Rollo May Quotes


"The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity."
- Rollo May
(Related: Society, Courage, Conformity, Cowardice)

"The relationship between commitment and doubt is by no means an antagonistic one. Commitment is healthiest when it's not without doubt but in spite of doubt."
- Rollo May
(Related: Commitment, Doubt)

"One does not become fully human painlessly."
- Rollo May
"Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes from what we care about."
- Rollo May
(Related: Life, Survival, Care)

"Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life, for joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. It is based on the experience of one's identity as a being of worth and dignity."
- Rollo May
(Related: Experience, Happiness, Life, Goal, Being, Dignity, Emotion, Identity, Joy, Worth)

"It requires greater courage to preserve inner freedom, to move on in one's inward journey into new realms, than to stand defiantly for outer freedom. It is often easier to play the martyr, as it is to be rash in battle."
- Rollo May
(Related: Courage, Battle, Freedom, Journey, Martyr, Play)

"It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way."
- Rollo May
(Related: Habit)

"Human freedom involves our capacity to pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight."
- Rollo May
(Related: Freedom, Weight)

"Hate is not the opposite of love; apathy is."
- Rollo May
(Related: Love, Apathy, Hate)

"Freedom is man's capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our capacity to mold ourselves."
- Rollo May
(Related: Development, Freedom, Man)

"Depression is the inability to construct a future."
- Rollo May
(Related: Depression, Future)

"Creativity is not merely the innocent spontaneity of our youth and childhood; it must also be married to the passion of the adult human being, which is a passion to live beyond one's death."
- Rollo May
(Related: Death, Creativity, Being, Childhood, Passion, Spontaneity, Youth)

"Courage is not the absence of despair; it is, rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair."
- Rollo May
(Related: Courage, Absence, Despair)

"Care is a state in which something does matter; it is the source of human tenderness."
- Rollo May
(Related: Care, State, Tenderness)

"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing."
- Rollo May
(Related: Communication, Community, Intimacy, Understanding)