Albert Ellis

“Stop shoulding on yourself”

“I hope to die in the saddle seat.”

“Most people would have given up when faced with all the criticism I've received over the years.”

“I think the future of psychotherapy and psychology is in the school system. We need to teach every child how to rarely seriously disturb himself or herself and how to overcome disturbance when it occurs.”

“You largely constructed your depression. It wasn't given to you. Therefore, you can deconstruct it.”

“I wrote several articles criticizing psychoanalysis, but the analysts weren't listening to my objections. So I finally quit after practicing it for six years.”

“There's no evidence whatsoever that men are more rational than women. Both sexes seem to be equally irrational.”

“People don't just get upset. They contribute to their upsetness.”

“Self-esteem is the greatest sickness known to man or woman because it's conditional.”

“I think it's unfair, but they have the right as fallible, screwed-up humans to be unfair; that's the human condition.”

“People got insights into what was bothering them, but they hardly did a damn thing to change.”

“I get people to truly accept themselves unconditionally, whether or not their therapist or anyone loves them.”

“Acceptance is not love. You love a person because he or she has lovable traits, but you accept everybody just because they're alive and human.”

“Rational beliefs bring us closer to getting good results in the real world.”

“In the old days we used to get more referrals, because people had insurance that paid for therapy. Now they belong to HMOs, and we can only be affiliated with a few HMOs.”

“By not caring too much about what people think, I'm able to think for myself and propagate ideas which are very often unpopular. And I succeed.”

“I had used eclectic therapy and behavior therapy on myself at the age of 19 to get over my fear of public speaking and of approaching young women in public.”

“I started to call myself a rational therapist in 1955; later I used the term rational emotive. Now I call myself a rational emotive behavior therapist.”

“There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy.”

“The art of love is largely the art of persistence.”