Norman Cousins Quotes

Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.

People are never more insecure than when they become obsessed with their fears at the expense of their dreams.

If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have made an approach to immortality.

The greatest force in the human body is the natural drive of the body to heal itself - but that force in not independent of the belief system. Everything begins with belief. What we believe is the most powerful option of all.

The control center of your life is your attitude.

On the quality of life: #1. Realize that each human being has a built-in capacity for recuperation and repair. #2. Recognize that the quality of life is all-important. #3. Assume responsibility for the quality of your own life. #4. Nurture the regenerative and restorative forces within you. #5. Utilize laughter to create a mood in which the other positive emotions can be put to work for yourself and those around you. #6. Develop confidence and ability to feel love, hope and faith, and acquire a strong will to live.

You are younger today than you will ever be again. Make use of it for the sake of tomorrow.

Of all the gifts bestowed by nature on human beings, hearty laughter must be close to the top.

Death is not the greatest tragedy in life. The greatest tragedy is what dies inside us while we live. We need not fear death. We need fear only that we may exist without having sensed something of the possibilities that lie within human existence.

Laughter serves as a blocking agent. Like a bullet-proof vest, it may help protect you against the ravages of negative emotions that can assault you in disease.

Drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is.

Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It enhances respiration. It is an igniter of great expectations.

An adequate share of humor and laughter represents an essential part of the diet of the healthy person.

It makes little difference how many university courses or degrees a person may own. If he cannot use words to move an idea from one point to another, his education is incomplete.

It is well known that panic, despair, depression, hate, rage, exasperation, frustration all produce negative biochemical changes in the body.

The main trouble with despair is that it is self-fulfilling. People who fear the worst tend to invite it. Heads that are down can't scan the horizon for new openings. Bursts of energy do not spring from a spirit of defeat. Ultimately, helplessness leads to hopelessness.

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.

Never deny a diagnosis, but do deny the negative verdict that may go with it.

Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions

Life is an adventure in forgiveness.

The growth of the human mind is still high adventure, in many ways the highest adventure on earth.

Optimism doesn't wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time.

Progress begins with the belief that what is necessary is possible.

Ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep.

Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.