Quotes About Behavior

If my mother were a bumper sticker, she would read THAT'S NOT APPROPRIATE. Taylor's mom would read WHY THE F*** NOT?

To live consciously means to seek to be aware of everything that bears on our actions, purposes, values, and goals—to the best of our ability, whatever that ability may be—and to behave in accordance with that which we see and know.

When we behave in ways that conflict with our judgment of what is appropriate, we lose face in our own eyes.

when a self-doubting, insecure person blindly persists in counterproductive behavior, clings to the illusory safety of compulsive inflexibility, and blames all misfortune on someone else.

When we are moved primarily by fear, sooner or later we precipitate the very calamity we dread. If we fear condemnation, we behave in ways that ultimately elicit disapproval. If we fear anger, eventually we make people angry.

Observing certain types of behavior which they believed to be characteristic of the human species, instinct theorists decided that the causes of such behavior are innate, unchosen, and unlearned tendencies which drive man to act as he does.

When our behavior is congruent with our professed values, when ideals and practice match, we have integrity.

we can be drawn not to the most logical explanation of our behavior but to the most damaging, to that which puts us in the worst light morally.

Brilliant people with low self-esteem act against their interests every day.

I send out signals and behave in ways that increase the likelihood that others will respond appropriately.

When our illusion of self-esteem rests on the fragile support of never being challenged, when our insecurity finds evidence of rejection where no rejection exists, then it is only a matter of time until our inner bomb explodes. The form of the explosion is self-destructive behavior—and the fact that one may have an extraordinary intelligence is no protection. Brilliant people with low self-esteem act against their interests every day.

We cannot understand a person's behavior without understanding the self-concept behind it.

There is a continuous feedback loop between our actions in the world and our self-esteem.

If a self-concept cannot accommodate a given level of success, and if the self-concept does not change, it is predictable that the person will find ways to self-sabotage.

The level of our self-esteem influences how we act, and how we act influences the level of our self-esteem.

It is evaluative praise that does not serve a child's interests. Appreciative praise, in contrast, can be productive both in supporting self-esteem and in reinforcing desired behavior.

Self-acceptance is the willingness to say of any emotion or behavior, "This is an expression of me, not necessarily an expression I like or admire, but an expression of me nonetheless, at least at the time it occurred.

By this I mean that behaviors that generate good self-esteem are also expressions of good self-esteem.

Not all communication problems are the result of inadequate education; sometimes the cause is a self-concept that generates self-sabotage.

The psychologist, seeking to understand the principles of human behavior, observes (a) that man, as a biological entity, possesses various needs, and (b) that man characteristically acts to achieve various ends or goals.

Ecco infatti una caratteristica della maggior parte degli uomini: di diventar feroci soltanto perché è in loro potestà fare del male.

It was strange to see that the good shrank not from the wicked, nor were the sinners abashed by the saints.

Many of the so-called American characteristics,' a chronicler of the [WW2 University of Minnesota starvation] experiment wrote, '—abounding energy, generosity, optimism—become intelligible as the expected behavior response of a well-fed people.

Human nature is both predictable and mysterious; prone to great and sudden advances, yet still mired in despicable self-interest.