Life Quotes

The big one. What it means, how to live it, and why it's worth the effort.

22520 quotes

D
"A person becomes fully alive when they can integrate their aggression rather than merely controlling it."
D.W. Winnicott
B
"We must learn to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty as essential parts of human existence."
Bruno Bettelheim
B
"Meaning is not found but created through engagement with life."
Bruno Bettelheim
B
"The integration of body, mind, and spirit is the goal of human development."
Bruno Bettelheim
K
"We are not machines that can be repaired by fixing a bolt here and there."
Karen Horney
K
"We create characters out of our conflicts and then mistake them for destiny."
Karen Horney
K
"The self is not a fixed entity but a process of continuous becoming."
Karen Horney
K
"We are all living out narratives we inherited and never questioned."
Karen Horney
"We are lived by forces we pretend to understand."
R.D. Laing
"Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."
R.D. Laing
"Life can be profoundly meaningful even in the absence of happiness."
R.D. Laing
"The more one attempts to live in the world of images, the more one attempts to avoid the spiritual collision with it."
R.D. Laing
"The secret of life is not to have but to become."
R.D. Laing
W
"The mythologies we inherit continue to shape our choices and values."
Wendy Doniger
M
"Life is fundamentally mysterious and sacred"
Mircea Eliade
V
"Our main motivation is not to avoid pain but to find meaning."
Victor Frankl
V
"For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour."
Victor Frankl
V
"Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment."
Victor Frankl
V
"It is the responsibility of each human being to find what gives their life meaning."
Victor Frankl
V
"When we cease to add purpose and meaning to life, we begin to decline."
Victor Frankl
V
"The meaning of your life is changing moment by moment, and discovering that meaning requires constant attention."
Victor Frankl
V
"Every day, life gives us new opportunities to choose how we will respond to its challenges."
Victor Frankl
V
"The task is not to find happiness but to find a life worth living."
Victor Frankl
V
"Meaningful living requires that we find purpose, take responsibility, and exercise our freedom."
Victor Frankl
V
"A life without meaning is a life half-lived, regardless of comfort or pleasure."
Victor Frankl
V
"The person who feels their life has meaning rarely, if ever, considers ending it."
Victor Frankl
V
"To live meaningfully is to live responsibly toward the world and toward yourself."
Victor Frankl
D
"Life's fundamental task is not to achieve happiness but to discover the meaning that underlies all experience."
D.W. Winnicott
D
"The capacity to play as an adult is a sign that we have not lost touch with our essential aliveness."
D.W. Winnicott
D
"The purpose of living is not to arrive somewhere but to be fully present in each moment of becoming."
D.W. Winnicott