QuoteProject
If our feelings control our actions, it is because we have abdicated our responsibility and empowered them to do so.
Stephen Covey
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

We often let our emotions dictate our behavior, losing control of our decisions.

Stephen Covey's quote emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility in managing our emotions. When we allow our feelings to dominate our actions without reflection, we essentially give away our agency, leading to decisions that may not align with our values or goals. This suggests the need for self-awareness and accountability in how we respond emotionally to situations.

Themes

FeelingsResponsibilityActionsControlEmotions

In practice

Example use cases

In a corporate training session about emotional intelligence.

More from Stephen Covey

How many on their deathbeds wished they'd spent more time at the office - or watching TV? The answer is, No one.
Stephen CoveyRead
If you want to have a more pleasant, cooperative teenager, be a more understanding, empathic, consistent, loving parent. If you want to have more freedom, more latitude in your job, be a more responsible, a more helpful, a more contributing employee.
Stephen CoveyRead
Listen with your eyes for feelings.
Stephen CoveyRead
If we live out of our memory, we're tied to the past and to that which is finite. When we live out of our imagination, _x000D_ we're tied to that which is infinite.
Stephen CoveyRead
Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people.
Stephen CoveyRead
Keep in mind that you are always saying "no" to something. If it isn't to the apparent and urgent things in your life, it is probably to the most fundamental, highly important things.
Stephen CoveyRead

Similar quotes

Our scars are a witness to the world. They are apart of our story. Healed wounds that are symbols that God has restored us.
Louie GiglioRead
Supposing is good, but finding out is better.
Mark TwainRead
It wasn’t in books. It wasn’t in a church. What I needed to know was out there in the world.
Robert FulghumRead
Ideas are useless unless used. The proof of their value is in their implementation. Until then, they are in limbo.
Theodore LevittRead
Be aware of your breathing as often as you are able, whenever you remember. Do that for one year, and it will be powerfully transformative. And it's free.
Eckhart TolleRead
The Devil is in the details, but so is salvation.
Hyman RickoverRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.