“The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about other things, or, if it is night, about nothing at all.”

—  Bertrand Russell , book The Conquest of Happiness

Source: The Conquest of Happiness

Last update Sept. 29, 2023. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The wise man thinks about his troubles only when there is some purpose in doing so; at other times he thinks about othe…" by Bertrand Russell?
Bertrand Russell photo
Bertrand Russell 562
logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and politi… 1872–1970

Related quotes

Karl Pilkington photo

“I was walking home the other night, and I was thinking about it, and do you worry that when you're old you will be on your own?”

Karl Pilkington (1972) English television personality, social commentator, actor, author and former radio producer

Xfm 10 November 2001
On Stephen Merchant

Anthony Trollope photo

“No man thinks there is much ado about nothing when the ado is about himself.”

Anthony Trollope (1815–1882) English novelist (1815-1882)

The Bertrams (1859), Ch. 27

Italo Svevo photo

“When a man dies, he has too many other worries to allow any thinking about death.”

Italo Svevo book Zeno's Conscience

Quando si muore si ha ben altro da fare che di pensare alla morte.
Source: La coscienza di Zeno (1923), P. 45; p. 55.

Tsunetomo Yamamoto photo

“Thinking about things previously and then handling them lightly when the time comes is what this is all about.”

Tsunetomo Yamamoto book Hagakure

Hagakure (c. 1716)
Context: Among the maxims on Lord Naoshige's wall there was this one: "Matters of great concern should be treated lightly." Master lttei commented, "Matters of small concern should be treated seriously." Among one's affairs there should not be more than two or three matters of what one could call great concern. If these are deliberated upon during ordinary times, they can be understood. Thinking about things previously and then handling them lightly when the time comes is what this is all about.

Nicholas Sparks photo

“Romance is thinking about your significant other, when you are supposed to be thinking about something else.”

Nicholas Sparks (1965) American writer and novelist
Alan Watts photo

“A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So he loses touch with reality, and lives in a world of illusion.”

Alan Watts (1915–1973) British philosopher, writer and speaker

Alan Watts Teaches Meditation (1992)

“When a reviewer says that Malamud is second only to Bellow, it means he really isn't thinking about either of them. When he's reading Malamud he's thinking about Bellow, and when he's reading Bellow he's thinking about Roth. This is the essence of the ratings game: distraction. Children play it all the time. "Is this the biggest bridge in the world?" "No, it's the third biggest." "Oh."”

Wilfrid Sheed (1930–2011) English-American novelist and essayist

They lose all interest in the bridge.
"The Art of Reviewing" (1973), p. 10
The Good Word & Other Words (1978)

“Two people sat talking in a small room for several weeks, and things started happening. They began thinking about each other; one would dream about the other; they copied each other's mannerisms. What was it really all about? She liked to think she had a firm hold on the reins at all times, but the truth was that often she was just along for the ride.”

Lisa Alther (1944) Novelist

Other Women

Aldous Huxley photo

“One right-thinking man thinks like all other right-thinking men of his time—that is to say, in most cases, like some wrong-thinking man of another time.”

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English writer

“One and Many,” p. 12
Do What You Will (1928)

Carter G. Woodson photo

“When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions.”

Carter G. Woodson book The Mis-Education of the Negro

Preface <!-- p. 21 -->
Source: The Mis-Education of the Negro (1933)
Context: When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his "proper place" and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.
The same educational process which inspires and stimulates the oppressor with the thought that he is everything and has accomplished everything worth while, depresses and crushes at the same time the spark of genius in the Negro by making him feel that his race does not amount to much and never will measure up to the standards of other peoples. The Negro thus educated is a hopeless liability of the race.

Related topics