David D. Burns Quotes

Quotes about:

• Assert your right to make a few mistakes. If people can't accept your imperfections, that's their fault.

  David D. Burns

  Mistake, Failure, Acceptance

  62 Copy quote

• You feel the way you do right now because of the thoughts you are thinking at this moment.

  David D. Burns

  Thinking, Way, Moments

  David D. Burns (1980). “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy”

  25 Copy quote

• Perfection' is man's ultimate illusion. It simply doesn't exist in the universe.... If you are a perfectionist, you are guaranteed to be a loser in whatever you do.

  David D. Burns

  Success, Men, Perfection

  7 Copy quote

• After all, this is how you learned how to walk. You didn't just jump up from your crib one day and waltz gracefully across the room. You stumbled and fell on your face and got up and tried again. At what age are you suddenly expected to know everything and never make any more mistakes? If you can love and respect yourself in failure, worlds of adventure and new experiences will open up before you, and your fears will vanish.

  David D. Burns

  Love, Mistake, Adventure

  26 Copy quote

• Every time you feel depressed about something, try to identify a corresponding negative thought you had just prior to and during the depression. Because these thoughts have actually created your bad mood, by learning to restructure them, you can change your mood.

  David D. Burns

  Depression, Trying, Bad Mood

  David D. Burns (1980). “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy”

  20 Copy quote

• The best way to confront your fears it to stop avoiding the situation you're most afraid of.

  David D. Burns

  Way, Situation, Avoiding

  8 Copy quote

• A poor self-image is the magnifying glass that can transform a trivial mistake or an imperfection into an overwhelming symbol of personal defeat.

  David D. Burns

  Mistake, Glasses, Self

  David D. Burns (1980). “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy”

  17 Copy quote

• Forgive yourself and be ready to forgive yourself in the future. You're gonna screw up. It's okay.

  David D. Burns

  Forgiving, Screw Ups, Forgive Yourself

  Source: time.com

  14 Copy quote

• Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.

  David D. Burns

  Fear, Perfection, Humans

  26 Copy quote

• Cognitive therapy is based on the idea that when you change the way you think, you can change the way you feel and behave. In other words, if we can learn to think about other people in a more positive and realistic way, it will be far easier to resolve conflicts and develop rewarding personal and professional relationships.

  David D. Burns

  Thinking, Ideas, People

  "Feeling Good Together: The Secret to Making Troubled Relationships Work". Book by David D. Burns, 2008.

  17 Copy quote

• The biggest mistake you can make in trying to talk convincingly is to put your highest priority on expressing your ideas and feelings. What most people really want is to be listened to, respected, and understood. The moment people see that they are being understood, they become more motivated to understand your point of view.

  David D. Burns

  Mistake, Views, Ideas

  25 Copy quote

• You're not a bad person. But you sometimes do bad things. You know what that makes you? Human.

  David D. Burns

  Sometimes, Humans, Persons

  Source: time.com

  8 Copy quote

• Can you predict the future with absolute certainty? Your answer must be no. You have two options: You can either decide to accept yourself as an imperfect human being with limited knowledge and realize that you will at times make mistakes, or you can hate yourself for it.

  David D. Burns

  Hate, Mistake, Two

  Source: time.com

  22 Copy quote

• Kindness is the cause of all anxiety.

  David D. Burns

  Kindness, Anxiety, Causes

  13 Copy quote

• You don't have to do anything especially worthy to create or deserve self-esteem; all you have to do is turn off that critical, haranguing, inner voice.

  David D. Burns

  Self Esteem, Voice, Worthy

  David D. Burns (1980). “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy”

  13 Copy quote

• Learn to accept your limits and you'll become a happier person.

  David D. Burns

  Limits, Accepting, Persons

  David D. Burns (1980). “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy”

  14 Copy quote

• Accept yourself. But realize your behaviors can be bad.

  David D. Burns

  Realizing, Behavior, Accepting Yourself

  Source: time.com

  9 Copy quote

• If you're self-compassionate, you'll tend to have higher self-esteem than if you're endlessly self-critical. And like high self-esteem - self-compassion is associated with significantly less anxiety and depression, as well as more happiness, optimism, and positive emotions.

  David D. Burns

  Self Esteem, Compassion, Optimism

  Source: time.com

  16 Copy quote

• What sentence will you choose to impose on yourself? Are you willing to stop suffering and making yourself miserable when your sentence has expired? This would at least be a responsible way to punish yourself because it would be time-limited.

  David D. Burns

  Suffering, Would Be, Way

  David D. Burns (1980). “Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy”

  7 Copy quote

• Surprisingly, it's forgiveness, not guilt, that increases accountability. Researchers have found that taking a self-compassionate point of view on a personal failure makes people more likely to take personal responsibility for the failure than when they take a self-critical point of view. They also are more willing to receive feedback and advice from others, and more likely to learn from the experience.

  David D. Burns

  Responsibility, Self, Views

  Source: time.com

  22 Copy quote

• Guilt doesn't help. What should fill in for it? Remorse. Remorse is when you feel bad about what you did. Guilt is when you feel bad about who you are.

  David D. Burns

  Guilt, Helping, Should

  Source: time.com

  10 Copy quote

• Practically everybody knows what its like to feel anxious, worried, nervous, afraid, uptight, or panicky. Often, anxiety is just a nuisance, but sometimes it can cripple you and prevent you from doing what you really want with your life. But I have some great news for you: You can change the way you feel.

  David D. Burns

  Anxiety, Nuisance, Uptight

  66 Copy quote

• Apologies do make a difference. Believe it or not, research shows people often prefer them over money.

  David D. Burns

  Believe, Apology, Differences

  Source: time.com

  11 Copy quote

• When we're rational about rule-breaking we set a limit. You don't get 30 years in prison for a traffic ticket. But sometimes you sentence yourself to months or years of emotional pain over minor offenses.

  David D. Burns

  Pain, Emotional, Years

  Source: time.com

  11 Copy quote

• Don't apologize for what you think you did wrong. Apologize for what they think you did wrong.

  David D. Burns

  Thinking, Apologizing

  Source: time.com

  6 Copy quote

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