Psychology Sayings and Quotes

The mind and the study of it is endlessly quotable. Here are some of the best quotes we've found about psychology, the brain, and emotions. Here you'll find perspective and wisdom from the classic sayings of Freud, Jung, and other famous noggin analyzers. You'll also find insight from poets like Dickinson and philosophers from Plato to Sarte, who all had something brilliant to say about the way we think.

You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you. Brian Tracy
Our wounds are often the openings into the best and most beautiful part of us. David Richo
A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities, an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties. Harry Truman
If you deliberately plan on being less than you are capable of being, then I warn you that you’ll be unhappy for the rest of your life. Abraham Maslow
Happiness is the only thing that multiplies when you share it. Albert Schweitzer
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. Arthur Schopenhauer
We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. Knowing the contents of a few works of literature is a trivial achievement. Being inclined to go on reading is a great achievement. B.F. Skinner
Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. Carl G. Jung
Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism. Carl Gustav Jung
The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong. Carl Gustav Jung
Becoming is better than being. Carol S. Dweck
A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. Charles Dickens
Probably the biggest insight is that happiness is not just a place, but also a process. Happiness is an ongoing process of fresh challenges, and it takes the right attitudes and activities to continue to be happy. Ed Diener
It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits. Ellen J. Langer
Life doesn't make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all. Erik Erikson
Life doesn't make any sense without interdependence. We need each other, and the sooner we learn that, the better for us all. Erik Erikson
For success, attitude is equally as important as ability. Harry F. Banks
If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society. Jean Piaget
Be content with what you have. Rejoice in how things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking the whole world belongs to you. Lao Tzu
Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. Lou Holtz
Sometimes, if you want to change a man's mind, you have to change the mind of the man next to him first. Megan Whalen Turner
If you ever find yourself in the wrong story, leave. Mo Willems
When we encounter an unexpected challenge of threat, the only way to save ourselves is to hold on tight to the people around us and not let go. Shawn Achor
The highest and most beautiful things in life are not to be heard about, nor read about, nor seen but, if one will, are to be lived. Soren Kierkegaard