Habits change into character.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.
—Desiderius Erasmus (c.1469–1536) Dutch Humanist, Scholar
Custom, then, is the great guide to human life.
—David Hume (1711–76) Scottish Philosopher, Historian
Nothing is stronger than habit.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
If an idiot were to tell you the same story every day for a year, you would end by believing him.
—Edmund Burke (1729–97) British Philosopher, Statesman
I say that habit’s but a long practice, friend, and this becomes men’s nature in the end.
—Aristotle (384BCE–322BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scholar
A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Practice conquers the habit of doing, without reflecting on the rule.
—John Locke (1632–1704) English Philosopher, Physician
We think according to nature; we speak according to rules; but we act according to custom.
—Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English Philosopher
Bad habits are like chains that are too light to feel until they are too heavy to carry.
—Warren Buffett (b.1930) American Investor
A man who gives his children habits of industry provides for them better than by giving them a fortune.
—Richard Whately (1787–1863) English Philosopher, Theologian
Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow.
—Yiddish Proverb
It is not from nature, but from education and habits, that our wants are chiefly derived.
—Henry Fielding (1707–54) English Novelist, Dramatist
The habit of looking on the best side of every event is worth more than a thousand pounds a year.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
The customs and fashions of men change like leaves on the bough, some of which go and others come.
—Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian Poet, Philosopher
Habit is a second nature that destroys the first. But what is nature? Why is habit not natural? I am very much afraid that nature itself is only a first habit, just as habit is a second nature.
—Blaise Pascal (1623–62) French Mathematician, Physicist, Theologian
Oh the thumb-sucker’s thumb
May look wrinkled and wet
And withered, and white as the snow,
But the taste of a thumb
Is the sweetest taste yet
(As only we thumb-sucker’s know).
—Shel Silverstein (1932–99) American Cartoonist, Author
Successful people are simply those with success habits.
—Brian Tracy (b.1944) American Author, Motivational Speaker
Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.
—Cicero (106BCE–43BCE) Roman Philosopher, Orator, Politician, Lawyer
We must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can… . The more of the details of our daily life we can hand over to the effortless custody of automatism, the ore our higher powers of mind will be set free for their own proper work.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
Good habits are formed; bad habits we fall into.
—Unknown
Good habits are worth being fanatical about.
—John Irving (b.1942) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
There is an old saying that, you can’t kill a frog by dropping him into hot water. As you drop him into the hot water, he reacts so quickly that he immediately jumps out unharmed. But if you put him in cold water and gradually warm it up until it is scalding hot, you have him cooked before he knows it. The encroachment of bad habits in our lives is very much like this.
—Unknown
Habit is a form of exercise.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
Excess on occasion is exhilarating. It prevents moderation from acquiring the deadening effect of a habit.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
You leave old habits behind by starting out with the thought, ‘I release the need for this in my life’.
—Wayne Dyer (1940–2015) American Self-Help Author
Feeling sorry for yourself, and your present condition, is not only a waste of energy but the worst habit you could possibly have.
—Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American Self-Help Author
There is no pleasure in life equal to that of the conquest of a vicious habit.
—Unknown
Leave a Reply