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Habit Quotes

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Habit Quotes

“What can become of him if he is in such bondage to the habit of satisfying the innumerable desires he has created for himself? He is isolated, and what concern has he with the rest of humanity? They have succeeded in accumulating a greater mass of objects, but the joy in the world has grown less.”

Ifs World Joy Desire Humanity Greater Objects Habit Mass Concern Satisfying Isolated Consumerism Bondage Overconsumption

Book:The Brothers Karamazov (English Russian Edition illustrated): Братья Карамазовы (англо-русская редакция иллюстрированная)

Source: The Brothers Karamazov (English Russian Edition illustrated): Братья Карамазовы (англо-русская редакция иллюстрированная)

“If you get up by 6am, exercise, plan your day, and start on your biggest task, then your whole day is different. If you do this regularly it becomes a habit.”

Ifs Different Whole Plans Habit Exercise Tasks Get Up

Author:Brian Tracy

“Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity.”

Ifs Freedom Habit Catholic Recovery Bad Habits Good Habits Hippo Daily Habits

Author:Saint Augustine

“Whoever hates his sins will stop sinning; and whoever confesses them will receive remission. A man can not abandon the habit of sin if he does not first gain enmity toward sin, nor can he receive remission of sin without confession of sin. For the confession of sin is the cause of true humility.”

Ifs Men Inspirational Firsts Doe Christian Hate Causes Religious Sin Humility Habit Gains Abandon Orthodox Confession Can Not Enmity Sinning Remission True Humility

Author:Isaac of Nineveh

“There are lots of people who believe there may be at least some genetic component to procrastination, and even if there isn't, it seems to be the case that procrastination habits are often set relatively early in life (that's certainly the case with me). But I also think that there's lots of evidence that external tools can help quite a bit in getting people to stop procrastinating.”

People Ifs Thinking Believe May Helping Seems Bits Cases Habit Evidence Tools Procrastination Components Procrastinating

Author:James Surowiecki

“In vain are Schools, Academies, and Universities instituted, if loose Principles and licentious habits are impressed upon Children in their earliest years . . . . The Vices and Examples of the Parents cannot be concealed from the Children. How is it possible that Children can have any just Sense of the sacred Obligations of Morality or Religion if, from their earliest Infancy, they learn their Mothers live in habitual Infidelity to their fathers, and their fathers in as constant Infidelity to their Mothers.”

Source: The Portable John Adams

“The only way people are going to change their car buying habits, and the only way government will get behind alternatively fueled vehicles, is if gasoline prices continue to go up.”

People Ifs Way Government Behinds Car Habit Buying Vehicle Gasoline Gasoline Prices

Author:Alexandra Paul

“Habit, if wisely and skillfully formed, becomes truly a second nature; but unskillfully and unmethodically depicted, it will be as it were an ape of nature, which imitates nothing to the life, but only clumsily and awkwardly”

Author:Francis Bacon

“Nakedness is uncomely, as well in mind as body, and it addeth no small reverence to men's manners and actions if they be not altogether open. Therefore set it down: That a habit of secrecy is both politic and moral.”

Ifs Men Mind Wells Body Action Moral Habit Manners Reverence Secrecy Nudity

Book:Essays, moral, economical and political. With a memoir of the author

Source: Essays, moral, economical and political. With a memoir of the author

“In one family, all goes by two and two. If a member of it has any interest, he or she will confide it to some one other; but the rest know nothing. In another family, all feel what touches one; nothing is kept dark from the father and mother, brothers and sisters--all share. This family habit is by far the better, it strengthens the tie between the members, and makes the home one home.”

Ifs Knows Feels Two Home Mother Father Interest Dark Share Brother Habit Members Ties Brothers And Sisters

Book:Notes of Thought

Source: Notes of Thought

“Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional [or scholarly] writers.”

Source: A Collection of Essays

“We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret tonic of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has been changed, and that changes everything. Several new science papers suggest that getting away is an essential habit of effective thinking. When we escape from the place we spend most of our time, the mind is suddenly made aware of all those errant ideas we'd previously suppressed. We start thinking about obscure possibilitiebsthat never would have occurred to us if we'd stayed home.”

Ifs Thinking Needs Mind Has Beens Made Stills Ideas Home Differences Secret Creativity Changed Habit Essentials Paper Distance Our Time Get Away Obscure Papers Home Home

Author:Jonah Lehrer

“When you get into that habit of winning, it gets - I don't know if you call it contagious - but it gets to be a habit. She's developed an unbelievable habit.”

Ifs Knows Winning Habit Unbelievable Contagious

Author:Venus Williams

“Doing my first movie, I realized I could get into real bad habits. If you're the star, all you have to do is show up, and 20 people say, 'Do you want anything? What is it? Let me get it for you.' Believe me, you get spoiled very quickly. I saw some of my contemporaries allow themselves to have that fame, thinking they could handle it. It messed them up.”

People Ifs Thinking Want Firsts Believe Real Shows Stars Saws Habit Fame Let Me I Realized Handle Believe In Me Spoiled Bad Habits

Author:Val Kilmer

“If a hundred or a thousand people, all of the same age, of the same constitution and habits, were suddenly seized by the same illness, and one half of them were to place themselves under the care of doctors, such as they are in our time, whilst the other half entrusted themselves to Nature and to their own discretion, I have not the slightest doubt that there would be more cases of death amongst the former, and more cases of recovery among the latter.”

People Ifs Would Be Care Age Half Cases Doubt Habit Thousand Hundred Doctors Constitution Illness Recovery Former Our Time Latter Discretion Other Half One Half

Author:Petrarch

“It will never be the case that people won't eat meat. I think it could conceivably be the case one day that people eat very small amounts of it. That it's a special thing, rather than reach for it because it's cheap or reach for it because it's convenient, that it becomes something festive or something celebratory, once a week, and that could actually be achieved on small farms if we really changed our habits.”

People Ifs Thinking Cases Week Special Changed Amount Habit One Day Meat Farms Convenient Small Amounts Festive Special Things

Author:Jonathan Safran Foer

“There are more obese people in the world than starving people. As China and India start to develop our eating habits - and not by accident but because agribusiness is going over there and imposing our habits on them - if the population doesn't increase at all, we'll have to raise twice as many animals as we do.”

People Ifs World Animal Habit Eating India Increase Raises Population China Accidents Starving Imposing Obese Eating Habits China And India Agribusiness

Author:Jonathan Safran Foer

“A single word that can be offensive to someone is a horrible thing for anyone who has iman. In other words, filthy language out of your mouth and faith inside your heart cannot coexist. You cannot have iman in your heart and ugly words come out of your mouth. If you have no control over whatever four letter words you keep using every time you get frustrated, there's a spiritual problem, it's not just a habit problem. How can you use a terrible word for anyone who has iman?”

“My advice to young writers would be to write every day, even if it is only a few words. Get yourself on the habit of writing and it will become a lifelong one. And find a place to write where you are physically comfortable. You can't concentrate if you aren't. Ernest Hemingway could only write standing up, and Truman Capote could only write lying down!”

Ifs Writing Would Be Young Lying Advice Habit Comfortable Standing Where You Are Lifelong Few Words Young Writers Truman Lying Down

Author:Cassandra Clare

“People allow themselves to be slaves of their bad habits and society's bad habits - but they have free will, and if they wish to be free they can.”

People Ifs Wish Habit Slave Free Will Bad Habits Be A Slave

Author:Peace Pilgrim

“The fear habit is very detrimental because you attract the things you fear. If we have any fear we need to get rid of it.”

Ifs Needs Habit Detrimental

Author:Peace Pilgrim

“It is a good habit to thank always the bridge which takes you to the other side or to mention the name of the bridge or to take the photo of it or to repair it if you can! In short, do something good for those who do goodness for you!”

Ifs Names Sides Habit Goodness Bridges Good Habits

Author:Mehmet Murat Ildan

“Children copy their parents, friends, and teachers. They will develop the habits of the people around them. So if you want your child to be honest, peaceful and happy you should be that way first.”

People Ifs Way Want Should Firsts Children Parent Teacher Honest Habit Our Children Peaceful Being Honest Your Children Copies

Author:Baba Hari Dass

“Most readers look at the photograph first. If you put it in the middle of the page, the reader will start by looking in the middle. Then her eye must go up to read the headline; this doesn't work, because people have a habit of scanning downwards. However, suppose a few readers do read the headline after seeing the photograph below it. After that, you require them to jump down past the photograph which they have already seen. Not bloody likely.”

People Ifs Firsts Looks Eye Past Seeing Middle Reader Habit Pages Photograph Bloody Her Eyes Headlines Scanning

Author:David Ogilvy

“Just because somebody hears something you say, or reads something that you write, doesn't mean you've reached them. With reading comprehension being what it is in the U. S., you can safely toss that one out the window. If you want to judge by the listening habits of people who buy records, the first thing they do is put it on and talk over it.”

People Ifs Want Writing Firsts Mean Reading Records Judging Listening Habit Window Over It Comprehension Toss

Author:Frank Zappa

“You must get into the habit of looking intensely at words, and assuring yourself of their meaning, syllable by syllable-nay, letter by letter... you might read all the books in the British Museum (if you could live long enough) and remain an utterly "illiterate," undeducated person; but if you read ten pages of a good book, letter by letter, - that is to say, with real accuracy- you are for evermore in some measure an educated person.”

Source: The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings

“If we pursue our habit of eating animals, and if our neighbour follows a similar path, will we need to go to war against our neighbour to secure greater pasturage, because ours will not be enough to sustain us, and our neighbour will have a similar need to wage war on us for the same reason.”

Ifs Needs War Reason Enough Animal Path Greater Habit Eating Pursue Secure Neighbour Eating Animals

Author:Socrates

“If you want to develop courage, then simply act courageously when it's called for. If you do something over and over again, you develop a habit. Some people develop the habit of courage. Some people develop the habit of non-courage.”

People Ifs Want Habit

Author:Brian Tracy

“I hope I need not confess that a large part of my stock in trade consists of platitudes rescued from the cobwebbed shelves of yesterday... This borrowing and refurbishing of shop-worn goods, as a matter of fact, is the invariable habit of traders in ideas, at all times and everywhere. It is not, however, that all the conceivable human notions have been thought out; it is simply, to be quite honest, that the sort of men who volunteer to think out new ones seldom, if ever, have wind enough for a full day's work.”

Source: In Defense of Women: Human Sexuality

“If any occupation or association is found to hinder our communion with God or our enjoyment of spiritual things, then it must be abandoned. Anything in my habits or ways which mars happy fellowship with the brethren or robs me of power in service, is to be unsparingly judged and made an end of-'burned.' Whatever I cannot do for God's glory must be avoided.”

Source: A W Pink's Studies in the Scriptures, 1928-29

“It seems to me that if you can't make a good solid case for your faith, you don't have a religion, you just have a habit.”

Ifs Seems Cases Habit

Author:Burt Prelutsky

“If there is one 'scientific' discovery I am proud of, it is the discovery of the habit of writing without publication in mind.”

Ifs Writing Mind Proud Habit Discovery Publication Scientific Discovery

Author:Edsger Dijkstra

“In the beginning, yes I did go back... (but) I learned that if it's continued abusive, you just can't stay there. When guys are young, they make mistakes. Nobody's perfect, but, if they do it more than once, then it's definitely a habit”

Ifs Young Guy Perfect Mistake Habit Making Mistakes Abusive Nobody's Perfect

Author:Lil' Kim

“Also, because schools must teach the spirit of goodwill, the habit of helping others around you, every class should have this rule: students, if you bring software to class you may not keep it for yourself.”

Ifs Should May Helping School Spirit Class Teach Students Habit Should Have Helping Others Software Goodwill

Author:Richard Stallman

“If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got.”

Source: Iacocca: An Autobiography

“For the rest of your life to be as meaningful as possible, engage in spiritual practice if you can. It is nothing more than acting out of concern for others. If you practice sincerely and with persistence, little by little, step by step you will gradually reorder your habits and attitudes so as to think less about your own narrow concerns and more about others' - and thereby find peace and happiness yourself.”

“Some entrepreneurs have a bad habit of taking personal credit for all improvements and innovations at their startups. If you penalize or ignore employee initiatives, you can be certain that they won't be repeated, and motivation for more conventional performance will suffer.”

Ifs Motivation Certain Suffering Habit Performances Innovation Entrepreneur Credit Improvement Employee Initiative Conventional Bad Habits

Author:Martin Zwilling

“If you have a habit of declaring milestones or changing them based on the crisis of the day, don't expect the team to remain motivated. Similarly, if the team isn't aware of the milestone and the value behind it, they are unlikely to deliver.”

Ifs Values Behinds Team Habit Crisis Motivated Unlikely Declaring Milestone

Author:Martin Zwilling

“If it annoys you when team members ask about their next promotion or talk about other job opportunities in the industry, you have motivational problems in the making. You need to build a habit of proactively seeking employee interests and suggesting follow-up steps.”

Ifs Needs Problem Jobs Next Asks Opportunity Interest Steps Team Industry Habit Members Seeking Employee Annoying Promotion Suggesting Follow Up Team Member Job Opportunities

Author:Martin Zwilling

“If we feel that any habit or pursuit, harmless in itself, is keeping us from God and sinking us deeper in the things of earth; if we find that things which others can do with impunity are for us the occasion of falling, then abstinence is our only course. Abstinence alone can recover for us the real value of what should have been for our help but which has been an occasion of falling. ... It is necessary that we should steadily resolve to give up anything that comes between ourselves and God.”

“When you make it a strong habit not to take anything personally, you avoid many upsets in your life. Your anger, jealousy, and envy will disappear, and even your sadness will simply disappear if you don't take things personally.”

Ifs Strong Sadness Habit Envy Disappear Upset Jealousy And Envy

Author:Miguel Angel Ruiz

“If you get into the mental habit of relating what you're reading to the basic structure of the underlying ideas being demonstrated, you gradually accumulate some wisdom.”

Ifs Ideas Reading Habit Structure

Author:Charlie Munger

“...long before the child learns to talk properly-and long before it learns to think philosophically-the world will have become a habit. A pity, if you ask me.”

Ifs Thinking World Children Long Asks Habit Pity Ask Me

Book:Sophie's World

Source: Sophie's World

“Relationships have a nasty habit of reversing themselves; whatever has been done to you in a previous involvement you'll do to the next person you're involved with, if you get half a chance.”

Ifs Persons Has Beens Done Next Chance Half Habit Involved Nasty Involvement

Author:Marianne Faithfull

“My tendency as an actor was to correct people, was to say, 'What if we tried it this way, what about if we tried that way?' That's terrible habit for an actor, but that's a good habit for director. So I became a director.”

People Ifs Way Actors Habit Terrible Directors Tendencies What If Good Habits

Author:David Mamet

“My wife would say my worst habit is that I'm not good at dropping subjects. If something bothers me, I'll bring it up endlessly and relentlessly. I think it's a search for clarity, but she uses different words.”

Ifs Thinking Different Use Wife Worst Subjects Habit My Wife Clarity Bother Dropping

Author:Paul Reiser

“Imagine if for years your habit is to use the phone when you're having a massage on the bed, even one minute before going out to train? For 25 days I accepted this, because my first priority was to work on the field. However, I've said that from now if someone comes inside with a mobile phone, even in their bag, I'll throw it in the North Sea. They're banned.”

Ifs Years Firsts Said Use Imagine Sea Minutes Fields Habit Bed Train Phones Accepted Priorities Bags Going Out Mobile Banned Massage One Minute Mobile Phones North Sea

Author:Paolo Di Canio

“My father wanted to instill the work ethic. And, because he knew if you don't learn to work to be more productive to improve your efficiency, to cooperate with other people at an early age, you may never learn those habits.”

People Ifs May Age Wanted Father Habit Ethics Productive Efficiency Work Ethic Instill

Author:Charles Koch

“I learned that unless you start working, if you're frozen out of work, you will never learn the habits, the discipline, the values of cooperation and improvement unless you get a job, and that's what statistic show. It's, unless you get a job and keep it, you will not get out of poverty. If you do, you have a very good chance of working out of poverty.”

Ifs Shows Jobs Values Chance Poverty Habit Discipline Very Good Work Out Improvement Cooperation Frozen Good Chance

Author:Charles Koch

“If there be any one habit which more than another is the dry rot of all that is high and generous in youth, it is the habit of ridicule.”

Ifs Youth Habit Generous Dry Ridicule

Author:Letitia Elizabeth Landon