Philip Zimbardo Quotes

Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming.

It's easy to point out the evil in other people, but that can be found in all of us. That selfishness, that is something we all have in us. Sometimes you are successful at dealing with it, and sometimes you are not.

Themes of redemption, temptation, and faith don't necessarily apply directly to religion. A lot of people find faith in their lives outside of God and still deal with notions of temptation and redemption that aren't religious.

We usually know what we can do, but temptation shows us who we are.

The leader who exercises power with honor will work from the inside out, starting with himself.

I learnt one thing in the past or in my life: the only person you can change is yourself, and it has to come from within.

To remember my values, I need to lose certain tastes and find other handles for the memories that they once helped me carry.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

It's very clearly stated in the film: You make your own choices, and what you're always fighting is ego.

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

I believe that you control your destiny, that you can be what you want to be. You can also stop and say, 'No, I won't do it, I won't behave his way anymore. I'm lonely and I need people around me, maybe I have to change my methods of behaving,' and then you do it.

We may think there is willpower involved, but more likely... change is due to want power. Wanting the new addiction more than the old one. Wanting the new me in preference to the person I am now.

If you desire to be good, begin by believing that you are wicked.

Some kids are always getting into trouble or doing stuff, and I stay away from those types. I know I am no better than anyone else in this world. I'm just an actor, that's nothing special. But I'm not into anything bad. Just blackjack.

You have to make a conscious decision to change for your own well-being and that of your family and your country.

In our world everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.

I don't think I'm naturally a good person. I think some people have an innate goodness to them, and I am sort of proud of the fact that I kind of keep myself in check, probably because I have awesome parents.

When our vices leave us, we like to imagine it is we who are leaving them.

What keeps us from abandoning ourselves entirely to one vice, often, is the fact that we have several.

I feel my conditioning is one of my strengths.

I can't change my personality. I'll always smile, but I'll be more focused.

I'm not a perfect human being by any stretch of the imagination. But there is always this little voice inside of me that keeps me where I know I need to be.

Everybody has a hero and a villain within themselves. So it depends upon you to be a hero or a villain. If you show humanity, it will give you satisfaction.

I struggle just like everybody else struggles. It's always a struggle in life to overcome temptation. I just try and get through it. No one is perfect.

Do not think of your faults, still less of other's faults; look for what is good and strong, and try to imitate it. Your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes.