"The attitude of unhappiness is not only..." - Quote by William James
The attitude of unhappiness is not only painful, it is mean and ugly. What can be more base and unworthy than the pining, puling, mumping mood, no matter by what outward ills it may have been engendered? What is more injurious to others? What less helpful as a way out of the difficulty? It but fastens and perpetuates the trouble which occasioned it, and increases the total evil of the situation. At all costs, then, we ought to reduce the sway of that mood; we ought to scout it in ourselves and others, and never show it tolerance.
More by William James
“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered as much of our old knowledge, as many of our old prejudices and beliefs, as we can. We patch and tinker more than we renew. The novelty soaks in; it stains the ancient mass; but it is also tinged by what absorbs it.”
“If the topic be highly abstract, show its nature by concrete examples. If it be unfamiliar, trace some point of analogy in it with the known. If it be inhuman, make it figure as part of a story. If it be difficult, couple its acquisition with some prospect of personal gain. Above all things, make sure that it shall run through certain inner changes, since no unvarying object can possibly hold the mental field for long.”
“Fear of life in one form or another is the great thing to exorcise.”
More on Unhappiness
“We are never either so fortunate or so misfortunate as we imagine.”
“The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.”
“Men are the only animals that devote themselves, day in and day out, to making one another unhappy. It is an art like any other. Its virtuosi are called altruists.”
More on Attitude
“Your attitude is like the minds paintbrush. It can paint everything in bright, vibrant colors-creating a masterspiece.”
“It is as true as that night follows day, that the man who does more than he is paid for, and does it in a pleasant mental attitude, sooner or later is paid for more than he does.”
“A healthy and wholesome cheerfulness is not necessarily impossible to any occupation.”