Quotes about thinking
page 29

Marjorie Taylor Greene photo
David Bowie photo
Bernadette Soubirous photo
Richard Strauss photo

“When you think you have reached the limits of prestissimo, go twice as fast.”

Richard Strauss (1864–1949) German composer and orchestra director

1948 Today, I should like to ammend this as follows: Go twice as slowly - addressed to conductors of Mozart
Recollections and Reflections

Ingrid Daubechies photo
Alexander Dubček photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Jean-Michel Cousteau photo
Charles Alexander Eastman photo
Voltaire photo

“Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too.”

Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher
Voltaire photo
William Shakespeare photo
Pope John XXIII photo
Dorothy Thompson photo
Laozi photo
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe photo
Thomas Paine photo

“My dear friends, I think you are in very big trouble. Whether you believe it or not, YOU ARE AT WAR. And you may lose this war very soon together with all your affluence and freedoms unless you start defending yourselves.”

Yuri Bezmenov (1939–1993) Russian journalist and whistleblower

Love Letter to America https://archive.org/details/BezmenovLoveLetterToAmerica/page/n1/ (1984)

John Mulaney photo
Robert Lewandowski photo
Chloé Zhao photo
Plato photo
Kristi Yamaguchi photo

“Looking back, it's like, wow, those few minutes just made such an impact. We have that much time to kind of prove yourself. I think that's one thing that makes skating so exciting, because it's just intense, and it's quick, and one little slip can mean the difference between placing or not placing.”

Kristi Yamaguchi (1971) American figure skater

"Kristi Yamaguchi looks back on 1992 Olympic gold, talks Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan" in TODAY https://www.today.com/news/kristi-yamaguchi-looks-back-1992-olympic-gold-talks-tonya-harding-t122373 (6 February 2018)

Kristi Yamaguchi photo

“Now is really the time to raise more awareness of what’s going on and to demand that things change. This younger generation is not afraid to speak out, I think they’ve given a lot of us courage to really stand up to what’s right, and I think that’s what we need to follow”

Kristi Yamaguchi (1971) American figure skater

"Kristi Yamaguchi: 'The entire Asian American community is on alert'" in The Hill https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/543818-kristi-yamaguchi-the-entire-asian-american-community-is-on

Alex Morgan photo

“I definitely think that I would be a different person without sports; they taught me so much. Just about myself, patience, teamwork, listening... it's taught me so much that I feel like I've applied to being a mom.”

Alex Morgan (1989) American soccer player

"The Advice Alex Morgan Would Give Her Daughter About Getting Into Sports" https://www.romper.com/life/alex-morgan-olympics-daughter-interview (July 10, 2021)

Alex Morgan photo

“When you have 12 teams in an Olympics in comparison to a World Cup where you have double that amount of teams, I think every single team is going to be difficult.”

Alex Morgan (1989) American soccer player

"‘Soccer Mom’ Alex Morgan Back And Looking For Gold In Tokyo" https://www.teamusa.org/News/2021/July/08/Soccer-Mom-Alex-Morgan-Back-And-Looking-For-Gold-In-Tokyo (July 8, 2021)

Example (musician) photo

“Start to think it could be fizzling out
Kinda shocked because I never really had any doubts
Look into your eyes, imagine life without ya
And the love kick starts again”

Example (musician) (1982) English rapper and singer

"Kickstarts" (song)
("Kickstarts", Official video on YouTube)) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9yGcKlYAiw
(+ "Kickstarts", a lyrics version on YouTube)) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRi1Zczn6Q4
Studio albums, Won't Go Quietly (2010)

Mwanandeke Kindembo photo
Bertrand Russell photo

“The prospect for the human race is sombre beyond all precedent. Mankind are faced with a clear-cut alternative: either we shall all perish, or we shall have to acquire some slight degree of common sense. A great deal of new political thinking will be necessary if utter disaster is to be averted.”

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist

1940s, The Bomb and Civilization http://personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Philosophy/RBwritings/bombCivilization.htm (1945)

“A warrior thinks of his death when things become unclear. The idea of death is the only thing that tempers our spirit.”

The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe], (1998), Quotations from A Separate Reality (Chapter 6)

Rumi photo

“Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence. Flow down and down in always
widening rings of being.”

Rumi (1207–1273) Iranian poet

"A Community of the Spirit" in Ch. 1 : The Tavern, p. 2
Disputed, The Essential Rumi (1995)

Claude Monet photo

“It seems to me, when I see nature, that I see it ready made, completely written — but then, try to do it! All this proves that one must think of nothing but them [impressions]; it is by dint of observation and reflection that one makes discoveries.”

Claude Monet (1840–1926) French impressionist painter

2 quotes in Monet's letter to Frédéric Bazille from Honfleur, July 15, 1864; as cited in Mary M. Gedo (2013) Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Art. p. 114-15 / p. 60
1860s

Timothée Chalamet photo

“I think that’s fair, well, I don’t know if it’s fair but I think people are entitled to their own reaction.”

Timothée Chalamet (1995) French-American Actor (1995)

Source: "Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet on drugs, disillusionment and playing father and son" in The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/13/steve-carell-and-timothee-chalamet-on-drugs-disillusionment-and-playing-father-and-son (13 December 2018)

Bertrand Russell photo
George Harrison photo

“Even now I still meet waiters in Bengali restaurants who say, "When we were in the jungle fighting, it was great to know somebody out there was thinking of us."”

George Harrison (1943–2001) British musician, former member of the Beatles

– George Harrison, 1991 in Elliot J. Huntley, Mystical One: George Harrison – After the Break-up of the Beatles, Guernica Editions (Toronto, ON, 2006; ISBN 1-55071-197-0).

Timothée Chalamet photo

“I almost think the chemistry, as opposed to the physical mechanics of the actual kissing or a sex scene, is more palpable in the lack of contact.”

Timothée Chalamet (1995) French-American Actor (1995)

Source: "Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer on friendship, the Oscars and that peach scene" in GQ Magazine https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/armie-hammer-timothee-chalamet-interview (17 September 2017)

Timothée Chalamet photo

“I think an Oscar nomination does open doors. I have been fortunate to have had some incredible roles since the movie. [Whether] the nomination had anything to do with that, I don’t know – I just know I am incredibly grateful to be getting the work that I am.”

Timothée Chalamet (1995) French-American Actor (1995)

Source: "Interview: Timothée Chalamet on being a young Hollywood actor" in SilverKris https://www.silverkris.com/interview-timothee-chalamet/ (13 December 2019)

Robert Downey Jr. photo

“I was fortunate in that I was pre-Internet with much of my misbehavior, but I think I always had a bit of a moral psychology and I always wanted to kinda do the right thing, which doesn’t count for much, and then I kinda took it on the chin.”

Robert Downey Jr. (1965) American actor

Source: "‘Colbert’: Robert Downey Jr. Grateful His “Misbehavior” Years Were Pre-Internet" https://deadline.com/2021/02/robert-downey-jr-stephen-colbert-late-show-avengers-misbehavior-years-were-pre-internet-1234689537/ (8 February 2021)

Dave Bautista photo
Abraham Lincoln photo
Abraham Lincoln photo
Abraham Lincoln photo
Abraham Lincoln photo
G. H. Hardy photo

“If I knew I was going to die today, I think I should still want to hear the cricket scores.”

G. H. Hardy (1877–1947) British mathematician

Source: Quoted in The Joy of Cricket (ed. John Bright-Holmes, 1984)

Eckhart Tolle photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Karl Marx photo

“What do you think of the aspect of the money market? … This time, by the by, the thing has assumed European dimensions such as have never been seen before, and I don't suppose we'll be able to spend much longer here merely as spectators. The very fact that I've at last got round to setting up house again and sending for my books seems to me to prove that the 'mobilisation' of our persons is AT HAND.”

Karl Marx (1818–1883) German philosopher, economist, sociologist, journalist and revolutionary socialist

Source: Letter to Friedrich Engels (26 September 1856), quoted in The Collected Works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: Volume 40. Letters 1856–59 (2010), pp. 71–72

Bryan Ferry photo

“People think I wake up in the morning and put on a tuxedo.”

Bryan Ferry (1945) English musician

Source: 'People think I wake up in the morning and put on a tuxedo': Bryan Ferry reveals the truth about his life and career, DailyMail.com, November 26, 2009 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1231233/People-think-I-wake-morning-tuxedo-Bryan-Ferry-reveals-truth-life-career.html,

“Some critics of the pessimist often think they have his back to the wall when they blithely jeer, “If that is how this fellow feels, he should either kill himself or be decried as a hypocrite.””

Source: The Conspiracy Against the Human Race: A Contrivance of Horror (2010)
Context: That the pessimist should kill himself in order to live up to his ideas may be counterattacked as betraying such a crass intellect that it does not deserve a response. Yet it is not much of a chore to produce one. Simply because someone has reached the conclusion that the amount of suffering in this world is enough that anyone would be better off never having been born does not mean that by force of logic or sincerity he must kill himself. It only means he has concluded that the amount of suffering in this world is enough that anyone would be better off never having been born. Others may disagree on this point as it pleases them, but they must accept that if they believe themselves to have a stronger case than the pessimist, then they are mistaken.

Vera Stanley Alder photo
John Lennon photo

“I think our society is run by insane people for insane objectives... I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends, you know... I’d be very pleased to know what they think they’re doing. I think they’re all insane. But I am liable to be put away as insane for expressing that, you know. That’s what is insane about it.”

John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter

Source: Lennon “Our society is run by insane people”, Interview, June 6, 1968, Educate Inspire Change https://educateinspirechange.org/john-lennon-society-run-insane-people/John June 10, 2014

Guy P. Harrison photo
Nikola Tesla photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Eckhart Tolle photo
Prevale photo

“Don't think that life no longer holds anything beautiful for you: face the problems and enjoy the moments, focusing your attention exclusively on what makes you feel alive.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Non pensare che la vita non riservi più nulla di bello per te: affronta i problemi e goditi gli attimi, concentrando la tua attenzione esclusivamente su ciò che ti fa sentire vivo.
Source: prevale.net

Guy P. Harrison photo
Henri Poincaré photo

“I think I have already said somewhere that mathematics is the art of giving the same name to different things.”

Original: (fr) Je ne sais si je n’ai déjà dit quelque part que la Mathématique est l’art de donner le même nom à des choses différentes.
Source: Science and Method (1908), Part I. Ch. 2 : The Future of Mathematics, p. 31

Kanye West photo
Napoleon I of France photo

“Where do you think you are going? Can’t you see that the battle is won? Come on, stand firm!”

Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French

During the final stages of the Battle of Lutzen

Tina Turner photo

“At every moment, we always have a choice, even if it feels as if we don't. Sometimes that choice may simply be to think a more positive thought.”

Tina Turner (1939) singer, dancer, actress, and author

Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good (2020), p. 126

Dolores Huerta photo

“I think that the one thing that we've learned in our union is that you don't wait. You just get out and you start doing things.”

Dolores Huerta (1930) American labor leader

1974 speech, in Voices of Multicultural America: Notable Speeches Delivered by African, Asian, Hispanic and Native Americans, 1790-1995 by Deborah Gillan Straub

“How would you describe your transition from teenager to adult? The truth is that I barely notice it, I spend all my time between studies and filming, I live between Madrid and Barcelona, I barely have time to think about it, I think I lived more as an adult than as a teenager, but very happy.”

Berta Castañé (2002) Spanish actress and model

¿Cómo describirías tu paso de adolescente a adulta? La verdad es que apenas me estoy dando cuenta, paso todo el tiempo entre los estudios y los rodajes, viviendo entre Madrid y Barcelona, casi no tengo tiempo de pensar en ello, creo que llevo más vida de adulta que de adolescente, pero muy feliz.
From the interview Hablamos con Berta Castañé, la estrella en ascenso de la pequeña pantalla https://www.marie-claire.es/moda/modelos/fotos/entrevista-a-berta-castane-241588061091, marie-claire.es, 28 July 2020.

Bo Burnham photo

“You shouldn't abstain from rape just 'cause you think that I want you to/ You shouldn't rape cause rape is a fucked up thing to do”

Bo Burnham (1990) American comedian, musician, and actor

"From the Perspective of God".
what. (2013)

Chris Voss photo
Theodore Roosevelt photo

“I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indian is the dead Indian, but I believe nine out of every ten are, and I shouldn’t like to inquire too closely into the case of the tenth.”

Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States

1880s
Source: Ibid, January 1886 https://www.history.com/news/teddy-roosevelt-race-imperialism-national-parks

Josephs Quartzy photo

“just think you are strong, and you will realize those strengths”

Josephs Quartzy (1999) Tanzanian actor

Source: Sweetest song I know

Neale Donald Walsch photo
Neale Donald Walsch photo
Neale Donald Walsch photo
Neale Donald Walsch photo
Laozi photo

“Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner.”

Laozi (-604) semi-legendary Chinese figure, attributed to the 6th century, regarded as the author of the Tao Te Ching and fou…
Ayn Rand photo
Markus Zusak photo
William Goldman photo
Richelle Mead photo

“He anxiously touched his hair. "I think my hair gel's frozen.”

Variant: We need to get inside. I think my hair gel’s frozen.
Source: The Indigo Spell

Luigi Pirandello photo

“It is so. When YOU think so”

Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) Italian dramatist, novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize for Literature laureate

Title of play (1916); also translated as It Is So, If You Think It Is.
Variant: So It Is (If You Think So)

Nicholas Sparks photo

“If we'd never met, I think I would have known my life wasn't complete. And I would have wandered the world in search of you, even if I didn't know who I was looking for”

Variant: If we'd never met, I think I would have known my life wasn't complete. And I would have wandered the world in search of you, even if I didn't know who I was looking for.
Source: The Longest Ride

Laurell K. Hamilton photo
Kazuo Ishiguro photo