Pleasantly Surprised Quotes & Sayings

Always do business as if the person you're doing business with is trying to screw you, because he probably is. And if he's not, you can be pleasantly surprised. — Steve Martin

I don't look backwards. I'm pleasantly surprised, and I feel really proud of the team and what we were able to accomplish together. But really, where I'm focused is the future and where Nest is going. — Tony Fadell

I grew up in the suburbs, so I figured 'Why not try downtown living?' And, honestly, I love it. I've been very pleasantly surprised at how much downtown Indianapolis has to offer. — Andrew Luck

I was worried people would laugh at me when I started to talk the language, but they were just pleasantly surprised that I could. The sense of humour here is great - once I could have a giggle, I settled down. — Parminder Nagra

Octavia Spencer rocks. But just as a human being, she's so down-to-earth. Talk about being pleasantly surprised. You walk onto set, and she's making these jokes, and she's playing around with the cast and the crew, and she invited all to her house for a dinner party. She's just a genuinely good person. — Ciara Bravo

I love when people underestimate me and then become pleasantly surprised. — Kim Kardashian

As Marcus considered various ways to open the subject of Daisy, Swift surprised him with a blunt statement. "My lord, there is something I would like to discuss with you."
Marcus adopted a pleasantly encouraging expression. "Very well."
"It turns out that Miss Bowman and I have reached an ... understanding. After considering the logical advantages on both sides, I have made a sensible and pragmatic decision that we should - "
"How long have you been in love with her?" Marcus interrupted, inwardly amused.
Swift let out a tense sigh. "Years," he admitted. — Lisa Kleypas

I don't always expect good from people. I always expect the bad and I am pleasantly surprised when they are nice. — Nick Wechsler

Someone said adversity builds character, but someone else said adversity reveals character. I'm pleasantly surprised with my resilience. I persevere, and not just blindly. I take the best, get rid of the rest, and move on, realizing that you can make a choice to take the good. — Brooke Shields

Isn't it better when people are pleasantly surprised rather than mildly disappointed by that which is you? — Stacey Turis

Our thoughts about an event can have a dramatic effect on how we go through the event itself. When our expectations are low, it's easy to be pleasantly surprised. When they're not, we're vulnerable to painful disappointment. Because of this, many people spend a good deal of effort trying to avoid developing high hopes about anything. — Martha Beck

A man in his early sixties told me, I used to think the best way to go through life was to expect the worst. That way, if it happened, you were prepared, and if it didn't happen, you were pleasantly surprised. Then I was in a car accident and my wife was killed. Needless to say, expecting the worst didn't prepare me at all. And worse, I still grieve for all of those wonderful moments we shared and that I didn't fully enjoy. My commitment to her is to fully enjoy every moment now. I just wish she was here, now that I know how to do that. — Brene Brown

The mind, it occurs to me, is an engine. There is an ambient mode in which the mind sits idling, before there is information. Some minds idle in a kind of dreading crouch, waiting to be offended. Others stand up straight, eyes slightly wide, expecting to be pleasantly surprised. Some minds, imaging the great What Is Out There, imagine it intends doom for them; others imagine there is something out there that may be suffering and in need of their help.
Which is right?
Neither.
Both.
Maybe all of our politics is simply neurology writ large. Maybe there are a finite number of idling modes. Maybe there are just two broad modes, and out of this fact comes our current division. — George Saunders

Plan for the worst," Grue replied, staring into the distance, "If you're right, you're prepared. If you're wrong, you're pleasantly surprised. — Wildbow

The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. — George F. Will

I'd rather be a pessimist because then I can only be pleasantly surprised. — Benjamin Franklin

At the dockside I was pleasantly surprised to find the North wasn't all hairy men in animal skins. There was also hairy women in animal skins. — Mark Lawrence

Take control from the moment you step in her place. She'll be pleasantly surprised and impressed. — Auliq Ice

I would like to go to sleep each night by thanking you for being with me,

And wake each morning pleasantly surprised to find you are in my life,

I would like to feel admiration for the littlest things you do, and how,

and how you look others in the eyes, openly, with affection, sparkling but strong.

Forever is not important to me, but this is. — Waylon H. Lewis

Trusting others is all good and well, but distrusting them is better. People are rotten so always expect the worst in them. This way, when people don't turn out as bad as you thought they'd be, you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's a lot better than being disappointed. Also, — R Shaw

Women come into marriage with great inflated expectations for what they want this relationship to be, and men don't give it that much thought. Men come into it with reluctance about being capsized or trapped or whatever their fear is. When you check in later, women are disappointed because their expectations have not come to pass, and men are pleasantly surprised. — Elizabeth Gilbert

I didn't think I would see you here again, Ms. Prior," she says.
"Is that because I'm supposed to be dead?" I say.
"I always expect those who live by the gun to die by it. I am often pleasantly surprised. — Veronica Roth

I actually liked Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I remember just watching it and being pleasantly surprised with that movie. I didn't think it would be as good as it was, so I love that movie. — Ashley Tisdale

How would I feel, he thought, If I woke up and she was making love to me? Why I believe that I would be pleasantly surprised. — Christopher Moore

I've never had any idea that what I like would resonate with the audience, and I'm pleasantly surprised when it does. — Tom Petty

But we came for the Kennedy Center Awards, which was an incredible honor. Being a British person, I was bestowed this honor. And my partner and I, David, came. And we were so pleasantly surprised by George Bush and his knowledge of AIDS. He really - he treated David and I - and Laura - treated us like - they were so friendly and so courteous. — Elton John

The only way to go on holiday is with your expectations at ground level. Convince yourself before you go that the weather's going to be dreadful and there will be nylon sheets. You'll then be pleasantly surprised. — Jenny Eclair

Having a Southwest Green in my backyard is a huge advantage for me on tour. I am pleasantly surprised just how true the ball rolls and reacts to chip and pitch shots. I love my Southwest Green. — Jim Furyk

Shit is another useful word. Also very common. For example, pleasantly surprised? You say 'No shit?' You think someone tells you tales, you scoff 'You're shitting me.' You find something you like very much, you exclaim 'That's good shit! — Jane Yolen

He realised at once that a mistake had been made: he had been sent the wrong hangover. Somewhere in northern Rhodesia there was a bull elephant who had got drunk on fermented marula fruit, rampaged through a nearby village, and fallen asleep in a ditch, and was now pleasantly surprised to find itself greeting the day with only the mild headache that follows a couple of bottles of good red wine ... Perhaps if he got in touch with the relevant authorities he could get this unfortunate little mix-up corrected, but he would have to do so without moving his head or opening his eyes. Otherwise he would die from the pain. — Ned Beauman

I maintain that I never expect anything, therefore I'm always pleasantly surprised. — Lianne La Havas

It's always good to have no expectations when you see a film. Then you can be pleasantly disappointed or surprised. — Bill Paxton

I don't why whatever works and whatever doesn't. You just make the film that you enjoy making at the time, and you think there's a good chance that people might enjoy the story. You're surprised pleasantly when they do. It's just luck. — Woody Allen

While I was pleasantly surprised by the relatively high number of jobs created in April, the fact is that job creation during this recovery period has significantly lagged both historical experience in recovery, and the projections of the Bush Administration. — Barney Frank

Warraner looked pleasantly surprised at the question, like a Mormon who had suddenly found himself invited into a house for coffee, cake, and a discussion of the wit and wisdom of Joseph Smith. — John Connolly

Fatherhood surprised him pleasantly. As a male he assumed no unpleasant duties would accrue to him. He would be responsible for teaching the child conversational skills once it reached its teens. — Nell Zink

If you keep on eating unhealthy food than no matter how many weight loss tips you follow, you are likely to retain weight and become obese. If only you start eating healthy food, you will be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to lose weight. — Subodh Gupta

What's happiness for a reader? Be pleasantly surprised by a book from which he expected nothing. — Gabrielle Dubois

I was pleasantly surprised after the book came out. It was like, hey, the home team put down a nice score. — Rocco DiSpirito

I am a little in awe of Jeff Bridges. He's an actor I have admired for many years, and so I didn't know who I was going to get, in the sense that I didn't know what he was going to be like. And so I was pleasantly surprised that he is this kind of laid-back guy. — James Frain

When I heard about these lessons, I thought they would be a dreadful waste of my time. I pictured two very silly girls uninterested in any sort of instruction. But that describes neither Miss Gray nor yourself. I should tell you, I used to train younger Shadowhunters in Madrid. And there were quite a few of them who didn't have the same native ability that you do. You're a talented student, and it is my pleasure to teach you."
Sophie felt herself flush scarlet. "You cannot be serious."
"I am. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I came here and again so the next time and the next. I found that I was looking forward to it. In fact, it would be fair to say that since my return home, I have hated everything in London except these hours with you. — Cassandra Clare

And I don't say that we didn't expect it, but we were pleasantly surprised to see the generosity of their foreign policy; and the generosity of their foreign policy at that moment was expressed through the Marshall Plan. — Gianni Agnelli

She seemed pleasantly surprised that I'd read the homework assignment the night before, despite being somewhat distracted by the thoughts of gremlins lurking around my computer. Apparently satisfied that I could listen and stare out the window at the same time, Miss Singer finally left me alone, and I went back to brooding in peace. — Julie Kagawa

When I purchased my first vegetable spiralizer, I was excited to try making zucchini noodles, also known as "zoodles." My first dish - zucchini spaghetti with fresh tomatoes, basil and garlic - was fun, creative, and delicious! I quickly found that zoodles were popular with my friends and family. Everyone seemed pleasantly surprised by the experience and enthusiastically asked for more! — J.S. Amie

On reflection, I am always pleasantly surprised when ordinary members of the public stop me in the street to say, 'Thank you,' I guess for making travel and other goods and services affordable to them. — Stelios Haji-Ioannou

... food is capable of feeding far more than a rumbling stomach. Food is life; our well-being demands it. Food is art and magic; it evokes emotion and colors memory, and in skilled hands, meals become greater than the sum of their ingredients. Food is self-evident; plucked right from the ground or vine or sea, its power to delight is immediate. Food is discovery; finding an untried spice or cuisine is for me like uncovering a new element. Food is evolution; how we interpret it remains ever fluid. Food is humanitarian: sharing it bridges cultures, making friends of strangers pleasantly surprised to learn how much common ground they ultimately share. — Anthony Beal

I keep sniffing my skin, pleasantly surprised by how nice it is to smell like a flower. I've never smelled like anything before. — Tahereh Mafi

Sometimes when I get up after writing, I'm surprised at how my body feels. Suddenly I'm not a lanky, hungry young boy any more. It's no fun putting on ten years and fifty pounds all of a sudden. Other times, I get up and I'm pleasantly surprised that I'm not a weary innkeeper, hopeless, with bones that feel like they're made of lead. I really sink into the characters that I write. — Patrick Rothfuss

I guess it's easier to think badly and then be pleasantly surprised. — Ellie Kemper

You read the Miss Bea Haven column?" She sounded pleasantly surprised, almost flattered.
"Of course not. A column where the sexiest woman on earth pleasures herself with sex toys and then writes about it? Gross. — Tiffany Reisz

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that pirates did wear eye patches and have peg legs and have brightly colored beads. I never knew what the beads were for. They really were for frightening and terrifying their prey. — Robert Kurson

I always expect the worst from this evil and wicked world and am often pleasantly surprised when the worst does not come to pass, but never or rarely surprised or upset when it does. — Semir Zeki

I know a lot of people who say, "I reluctantly watched the first episode because I don't really like zombies and that stuff, but I was pleasantly surprised by the characters and the drama of it all." I think that's what keeps people coming back and brings new watchers to the show. What the show does is cross many, many different viewerships. — Steven Yeun

To expect wickedness from human beings is the best way I know of to avoid surprises. And when I am surprised, it's always pleasantly. — Orson Scott Card

I would rather have an inferiority complex and be pleasantly surprised, than have a superiority complex and be rudely awakened. — Vanna Bonta

I think it's a problem when something's a dream because it'll never live up to your expectations. It's better to go somewhere thinking it'll be horrible, and then be pleasantly surprised. — Karl Pilkington

I keep going back to foundation, heritage cooking techniques from my family in Naples and Abruzzi. There are a lot of traditional dishes from those regions that I want to educate my kids' palates about, to pass down that heritage and that lineage. I think my mom would have been pleasantly surprised and absolutely thrilled to have seen all the cookbooks and all the restaurants and all the television I've done. — Rick Tramonto

expect nothing, be pleasantly surprised. — Cindy Pon

Although routinely criticized, a pessimist attitude enables a person never to be disappointed with the vagrancies of life or frustrated by the outcome of any event. A pessimist prepares for reality by considering every possible contingency. Having reckoned with the worst possible circumstances, and game planned what to do in the event of the most drastic outcome, a pessimist is pleasantly surprised when they achieve a better than expected result. — Kilroy J. Oldster

There's so much nonsense tossed around about L.A. and how horrible it is and 'don't go out there' and all that stuff. So I went out to L.A. and I was pleasantly surprised. — Josh Radnor

I'd rather be pleasantly surprised than fatally disappointed. — Julia Glass

Hutte, for instance, used to quote the case of a fellow he called "the beach man." This man had spent forty years of his life on beaches or by the sides of swimming pools, chatting pleasantly with summer visitors and rich idlers. He is to be seen, in his bathing costume, in the corners and backgrounds of thousands of holiday snaps, among groups of happy people, but no one knew his name and why he was there. And no one noticed when one day he vanished from the photographs. I did not dare tell Hutte, but I felt that "the beach man" was myself. Though it would not have surprised him if I had confessed it. Hutte was always saying that, in the end, we were all "beach men" and that "the sand" - I am quoting his own words - "keeps the traces of our footsteps only a few moments. — Patrick Modiano

We did I think talk about your feeling of it's fun to be square, and while I'll go along with the Borges-like ramifications, I don't think I was the one who thought it up. In the past my justification for my self-conscious oddness of appearance (by now I figure this is the way I look, and it would not only be more self-conscious but also uncomfortable to change) was that people would think their impression of oddity came simply from the way I looked, and eventually become (hopefully) pleasantly surprised that I was not nearly as much of a nut as I looked, and was really quite ordinary, which is also true I think. It seemed preferable to people thinking 'Well, he looked perfectly ordinary and then it became apparent there was something wrong with his head ... ' Of course now practically everybody to my middle aged way of thinking looks too peculiar for words, and only very infrequently attractive at the same time. — Edward Gorey