William Glasser Quotes

Western parents worry a lot about their children's self-esteem. But as a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child's self-esteem is to let them give up. On the flip side, there's nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn't.

Because a fellow has failed once or twice or a dozen times, you don't want to set him down as a failure till he's dead or loses his courage.

Real self-esteem has to be earned. I also believe in virtuous circles, like, nothing is fun until you are good at it. It is great if you can instill in children the ability to not give up, to have a work ethic.

Notice the difference between what happens when a man says to himself, I have failed three times, and what happens when he says, I am a failure.

My parents never discouraged me. There were a couple times when my dad criticized a couple things that I did, but it was nothing. So through the bad shows, I never wanted to quit.

Children who open their lunchboxes and find mothers' handwritten notes telling them how amazingly bright they are tend to falter when they encounter academic difficulties.

You should always encourage people. The worst that can happen is that they fail.

A lot of people put pressure on me, but I don't think I feel that type of pressure. It is more of a good thing that people are trying to do that.

Growing up, I've had plenty of obstacles, but to be honest, I didn't always have doubters. I was a standout athlete, so when that happens, you don't have too many people telling you 'You can't do this,' and 'You can't do that.' I've always been a bit of a people person and a hard worker.

You learn as much from those who have failed as from those who have succeeded.

Praise is essential in developing the right attitude toward learning and toward school.

If you're afraid of failing you won't get very far

There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build. Coach Graham worked in a no-coddling zone. Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it: You give them something they can't do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process.

Losing is essential to anyone's success. The more you lose, the more you want to win.

There is nothing more certain than the defeat of the man who gives up.

We are not a failure just because we fail at something. Nobody is a failure unless they quit trying!

When I was a child, my father used to encourage my brother and me to fail. At the dinner table, instead of asking about the best part of our day, he would ask us what we failed at that week. If we didn't have something to tell him, he would be disappointed. When we shared whatever failure we'd endured, he'd high-five us and say, 'Way to go!' The gift my father gave us by doing this was redefining what failure truly meant.

Often really what you need is someone who will believe in you, who will encourage you to believe in yourself.

If you push through the hard days you can get through anything.

Abilities wither under criticism; they blossom under encouragement.

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.

Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.

We will make it because we are young and we will never, never give up.

You are not being tested! You are being fortified! Remember, you cannot fail!

It was hard. I came to grips with a lot of difficulties that I've overcome. Each challenge kind of makes you who you are. It wasn't always a good thing. I have my own struggles in my life because of the things I was forced to overcome.