Tom Rath Quotes

We benefit, intellectually and personally, from the interplay between different selves, from the balance between long-term contemplation and short-term impulse. We should be wary about tipping the scales too far. The community of selves shouldn't be a democracy, but it shouldn't be a dictatorship, either.

Maybe a thing that you do not like is really in your interest. It is possible that a thing that you may desire may be against your interest.

January is always a good month for behavioral economics: Few things illustrate self-control as vividly as New Year's resolutions. February is even better, though, because it lets us study why so many of those resolutions are broken.

I've been trying to avoid goal-oriented behavior.

Take stock of your thoughts and behavior. Each night ask yourself, when were you negative when you could have been positive? When did you withhold love when you might have given it? When did you play a neurotic game instead of behaving in a powerful way? Use this process to self-correct.

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

I don't think I would change anything. I think we've done a fairly good job of remaining sane and making the right decisions.

We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

It is much easier to find fault with others, than to be faultless ourselves.

Once you realize that you're in something that you've always wanted and you don't want to lose it, you behave differently. And that means the integrity, the professionalism, and knowing what's right from wrong and still making choices that you probably wouldn't have made.

I find it valuable to watch what I do. I like to know when I'm making a choice if it actually works or not.

The preacher's sharpest and strongest preaching should be to himself. His most difficult, delicate, laborious, and thorough work must be with himself.

My goal in life is to make decisions that minimize regrets. I don't regret anything I've done.

The discipline of desire is the background of character.

You can't please everybody all the time, but I think for the most part we tend to maintain a healthy level of self-reference to kind of make sure we continue to push things forward.

I do things because I enjoy it. That used to be my downfall, but now it's the upside.

Patience is a virtue, and I'm learning patience. It's a tough lesson.

You can never control other people. You can only control yourself. I have definitely learned that.

People need to be edited; life needs to be edited. I need to be edited.

There is something good in men that really yearn for discipline.

I think we can all use a little more patience. I get a little impatient sometimes and I wish I didn't. I really need to be more patient.

By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.

I have been stubborn and getting into trouble since I was 2, but I learned how to redirect that into good causes.

The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.

I had to learn, really, how to rein in my energies and discipline myself. And I found it very very useful. I rebelled against it at first, but it's a good thing to have.