New habits can be launched. William James More Quotes by William James More Quotes From William James Tell him to live by yes and no - yes to everything good, no to everything bad. William James yes-and-nolive-by All the qualities of a man acquire dignity when he knows that the service of the collectivity that owns him needs them. If proud of the collectivity, his own pride rises in proportion. No collectivity is like an army for nourishing such pride. William James armypridemen The war against war is going to be no holiday excursion or camping party. William James holidaypartywar History is a bath of blood. William James bathshistoryblood Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or else make false connections William James truthorderreality Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed. William James sithemergenciesencouragement [Pragmatism's] only test of probable truth is what works best in the way of leading us, what fits every part of life best and combines with the collectivity of experience's demands, nothing being omitted. William James demandteststruth Men's activities are occupied into ways -- in grappling with external circumstances and in striving to set things at one in their own topsy-turvy mind. William James mindmenway Metaphysics means nothing but an unusually obstinate effort to think clearly. William James effortmeanthinking The good or bad is not in the circumstance, but only in the mind...that encounters it. William James gratitudeencountersmind In the acquisition of a new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch ourselves with as strong and decided an initiative as possible. William James acquisitionleavingstrong Need and struggle are what excite and inspire us; our hour of triumph is what brings the void. William James triumphstruggleinspire Geniuses are commonly believed to excel other men in their power of sustained attention . . . But it is their genius making them attentive, not their attention making geniuses of them. William James geniusattentionmen The lunatic's visions of horror are all drawn from the material of daily fact. William James visioninsanityfacts The nation blest above all nations is she in whom the civic genius of the people does the saving day by day, by acts without external picturesqueness; by speaking, writing, voting reasonably; by smiting corruption swiftly; by good temper between parties; by the people knowing true men when they see them, and preferring them as leaders to rabid partisans and empty quacks. William James partywritingwar The sway of alcohol over mankind is unquestionably due to its power to stimulate the mystical faculties of human nature, usually crushed to earth by the cold facts and dry criticisms of the sober hour. William James alcoholcriticismbeer In youth we may have an absolutely new experience, subjective or objective, every hour of the day. Apprehension is vivid, retentiveness strong, and our recollections of that time, like those in a time spent in rapid and interesting travel, are of something intricate, multitudinous, and long-drawn-out. But as each passing year converts some of this experience into automatic routine which we hardly note at all, the days and the weeks smooth themselves out in recollection to a contentless unit, and the years grow hollow and collapse. William James new-experiencesstrongyears Experience, as we know, has a way of boiling over, and making us correct our present formulas. William James boiling-overexperienceway 'What would be better for us to believe!' This sounds very like a definition of truth William James truthsoundbelieve Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. I will do at least two things I don't want to do William James inspirationexercisetwo
