Habits... the only reason they persist is that they are offering some satisfaction. You allow them to persist by not read more

Habits... the only reason they persist is that they are offering some satisfaction. You allow them to persist by not seeking any other, better form of satisfying the same needs. Every habit, good or bad, is acquired and learned in the same way -- by finding that it is a means of satisfaction.

There's a very fine line between a groove and a rut; a fine line between eccentrics and people who are read more

There's a very fine line between a groove and a rut; a fine line between eccentrics and people who are just plain nuts. - "Prisoners of their Hairdos".

What monstrosities would walk the streets were some people's faces as unfinished as their minds.

What monstrosities would walk the streets were some people's faces as unfinished as their minds.

The unphilosophical majority among men are the ones most helplessly dependent on their era's dominant ideas. In times of crises read more

The unphilosophical majority among men are the ones most helplessly dependent on their era's dominant ideas. In times of crises these men need the guidance of some kind of theory; but, being unfamiliar with the field of ideas, they do not know that alternatives to the popular theories are possible. They know only what they have always been taught.

Wise living consists perhaps less in acquiring good habits than in acquiring as few habits as possible.

Wise living consists perhaps less in acquiring good habits than in acquiring as few habits as possible.

The genuine creator creates something that has a life of its own, something that can exist and function without him. read more

The genuine creator creates something that has a life of its own, something that can exist and function without him. This is true not only of the writer, artist and scientist, but of creators in other fields...With the noncreative it is the other way around: in whatever they do, they arrange things so that they themselves become indispensable.

Instinct is the nose of the mind.

Instinct is the nose of the mind.

The sexual regions constitute a particularly vulnerable spot, and remain so even in man, and the need for their protection read more

The sexual regions constitute a particularly vulnerable spot, and remain so even in man, and the need for their protection which thus exists conflicts with the prominent display required for sexual allurement. This end is far more effectively attained, with greater advantage and less disadvantage, by concentrating the chief ensigns of sexual attractiveness on the upper and more conspicuous parts of the body. This method is well-nigh universal among animals as well as in man.

The wise learn many things from their foes.

The wise learn many things from their foes.