tomorrow.

Study, Problem, World, Change

“I can't judge any of you. I have no malice against you and no ribbons for you. But I think that it is high time that you all start looking at yourselves, and judging the lie that you live in.”

Charles Manson (1934–2017) American criminal and musician

Lie, Time

“There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.”

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952) Yogi, a guru of Kriya Yoga and founder of Self-Realization Fellowship

Friendship, For Friend, For Bestfriend, Learning

“I do not think you can name many great inventions that have been made by married men.”

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor

Men

“Not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think.”

Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976) German theoretical physicist

Source: Across the Frontiers

Universe

“I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird.”

Paul McCartney (1942) English singer-songwriter and composer

People

“I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success … Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything.”

Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) Serbian American inventor

Quoted in Marconi and Tesla: Pioneers of Radio Communication (2008) by Tim O'Shei, ISBN 159845076X , p. 5

Love, Food, Sleep, Success

“Sometimes people like to ask me why should girls go to school, why is it important for them. But I think the more important question is why shouldn't they, why shouldn't they have this right to go to school.”

Malala Yousafzai (1997) Pakistani children's education activist

Nobel Peace Prize Lecture (December 10, 2014)

People, School, Girl, Question

“I was trying to figure out what I’m doing, and that was the first time I was constantly being kicked down for doing that. When I didn’t know, I just wanted to say, ‘This is what I want, this is where I am in my professional life, things changed in my personal life, things changed in my heart — everything.’ And people just thought, ‘Alright, this is what we think.’ And yeah, I made some decisions that weren’t great as well, and so did he and that’s why we went through all that to only make us better. And he has heard [the song] and he has seen the video, and it’s something that I feel like girls need hear, and it’s something I’m willing to share with people.”

Selena Gomez (1992) American singer and actress

Life, People, Feeling, Girl

“I think everybody deserves an equal amount of appreciation whether how old they are, but I mean, I'm cool with the praise. I'm good.”

Billie Eilish (2001) American singer-songwriter

“This place makes me think about the mistakes I've made in the past… and I've made so many of them.”

Hatake Kakashi book Naruto

To Yugao, about Obito's name engraved in the Memorial Stone

Past, Making love

“Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes, it is letting go.”

Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German writer

Strong, Heartbreaking, Inspirational, Motivational

“Everyone thinks and imagines that life is easier on the other side. Their minds swing like a pendulum.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Imagination, Life

“Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: they’re only animals.”

Theodor W. Adorno (1903–1969) German sociologist, philosopher and musicologist known for his critical theory of society

Animals

“Worry more about your character than your reputation. Character is what you are, reputation merely what others think you are.”

John Wooden (1910–2010) American basketball coach

Variant: Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

“I think one of the problems [with raising intelligent children in modern society] is compulsory schooling… and that children are sitting there, and they are taught and told what to believe; they are passive from the very beginning – and one must be very, very aggressive intellectually to have a high IQ […] the child isRight from the beginning, it's a passive process. He or she sits there, and they simply try to believe everything they're told?”

Marilyn vos Savant (1946) US American magazine columnist, author and lecturer

Children, School, Intelligence, Problem

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”

Marie Curie (1867–1934) French-Polish physicist and chemist

Pierre Curie (1923), as translated by Charlotte Kellogg and Vernon Lyman Kellogg, p. 168

World, Hope, Time

“Think for yourself and question authority.”

Timothy Leary (1920–1996) American psychologist

Timothy Leary's track on Sound Bites from the Counter Culture (1989)

Question

“The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)

Quote in Vincent's letter, from Arles, Tuesday, 18 September 1888; as cited in Van Gogh : The Self-portraits (1969) by Fritz Erpel, p. 17
Variant translations: The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others.
As quoted in Mary Engelbreit's Words To Live By (1999) by Mary Engelbreit
I tell you the more I think, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.
1880s, 1888
Variant: There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.

Love, People, Feeling

“I think I'm dumb
or maybe just happy
think I'm just happy…”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

Variant: I think I'm dumb or maybe just happy.

Happiness

“The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller, but for want of an understanding ear.”

Stephen King book The Body

Different Seasons (1982), The Body

Love, People, Lie, Secret

“Life is suffering, and suffering can make you resentful, murderous, and then genocidal, if you take it far enough. So you need an antidote to suffering. And maybe you think that you can build walls of luxury around yourself, and that that will protect you from the suffering. Good luck with that. That isn't going to work. Maybe you think that you could build a delusion and live inside that. Well, that's going to fall apart. What is there, then, that's going to help you fight against suffering? That's easy: It's the Truth. The Truth is the antidote to suffering. The reason for that is because the Truth puts reality behind you, so that you can face the reality that's coming straight at you without becoming weak and degenerating and becoming resentful and wishing for the destruction of Being, because that's the final Hell. The final Hell is your soul wishing for the destruction of everything, because it's too painful, and you're too bitter. And that happens to people all the time.”

Jordan Peterson (1962) Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology

Other

Life, Pain, People, Truth

“Just as I was starting on my journey the idea came to me for a new symphony, this time with a program, but a program which will remain an enigma to all— let them guess it who can. It will be called "A Programmatic Symphony" (No. 6). During my trip, while composing in my mind, I frequently shed tears. When I got home I settled down to sketch it, and the work went so furiously that I had the first movement completely ready in less than four days and the remaining movements are already clearly outlined in my head. Half the third movement is already done. There will be much innovation of form in this symphony— and incidentally, the finale will not be a noisy allegro but, on the contrary, a long drawn-out adagio. You can't imagine what bliss I feel, being convinced that my time is not yet passed and I can still work. Perhaps, of course, I'm mistaken, but I don't think so.”

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) Russian composer

Letter to a nephew (late February 1893)

Feeling, Home, Imagination, Idea

“Everywhere I go, somebody is staring at me. I don`t know if people are staring because they recognize me or because they think I`m a weirdo.”

Leonardo DiCaprio (1974) American actor and film producer

People

“In what terms should we think of these beings, nonhuman yet possessing so very many human-like characteristics? How should we treat them? Surely we should treat them with the same consideration and kindness as we show to other humans; and as we recognize human rights, so too should we recognize the rights of the great apes? Yes.”

Jane Goodall (1934) British primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist

"Chimpanzees - Bridging the Gap", in Paola Cavalieri, Peter Singer, The Great Ape Project: Equality Beyond Humanity (1996), p. 14

“No man knows fully what has shaped his own thinking”

Robert K. Merton book Social Theory and Social Structure

Source: Social Theory and Social Structure (1949), p. ix (1957 edition)

“I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me”

Ali book Nahj al-Balagha

Nahj al-Balagha
Context: A man sarcastically started praising Imam Ali, though he had no faith in him and Imam Ali hearing these praises from him said "I am less than what you tell about me but more than what you think about me."

“Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really.”

Paul Bowles book The Sheltering Sky

The Sheltering Sky (1949)
Context: Because we don't know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can't even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.

Life, Time

“That individual who reads useful books is no longer on the same plane of thinking as those who neglected them.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Reading, Books