George Vaillant Quotes

• The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people.

  George Vaillant

  People, Matter, Our Relationship

  53 Copy quote

• Our lives become the sum of all whom we have loved. It is important not to waste anyone. One task of living out the last half of life is excavating and recovering all of those whom we loved in the first half. Thus, the recovery of lost loves becomes an important way in which the past affects the present.

  George Vaillant

  Lost Love, Recovery, Grieving

  22 Copy quote

• The seventy-five years and twenty million dollars expended on the Grant Study points to a straightforward five-word conclusion: Happiness is love. Full stop.

  George Vaillant

  Years, Twenties, Dollars

  10 Copy quote

• Aging happy and well, instead of sad and sick, is at least under some personal control. We have considerable control over our weight, our exercise, our education, and our abuse of cigarettes and alcohol. With hard work and/or therapy, our relationships with our spouses and our coping styles can be changed for the better. A successful old age may lie not so much in our stars and genes as in ourselves.

  George Vaillant

  Stars, Lying, Hard Work

  12 Copy quote

• Joy is connection... The more areas in your life you can make connection, the better.

  George Vaillant

  Joy, Connections, Areas

  10 Copy quote

• Life ain't easy. Terrible things happen to everyone. You have to keep your sense of humor, give something of yourself to others, make friends who are younger than you, learn new things, and have fun.

  George Vaillant

  Fun, Giving, Sense Of Humor

  15 Copy quote

• It is all too common for caterpillars to become butterflies and then to maintain that in their youth they had been little butterflies. Maturation makes liars of us all.

  George Vaillant

  Liars, Butterfly, Littles

  George E. Vaillant (1977). “Adaptation to Life”, p.197, Harvard University Press

  18 Copy quote

• Happiness is only the cart; love is the horse

  George Vaillant

  Horse, Love Is, Carts

  George E. Vaillant (2012). “Triumphs of Experience”, p.50, Harvard University Press

  8 Copy quote

• It is not stress that kills us. It is effective adaptation to stress that allows us to live.

  George Vaillant

  Stress, Problem, Problem Solving

  George E. Vaillant (2012). “Adaptation to Life”, p.374, Harvard University Press

  9 Copy quote

• Our lives are like the talents in the parable of the three stewards. It is something that has been given to us for the time being and we have the opportunity and privilege of doing our best with this precious gift.

  George Vaillant

  Opportunity, Three, Privilege

  11 Copy quote

• Anxiety and depression are the price you pay for a well-lived life.

  George Vaillant

  Anxiety, Pay, Wells

  9 Copy quote

• If you want to treat an illness that has no easy cure, first of all, treat them with hope.

  George Vaillant

  Want, Firsts, Illness

  7 Copy quote

• The recent years of the Grant Study have shown that our lives when we are old are the sum of all of our loves.

  George Vaillant

  Years, Our Love, Study

  George E. Vaillant (2012). “Triumphs of Experience”, p.136, Harvard University Press

  6 Copy quote

• We can laugh from either joy or happiness, but we weep only from grief or joy...Without the pain of farewell, there is no joy in reunion...without the pain of captivity, we don't experience the joy of freedom.

  George Vaillant

  Happiness, Pain, Grief

  9 Copy quote

• Whether we live to a vigorous old age lies not so much in our stars or in our genes but in ourselves.

  George Vaillant

  Stars, Lying, Age

  4 Copy quote

• It's very hard, for most of us to tolerate being loved.

  George Vaillant

  Tolerate, Hard, Being Loved

  4 Copy quote

• Creativity can never be explained by appeal to reason alone. Like the birth of a child, creativity compels us not to explanation but to wonder and awe.

  George Vaillant

  Children, Creativity, Birth

  George E. Vaillant (1995). “The Wisdom of the Ego”, p.230, Harvard University Press

  4 Copy quote

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