Albert Ellis quotes

The art of love is largely the art of persistence.
- Albert Ellis

Happiness is experienced largely in striving towards a goal, not in having attained things, because our nature is always to want to go on to the next endeavor.
- Albert Ellis

There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy.
- Albert Ellis

Too many people are unaware that it is not outer events or circumstances that will create happiness; rather, it is our perception of events and of ourselves that will create, or uncreate, positive emotions.
- Albert Ellis

I would have liked having children to some degree, but frankly I haven't got the time to take the kids to the goddamn ballgame.
- Albert Ellis

We'd better work hard on getting rid of that must - Other people must do what I want them to do!" It's what makes people hostile, nasty, mean and combative, and it leads to feuds, wars and genocide. We'd better do something about that.
- Albert Ellis

Most people would have given up when faced with all the criticism I've received over the years.
- Albert Ellis

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own.
- Albert Ellis

Eating is always a decision, nobody forces your hand to pick up food and put it into your mouth.
- Albert Ellis

Insight is another name for awareness.
- Albert Ellis

I teach people to be flexible, scientific and logical in their thinking and therefore to be less prone to brainwashing by the therapist.
- Albert Ellis

Acceptance is not love. You love a person because he or she has lovable traits, but you accept everybody just because they're alive and human.
- Albert Ellis

The first point in this model is: Feelings largely cause behavior. The way you feel, and how strongly, greatly influence how you will behave in a situation. If you get yourself overly anxious, angry, and upset about getting somewhere, you will likely drive like a nut.
- Albert Ellis

The individual is taught that there is nothing that he as a total person is to feel ashamed of or self-hating for.
- Albert Ellis