QuoteProject
When the wires are all down and your heart is covered with the snows of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then, and only then, have you grown old.
Samuel Ullman
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

True aging occurs not with physical age but with a loss of hope and positivity.

In this quote, Samuel Ullman highlights that true aging stems from a negative mindset rather than merely the passage of time. When one's heart is shrouded in pessimism and cynicism, it reflects a loss of youthful spirit and resilience, indicating that emotional and mental vitality are essential to feeling young regardless of physical age.

Themes

AgingPessimismCynicismMindsetYouth

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about staying positive through challenges.

More from Samuel Ullman

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.
Samuel UllmanRead
Youth is not a time of life - it is a state of mind.
Samuel UllmanRead
Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
Samuel UllmanRead
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Samuel UllmanRead

Similar quotes

Often the answer to our prayer does not come while we’re on our knees but while we’re on our feet serving the Lord and serving those around us. Selfless acts of service and consecration refine our spirits remove the scales from our spiritual eyes and open the windows of heaven. By becoming the answer to someone’s prayer we often find the answer to our own.
Dieter F. UchtdorfRead
If you have a temper, now is the time to learn to control it. The more you do so while you are young, the more easily it will happen.
Gordon B. HinckleyRead
Living _x000D_ consciously involves being genuine; it involves listening and _x000D_ responding to others honestly and openly; it involves being in the _x000D_ moment.
Sidney PoitierRead
Inner peace doesn't come from getting what we want, but from remembering who we are.
Marianne WilliamsonRead
You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside.
Alan CohenRead
The tongue like a sharp knife ... Kills without drawing blood.
Gautama BuddhaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

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

Quote by Samuel Ullman | QuoteProject