CONVICTION

Related States & Conditions | Syntonic | Dystonic

Be thou incapable of change in that which is right, and men will rely upon you. Establish unto thyself principles of action; and see that thou ever act according to them. First know that thy principles are just, and then be thou inflexible in the path of them.
Khemetic Saying
in Temt Tchaas: Egyptian Proverbs , Muata Ashaya Ashby, ed.

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
Thomas Jefferson
1743-1826, 3rd US President, Philosopher, Social Architect

A very popular error – having the courage of one's convictions: Rather, it is a matter of having the courage for an attack upon one's convictions.
Nietzsche
1844-1900, German Philosopher, Critic, Poet

Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.
Nietzsche
Human, All-too-Human

He dares to be a fool, and that is the first step in the direction of wisdom.
James Huneker
1860-1921, American Musician, Critic

As life goes on we discover that certain thoughts sustain us in defeat, or give us victory, whether over ourselves or others, and it is these thoughts, tested by passion, which we call convictions.
William Butler Yeats
1865-1939, Irish Poet, Dramatist, Writer, 1923 Nobel Laureate
Autobiography

It is always easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
Alfred Adler
1870-1937, Austrian Psychiatrist, Psychologist
in Phyllis Bottome, Alfred Adler: Apostle of Freedom , 1939

We should know what our convictions are, and stand for them. Upon one's own philosophy, conscious or unconscious, depends one's ultimate interpretation of facts. Therefore it is wise to be as clear as possible about one's subjective principles. As the man is, so will be his ultimate truth.
Carl Jung
1875-1961, Swiss Psychologist, Theorist
Psychological Reflections , Jolande Jacobi & R. F. Hull, eds., 1953

Every conviction was a whim at birth.
Heywood Broun
1888-1939, American Journalist

Never for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own convictions.
Dag Hammarskjold
1905-1961, Swedish Diplomat

Mix a conviction with a man and something happens.
Adam Clayton Powell
1908-1972, African-American Cleric, Politician
"Minimum Living - Minimum Religion," Keep the Faith , Baby, 1967

The hallmark of courage in our age of conformity is the capacity to stand on one's convictions – not obstinately or defiantly (these are gestures of defensiveness not courage) nor as a gesture of retaliation, but simply because these are what one believes.
Rollo May
1909-1994, American Psychoanalyst

Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
1929-1968, African-American Civil Rights Leader, Cleric, 1964 Nobel Laureate

Victory is often a thing deferred, and rarely at the summit of courage … What is at the summit of courage, I think, is freedom. The freedom that comes with the knowledge that no earthly thing can break you; that an unbroken spirit is the only thing you cannot live without; that in the end it is the courage of conviction that moves things, that makes all change possible.
Paula Giddings
1947-, African-American Writer, Educator

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Wisdom for The Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing, © 2004