Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes

Desires repeatedly mastered for the sake of present duty make us richer. Lack of desire is poverty.

The discipline of desire is the background of character.

Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great. To many people, being nice in order to be liked is more important. There's equal merit in that, but you must not confuse being good with being liked.

Virtues are acquired through endeavor, which rests wholly upon yourself.

The biggest obstacle to people becoming better is that you have to really want to be a good person in order to be a better person, and most people would rather be other things.

The worst education which teaches self-denial, is better than the best which teaches everything else, and not that.

Many men and women in the world demonstrate great willpower and self-discipline in overcoming bad habits and the weaknesses of the flesh.

You're always concerned for your character. You should be.

We distinguish the excellent man from the common man by saying that the former is the one who makes great demands on himself, and the latter who makes no demands on himself.

One can acquire everything in solitude except character.

Respect for self is the beginning of cultivating virtue in men and women.

Every day, we have to strive to be better people. Some days we give in to weakness, and sometimes we give in to strength.

The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.

They who overcome their desires once can overcome them always.

Everyone is a bore to someone. That is unimportant. The thing to avoid is being a bore to oneself.

Development is not that you make bridges, buildings or put marble floors in your house. Real development is building moral character of youth.

I don't stress about the outcome because I know the only thing I have control over is my own hard work. So long as I'm being honest about that and striving to be the best version of myself, I'm happy.

It's very difficult to regulate yourself, and if you learn to do that, well, it starts to spill over.

If you have a great many desires, you will gradually eliminate them one by one, until you allow certain desires to dominate and the others to die away.

For the more a man limits himself, the nearer he is on the other hand to what is limitless.

For self is the lord of self, self is the refuge of self; therefore curb thyself as the merchant curbs a good horse.

Here's what you must do. It's pretty simple, really, but I didn't say easy. It's what sets those who succeed apart from those who don't: You must have a sincere and burning desire to achieve what you dream, dedicate yourself to making progress, and take control of your circumstances to change your body.

the way to wean any one from a desire is not by condemnation of it.

To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self disciplined is to follow in a better way.

Reflect upon the defects of your character: thoroughly realize their evils and the transient pleasures they give you, and firmly will that you shall try your best not to yield to them the next time.