Roy F. Baumeister Quotes

#1. Researchers were surprised to find that people with strong self-control spent less time resisting desires than other people did ... people with good self-control mainly use it not for rescue in emergencies but rather to develop effective habits and routines in school and at work.

Roy Baumeister

#2. Willpower is a muscle that can be strengthened.

Roy Baumeister

#3. When David Marr at MIT moved into computer vision, he generated a lot of excitement, but he hit up against the problem of knowledge representation; he had no good representations for knowledge in his vision systems.

Marvin Minsky

#4. When I am alone and my skull is ripsaw I want to jump into the womb of any bonfire, I want to leap into the ceiling fan head first, but I need that fan this coming summer.

Derrick Brown

#5. Most people who perpetrate evil do not see what they are doing as evil. Evil exists primarily in the eye of the beholder, especially in the eye of the victim.

Roy F. Baumeister

#6. What sets human beings apart from animals is not the pursuit of happiness, which occurs all across the natural world, but the pursuit of meaning, which is unique to humans.

Roy Baumeister

#7. The societal pursuit of high self-esteem for everyone may literally end up doing considerable harm.

Roy Baumeister

#8. Willpower is what separates us from the animals. It's the capacity to restrain our impulses, resist temptation - do what's right and good for us in the long run, not what we want to do right now. It's central, in fact, to civilisation.

Roy Baumeister

#9. For most of us ... the problem is not a lack of goals but rather too many of them.

Roy Baumeister

#10. What stress really does, though, is deplete willpower, which diminishes your ability to control those emotions.

Roy F. Baumeister

#11. Evil is not likely to result where people firmly believe that ends do not justify the means.

Roy Baumeister

#12. Be careful not to laugh at the Phoenix when she goes up in flames, or you'll be left in the dust when she grows her new wings and flies swiftly away.

Cristen Rodgers

#13. However you define success - a happy family, good friends, a satisfying career, robust health, financial security, the freedom to pursue your passions - it tends to be accompanied by a couple of qualities.

Roy F. Baumeister

#14. People with high but unstable self-esteem exhibit the greatest hostility.

Roy Baumeister

#15. The best way to reduce stress in your life is to stop screwing up.

Roy F. Baumeister

#16. Politics, as a trade, finds most and leaves nearly all dishonest.

Abraham Lincoln

#17. Ultimately, all things are known because you want to believe you know.

Frank Herbert

#18. Most of the problems that plague our society - addiction, overeating, crime, domestic violence, prejudice, debt, unwanted pregnancy, educational failure, underperformance at school and work, lack of savings, failure to exercise - are in some degree a failure of self-control.

Roy Baumeister

#19. Fucking Julia." I flung my long hair back over my shoulder, hiding the fresh bite. Twenty-eight years old with a hickie. Awesome.

Eliza Lentzski

#20. No matter how lonely and isolated and starved for connection you are, there's always the possibility in the online world that you can find a place to be accepted, or discover a friendship that's started with the smallest of interests but could last a lifetime.

Felicia Day

#21. I feel that I am entitled to take medicinal marijuana. In general, I believe that everyone who has a doctor's prescription is entitled to take marijuana. I, however, do not believe that my day in court should be taken from me, and that's essentially what's happening.

Peter McWilliams

#22. I'm very particular about the kind of music that I record and sing, and it would be the same way about the kind of movies that I would do.

Jason Aldean

#23. Trophies should go to the winners. Self-esteem does not lead to success in life. Self-discipline and self-control do, and sports can help teach those.

Roy Baumeister

#24. You only get one body; it is the temple of your soul. Even God is willing to dwell there. If you truly treat your body like a temple, it will serve you well for decades. If you abuse it you must be prepared for poor health and a lack of energy.

Oli Hille

#25. Grief is exhausting. When you learn - maybe through my age or experience - trying to harness the energy, whatever it is, muted energy or a concentration to find yourself in a place? You try to use it for when it's really necessary and can arrive.

Ciaran Hinds