“One of the widest gaps in human experience is the gap between what we say we want to be and our willingness to discipline ourselves to get there.”

—  Harry Emerson Fosdick

Also quoted in The Heart of Goodness : A Radiant Path to a Richer, Fuller Life (1999) by Jo Ann Larsen
Living Under Tension (1941)
Context: No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No stream or gas 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. One of the widest gaps in human experience is the gap between what we say we want to be and our willingness to discipline ourselves to get there.

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Harry Emerson Fosdick40
American pastor 1878–1969

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