A stupid man behaves stupidly, not because he wants to, or tries to, or is motivated to, but simply because he is what he is.

False optimism sooner or later means disillusionment , anger and hopelessness.

The emotional reaction in the peak experience has a special flavor of wonder, of awe, of reverence, of humility and surrender before the experience as before something great.

People are not evil; they are schlemiels.

If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.

Plateau experiencing can be achieved, learned, earned by long hard work.... A transient glimpse is certainly possible in the peak experiences which may, after all, come sometimes to anyone. But, so to speak, to take up residence on the high plateau .... that is another matter altogether. That tends to be a lifelong effort.

I think of the self-actualizing man not as an ordinary man with something added, but rather as the ordinary man with nothing taken away. The average man is a full human being with dampened and inhibited powers and capabilities.