Quotes About Behavior

Madness is the exception in individuals but the rule in groups. —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

ashamed of yourself? What do you think your father, my old friend, would have said if he had been here to-night, and had known of all your goings on?

Stop it, you SILLY ass!

from talking with your mouth full. The Badger did not mind that sort of thing at all, nor did he take any notice of elbows on the table, or everybody speaking at once. As he did not go into Society himself, he had got an idea that these things belonged to the things that didn't really matter. (We know of course that he was wrong, and took too narrow a view; because they do matter very much, though it would take too long to explain why.)

A community is an informally constituted group, larger than the family, within which there is a distinctive pattern of interaction, whose members share a feeling of common identity which may be no more than a simple recognition of friendship, and which possesses its own sub-culture, defining how the members of the community should conduct themselves and behave towards one another during their free time.

I doona need drugs. I am naturally a mean bastard.

Somethings different,Carlos continued.Tonight you came in with no scowling or growling.Why the change? Robby shrugged one shoulder.I'm trying to convince you i'm no' crazy.If I kept doing the same thing when it wasna working, would that no' be crazy? Good point.

If the story is unflattering and the feeling is anger, adrenaline kicks in. Under the influence of adrenaline, blood leaves our brains to help support our genetically engineered response of "fight or flight," and we end up thinking with the brain of a reptile. We say and do dim-witted things.

Change Tactic: Bad habits are almost always a social disease—if those around us model and encourage them, we'll almost always fall prey.

Here are some great ones: What do I really want for myself? What do I really want for others? What do I really want for the relationship? Once you've asked yourself what you want, add one more equally telling question: How would I behave if I really wanted these results?

What is this intermediate step? Just after we observe what others do and just before we feel some emotion about it, we tell ourselves a story. We add meaning to the action we observed. We make a guess at the motive driving the behavior. Why were they doing that? We also add judgment—is that good or bad? And then, based on these thoughts or stories, our body responds with an emotion.

Change Tactic: Bad habits are almost always a social disease—if those around us model and encourage them, we'll almost always fall prey. Turn "accomplices" into "friends" and you can be two-thirds more likely to succeed.

Change Tactic: Directly link short-term rewards and punishments to the new habits you're trying to form, and you're far more likely to stay on track.

Change Tactic: Small changes in your environment can have a surprising effect on your choices. For example, just add a few visual cues that help you focus on your goals, and your behavior will change rapidly.

We're asking you to undo years of practice, maybe even eons of genetic shaping that prod you to take flight or pick a fight (when under attack), and recode the stimulus. "Ah, that's a sign that the other person feels unsafe." And then what? Do something to make it safe.

If you can be respectful and private but firm in this conversation, most problem behavior will stop. And remember, if the behavior is over the line, you shouldn't hesitate to contact HR to ensure your rights and dignity are protected.

The next two sources of influence that routinely act on you are equally easy to spot. The people who surround you both motivate and enable your habits.

When adrenaline does our thinking for us, our motives flow with the chemical tide.

What do I really want for myself? What do I really want for others? What do I really want for the relationship? Once you've asked yourself what you want, add one more equally telling question: How would I behave if I really wanted these results?

social engineering"—the casual or calculated manipulation of people to influence them to do things they would not ordinarily do. And convincing them without raising the least hint of suspicion.

Even awful people can be polite for a few minutes," their father told them. "Any longer than that and they revert to the bastards they really are.

Human behavior is messy and unpredictable and unconcerned with convenient symmetries.

cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same colour.

If I've learned anything in Kabul, it is that human behavior is messy and unpredictable and unconcerned with convenient symmetries.