David D. Burns Quotes

Assert your right to make a few mistakes. If people can't accept your imperfections, that's their fault.

Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.

You feel the way you do right now because of the thoughts you are thinking at this moment.

A poor self-image is the magnifying glass that can transform a trivial mistake or an imperfection into an overwhelming symbol of personal defeat.

When two people respect each other, the ability to be vulnerable and to reveal hurt feelings can create a powerful emotional connection that is the source of real intimacy and friendship.

Perfectionism becomes a badge of honor with you playing the part of the suffering hero.

Forgive yourself and be ready to forgive yourself in the future. You're gonna screw up. It's okay.

Learn to accept your limits and you'll become a happier person.

Kindness is the cause of all anxiety.

You don't have to do anything especially worthy to create or deserve self-esteem; all you have to do is turn off that critical, haranguing, inner voice.

Apologies do make a difference. Believe it or not, research shows people often prefer them over money.

Guilt doesn't help. What should fill in for it? Remorse. Remorse is when you feel bad about what you did. Guilt is when you feel bad about who you are.

That's one of the peculiar things about bad moods - we often fool ourselves and create misery by telling ourselves things that simply are not true.

Accept yourself. But realize your behaviors can be bad.

You're not a bad person. But you sometimes do bad things. You know what that makes you? Human.

The best way to confront your fears it to stop avoiding the situation you're most afraid of.

You're human. You'll screw up. Denying that is crazy. Forgiving yourself has all the benefits of self-esteem without making you a narcissist that's out of touch with reality.

Reaching for the stars, perfectionists may end up clutching at air.

Perfection' is man's ultimate illusion. It simply doesn't exist in the universe.... If you are a perfectionist, you are guaranteed to be a loser in whatever you do.

Regret has a purpose. It's like the oil light on the dashboard of your life, telling you something needs to be fixed. So fix it. And feel better.

Forgiving yourself, not guilt, increases personal accountability.

Guilt serves a powerful social function in terms of policing our behavior.

People who are prone to guilt tend to work harder and perform better than people who are not guilt-prone, and are perceived to be more capable leaders.

Don't apologize for what you think you did wrong. Apologize for what they think you did wrong.

Reaching for the stars, perfectionists may end up clutching air. They suffer from mood disorders, troubled relationships, and stress. They may even achieve less than others.

Therapy is not to 'talk about' things, but to change the person's life, and to relieve suffering, such as depression, anxiety, or relationship problems.

Guilt is not the best way to remedy your mistakes.

I always wanted to see people's lives transformed from depression and anxiety to joy and peace.

Depression can seem worse than terminal cancer, because most cancer patients feel loved and they have hope and self-esteem.