Phil McGraw Quotes & Sayings

Eighty percent of all questions are statements in disguise. — Phil McGraw

Leaders inspire. They aren't assigned leadership. They command it. — Phil McGraw

At this very moment, you may be saying to yourself that you have any number of admirable qualities. You are a loyal friend, a caring person, someone who is smart, dependable, fun to be around. That's wonderful, and I'm happy for you, but let me ask you this: are you being any of those things to yourself? — Phil McGraw

Effective negotiators have a style that those whom they are trying to influence, relate to and admire. — Phil McGraw

You are your own most important resource for making your life work. Life rewards action. Until your knowledge, awareness, insights, and understandings are translated into action, they are of no value. — Phil McGraw

This is no dress rehearsal. — Phil McGraw

Some people prefer the passenger role, because it imposes no real pressure to decide or stand accountable for their life results. — Phil McGraw

Right now, make a list of what you admire about yourself- don't stop until you've filled a page. Sit and relish each quality and accomplishment. When you remember how much you have to be proud of, you don't need to envy others. Instead of wallowing in your jealousy, use your friends' accomplishments as inspiration to pursue the life you want. — Phil McGraw

When you get married, your loyalty, first and foremost, is to your spouse, and to the family that you create together. — Phil McGraw

You're only lonely if you're not there for you. — Phil McGraw

People who consistently win have a clear and thoughtful strategy. They know what they need to do and when they need to do it. They write it down so they stay on course, and avoid any alternative that does not get them closer to the finish line. — Phil McGraw

We teach people how to treat us. — Phil McGraw

You have got to decide, look, this is who I am; this is my best way to present myself, and I'm going to ride that horse to the finish line. Not everybody will like it, but that's OK. — Phil McGraw

Nothing's funnier to me than laughing at myself. — Phil McGraw

Think about all of the times, situations, and circumstances where you have gotten caught up in making your self right rather than happy ... The harder you fight to win, the bigger you lose. — Phil McGraw

The number one need in all people is the need for acceptance, the need to experience a sense of belonging to something and someone. The need for acceptance is more powerful in your family than anywhere else ... If that need is not met by your family, trust me, your kids will go elsewhere to seek it in order to find approval and acceptance. — Phil McGraw

Like an enemy I knew as intimately as any friend, I came to know the nagging, constant emptiness of the incongruent life. I ignored myself and lived for people, purposes, and goals that weren't my own. I betrayed who I was and instead accepted a fictional substitute that was defined from the outside in. — Phil McGraw

I think I've got the best staff in television. — Phil McGraw

The problem is that for women, the average time is just over 14 minutes ... men are left with about 12 minutes during which time they need to think of something to do! — Phil McGraw

When I was practicing psychology, I used to tell myself if I ever get to where I'm just doing this for the money or I'm just going through the motions, I'll quit. — Phil McGraw

I don't care how pumped up or psyched you are to start a new diet or a new program - that emotion will fade. — Phil McGraw

Be your authentic self. Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment, or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you're supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else. Give yourself permission to be your authentic self. — Phil McGraw

Now, my body fat runs around 18 percent, which is normal and, you know, kind of in the middle of normal, actually. — Phil McGraw

Loving smart means believing in you, your worth and your value. — Phil McGraw

Success means different things in different parts of my life, but overall if I have to define ultimately what success means.. the bottom line.. then for me it's if the family is healthy and happy. — Phil McGraw

I mean, if you degrade someone, you isolate them, you control them, you call them names, you demean them. That's a horrible existence for people. — Phil McGraw

Life is not a success only journey. — Phil McGraw

You need to face the pain and the fear and walk through the Grief. — Phil McGraw

You need to listen to your body because your body is listening to you. — Phil McGraw

I just am not good at math. — Phil McGraw

There is nothing wrong with your marriage if you're dealing with bills and kids and the broken garbage disposal and in-laws and work demands. That's a normal marriage. — Phil McGraw

Are you doing what you're doing today because you want to do it, or because it's what you were doing yesterday? — Phil McGraw

If you don't know what it is you want - and I mean specifically - then you won't even know when you have it. — Phil McGraw

I think every parent, every generation has wanted their children to do better and have a higher standard of living. But I think there's too much guilt. — Phil McGraw

Everybody should have the opportunity to do and be everything they can be. — Phil McGraw

Grief is a process to go through, not a destination in which to wallow. In a process, you keep putting one foot in front of the other, and each little step is part of your healing. — Phil McGraw

At the end of the day, whether or not those people are comfortable with how you're living your life doesn't matter. What matters is whether you're comfortable with it. — Phil McGraw

Well, I'm not sure what pop psychology is, but I don't like it. — Phil McGraw

This is your life and the clock is ticking. — Phil McGraw

Life is a full-contact sport, and there's a score up on the board. — Phil McGraw

If you marry for money you will earn every penny. — Phil McGraw

I've talked to so many people, men and women alike, that get overweight and their self-esteem just goes in the tank. They think they're judged. They think they're unattractive. — Phil McGraw

You have to figure out what that is, and you have to make a plan to get to it. And the plan has got to have a timeline. You have to choose something that you can afford to do and then lock it in and passionately do it. — Phil McGraw

Change can come in either of two important ways: Start behaving positively or stop behaving negatively. — Phil McGraw

There are some sick people in this world. — Phil McGraw

If you don't have a plan, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years, and before you know it you're looking back saying, I should've had a plan. — Phil McGraw

As parents we're not nearly as computer literate as our children are. — Phil McGraw

Take the high road, there's a lot less traffic up there. — Phil McGraw

Know your goal, make a plan and pull the trigger — Phil McGraw

Take it from a guy: If you're in love with somebody, you will swim the stream, you will climb the mountain, you will slay the dragon. You're going to get to her somehow, some way. — Phil McGraw

Oh, everybody wears a mask. We all put our best foot forward. We all try and make a statement, I'm not saying that's bad. — Phil McGraw

If I was on the air and was just kind of a plain-vanilla personality that took the safe road and the safe way trying to please all of the people all of the time, I'd been gone in two weeks. — Phil McGraw

The Internet is just bringing all kinds of information into the home. There's just a lot of distraction, a lot of competition for the parent's voice to resonate in the children's ears. — Phil McGraw

Champions get what they want because they know what they want. They have a vision that keeps them motivated and efficiently on track. They see it, feel it, and experience it in their minds and hearts. What is success for you? You won't get there without knowing what it feels and looks like. — Phil McGraw

There is no reality, only perception. — Phil McGraw

You know, what we do know is that there is a high frequency of violence in the home of those who bully. — Phil McGraw

I think you're running into a lot of trouble if your idea of foreplay is, 'Brace yourself honey, here I come!' — Phil McGraw

You either get it or you don't. Become one of those who get it. — Phil McGraw

I have some wonderful friends from the Mideast that are as red, white and blue as anybody you know, that have been harassed, and I think it's a terrible, terrible thing. — Phil McGraw

Stand up and walk out of your history — Phil McGraw

Eighty percent of all choices are based on fear. Most people don't choose what they want; they choose what they think is safe. — Phil McGraw

Instead of being ashamed of what you've been through, be proud of what you have overcome! — Phil McGraw

Anyone can do something when they want to do it. Really successful people do things when they don't want to do it. — Phil McGraw

A year from now, you're gonna weigh more or less than what you do right now. — Phil McGraw

I don't substitute anybody else's judgment for my own. — Phil McGraw

Common sense needs to be more common. — Phil McGraw

It's great if the in-laws themselves put up boundaries. But if they won't; it's up to their grown kids to do it and enforce them. — Phil McGraw

If you've gone into a marriage and you haven't been clear about how you're going to handle money, how you want to raise kids, who is going to work or stay home or what have you, then you've set yourself up for failure. — Phil McGraw

Every one of us have things that we believe about ourselves when nobody else is looking, nobody else is listening, nobody else is monitoring what we're doing. We believe things about ourself. — Phil McGraw

You have to name it to claim it — Phil McGraw

There is power in forgiveness. — Phil McGraw

If what you're doing isn't working, change it. — Phil McGraw

Do you realize that you can't play the game of life with sweaty palms? — Phil McGraw

It's so much easier to tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. — Phil McGraw

I've learned a tremendous amount from Oprah. — Phil McGraw

You get what you ask for in this life. If you ask for nothing, you get nothing. — Phil McGraw

You should consider an employment change before you consider selling out. — Phil McGraw

We are proud to have a platform through the Dr Phil show and the Dr. Phil Foundation to offer children the voice they need to meet their goals in having a better life. — Phil McGraw

My dad used to say, 'You wouldn't worry so much about what people thought about you if you knew how seldom they did. — Phil McGraw

You cannot be who and what you are unless you have a lifestyle, both internally and externally, that is designed to support that definition of self. — Phil McGraw

The truth is, I think we are a self-less society, not a selfish society. Because we're so busy now. — Phil McGraw

Don't wait until you're in a crisis to come up with a crisis plan. — Phil McGraw

We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we're capable of. — Phil McGraw

Learn when's a good time to shut up — Phil McGraw

Men fall in love with their eyes. Women fall in love with their ears. — Phil McGraw

People who have nothing to hide, hide nothing. You should be an open book, be transparent. — Phil McGraw

People create their own experiences. — Phil McGraw

God is a loving god. — Phil McGraw

Not everybody is some kind of media model. — Phil McGraw

Reality check: you can never, ever, use weight loss to solve problems that are not related to your weight. At your goal weight or not, you still have to live with yourself and deal with your problems. You will still have the same husband, the same job, the same kids, and the same life. Losing weight is not a cure for life. — Phil McGraw

Those who marry for money end up EARNING it anyway. — Phil McGraw

It's hard to see your own face without a mirror. — Phil McGraw

In life you have three options with any situation that is a challenge. Remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it. — Phil McGraw

It's better to be healthy alone than sick with someone else. — Phil McGraw

Why do so many marriages fail? Because nobody gets taught how to be married. We're not taught how to pick a mate, or why to pick a mate; we don't know how to manage our emotions once we're in a marriage; we don't know how to resolve marital conflict. Married people have never been taught why they or their spouses feel the way they do and act the way they do. Nobody has ever taught us the fundamentals. — Phil McGraw

Relationships are negotiated and if you deal with ultimatums and authority all the time, then you're not going to get anywhere. — Phil McGraw

Everyone faces the challenge of finding meaning to their suffering. — Phil McGraw

You don't need a rope to pinch a stranger's butt. — Phil McGraw

Life is managed; it is not cured. — Phil McGraw

I grew up in athletics, where people keep score. — Phil McGraw