Positive Illusions Quotes & Sayings

Basically, the first half of life is writing the text, and the second half is writing the commentary on that text. — Richard Rohr

The one wholly true thought one can hold about the past is that it is not here. To think about it at all is therefore to think about illusions. — Esther Hicks

If the only effect of these rampant esteem-inflating biases was to make people feel good about themselves, they would not be a problem. In fact, evidence shows that people who hold pervasive positive illusions about themselves, their abilities, and their future prospects are mentally healthier, happier, and better liked than people who lack such illusions.20 But such biases can make people feel that they deserve more than they do, thereby setting the stage for endless disputes with other people who feel equally over-entitled. — Jonathan Haidt

I'm always praying for a part that would be something that I could be really proud of, in which I could use the gifts God gave me in a positive way. — Siobhan Fallon Hogan

Great deeds give choice of many tales. Choose a slight tale, enrich it large, and then let wise men listen. — Pindar

Fear is an illusionary place we travel to in our minds when we allow ourselves to move away from the heart. — Molly Friedenfeld

When difficulties seem insurmountable, optimists react in a more constructive and creative way. They accept the facts with realism, know how to rapidly identify the positive in adversity, draw lessons from it, and come up with an alternative solution or turn to a new project. Pessimists would rather turn away from the problem or adopt escapist strategies - sleep, isolation, drug or alcohol abuse - that diminish their focus on the problem.9 Instead of confronting them with resolve, they prefer to brood over their misfortunes, nurture illusions, dream up "magic" solutions, and accuse the whole world of being against them. They have a hard time drawing lessons from the past, which often leads to the repetition of their problems. They are more fatalistic ("I told you it wouldn't work. It's always the same, no matter what I do") and are quick to see themselves as "mere pawns in the game of life. — Matthieu Ricard

I have lost faith in universal panaceas - work is the one thing in which I really believe. — Louise Bogan

The idea that positive illusions are in the service of sef-esteem virtually requires that they stay in check. If one develops substantially unrealistic expectations regarding the future that greatly exceed what one is actually able to accomplish, then one is set up for failure and disappointment, leading to lower self-esteem. — Shelley E. Taylor

Illusions can and do create PHYSICAL Dis-Ease within our bodies. So it's most important to master our thoughts, to become cognizant of what we are spending our precious mental energy on each moment of every day. — Alaric Hutchinson

With the case of running, it really is a case of get out, set yourself a distance, run it, and then do it again the next day. It's tremendously simple. — Richard Hammond

A purpose, an intention, a design, strikes everywhere even the careless, the most stupid thinker. — David Hume

Everything is quiet, peaceful, and against it all there is only the silent protest of statistics; so many go mad, so many gallons are drunk, so many children die of starvation ... And such a state of things is obviously what we want; apparently a happy man only feels so because the unhappy bear their burden in silence, but for which happiness would be impossible. — Anton Chekhov

I am so excited that I won The Traitor. I love Grace Burrowes books, and I do mean all of them. Thanks so much. — Grace Burrowes

When we are in alignment with what we truly believe, we can stand firm and tall and tell it like it is. This healthy kind of anger sets boundaries, holding others responsible for their actions. You teach people how to treat you through setting all sorts of boundaries or not setting them! Healthy anger can be like a burning sword that cuts through illusions and delusions about a bad situation. The energy of healthy anger can point the way to positive change but even more so when you speak in a calm, firm way. Stop and think how you are training people to treat you. The secret of boundary setting is centering yourself, breathing deeply and connecting with your truth to align yourself with higher principles, letting them speak through you.
- The Quick Anger Makeover and Other Cutting-Edge Techniques to Release Anger! — Lynne Namka

After all, what a lot of contented, happy people there must be! What an overwhelming power that means! I look at this life and see the arrogance and the idleness of the strong, the ignorance and bestiality of the weak, the horrible poverty everywhere, overcrowding, drunkenness, hypocrisy, falsehood ... Meanwhile in all the houses, all the streets, there is peace; out of fifty thousand people who live in our town there is not one to kick against it all. — Anton Chekhov