Dennis Potter Quotes

It is hard to keep that which has not been obtained through personal development.

The duty of man is the same in respect to his own nature as in respect to the nature of all other things, namely not to follow it but to amend it.

I am pretty controlled I have to say.

Discipline is wisdom and vice versa.

I am very sure that any man of common understanding may, by culture, care, attention, and labor, make himself what- ever he pleases, except a great poet.

Make yourself do unpleasant things so as to gain the upper hand of your soul.

The hardest victory is the victory over self.

When we are foolish, we want to conquer the world. When we are wise, we want to conquer ourselves. That begins when we do what we should no matter how we feel about it.

Only in the crucible of self-mastery can freedom be smelted

Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.

Self-control is the only possible road to character development

Some of us learn control, more or less by accident. The rest of us go all our lives not even understanding how it is possible, and blaming our failure on being born the wrong way.

The most we can get out of life is its discipline for ourselves, and its usefulness for others.

If you think you can temper yourself into manliness by sitting here over your books, it is the very silliest fancy that ever tempted a young man to his ruin. You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.

Self-discipline is the golden key; without it, you cannot be happy.

It is much easier to conquer a country than to conquer ourselves.

I think a lot of people are drawn to seeing people that want to be better. We see it in ourselves.

In the matter of learning, the difference between the earnest and the careless student stands out clearly. The same holds true in the mastering of passion and the weaknesses to which our nature is subject, as in the acquiring of virtue.

Mature striving is linked to long-range goals. Thus, the process of becoming is largely a matter of organizing transitory impulses into a pattern of striving and interest in which the element of self-awareness plays a large part.

In the end, it's a mental maturity to let your best come out.

There is no other way to change something or someone for the better except to occupy it first. The only person you can occupy is yourself. That is why the only person who can change you for the better is you. Without your decision to change and your commitment to change, you will not change.

The discipline of desire is the background of character.

You need to put what you learn into practice and do it over and over again until it's a habit. I always say, 'Seeing is not believing. Doing is believing.' There is a lot to learn about fitness, nutrition and emotions, but once you do, you can master them instead of them mastering you.

As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves.

Look around the inhabited world; how few know their own good, or knowing it, pursue.