Gordon Allport

"The person you are becoming is the greatest compliment you can pay to your past."

"Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values."

"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function."

"Prejudice is a vagrant opinion without visible means of support."

"Our prejudices are our mistresses; reason is at best our wife, very often heard indeed, but seldom minded."

"The individual is the best judge of his own happiness."

"Becoming is superior to being; becoming is the fundamental truth of life."

"We are less liable to be mistaken about our character than about anything else; we may misinterpret our emotions, but we cannot misread our instincts."

"The healthy personality biologically, psychologically, and socially is flexible in its methods and its goals, within the structure of organized society."

"Nature is not fixed, but fluid. The world is made of energy and change."

"Creativity is the ability to bring something new into being. But creativity requires two things: the courage to try something new and the willingness to fail."

"The most productive people are those who have learned to delay gratification."

"People are not born prejudiced; they are made prejudiced."

"A person is not merely a soldier, a businessman, or a professional; he is a human being first."

"The greatest satisfaction comes from helping others, not from personal gain."

"We are free to make our own choices, but we are not free from the consequences of our choices."

"The meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment."

"Education should aim at developing the individual according to his or her unique talents and abilities."

"The purpose of psychology is to understand people and to help them understand themselves."

"Fear is not something to be ashamed of; it is a natural response to perceived danger."

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act in spite of it."

"Leadership is the art of inspiring others to do their best."

"A mature person is one who can see beyond himself and connect with others on a deeper level."

"The roots of all goodness spring from a man's appreciation for his own existence."

"Every person is in some respects like all other persons, like some other persons, and like no other person."

"To understand another person is to understand oneself more deeply."

"The more mature we become, the more we understand that our individual happiness is inseparable from the happiness of others."

"A person's character is determined not by isolated moral choices but by the overall pattern of his or her life."

"Patience is the virtue of the strong, not the weak."

"The pursuit of knowledge is a lifelong journey, not a destination to be reached."