25 Albert Ellis Quotes From the Famous Psychologist
Published May 10, 2023
Check out these interesting Albert Ellis quotes from the psychologist considered one of the originators of the Cognitive Revolutionary paradigm shift.
Albert Ellis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1913 and died in New York City, New York, in 2007.
Ellis was a psychologist and a psychotherapist who founded rational emotive behavior therapy, or REBT in short.
After using his Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Columbia University to further his studies, he eventually founded the Albert Ellis Institute, which focuses on short-term therapy with long-term results.
Ellis was a strong advocate of accepting who you are and not letting comparisons or the thoughts of others influence your importance.
He claimed that once he created REBT, he never had another “bad” day for the rest of his life.
Take a look at these Albert Ellis quotes to learn more about the famous psychologist.
You will also enjoy our article on self acceptance quotes.
The Most Famous Albert Ellis Quotes
Here are some of the most famous quotes by Albert Ellis.
1. “Be yourself for a while, even if it hurts.” — Albert Ellis
2. “Most things worth having require some sacrifice, usually more than you expect.” — Albert Ellis
3. “Failure doesn’t have anything to do with your intrinsic value as a person.” — Albert Ellis
4. “We can’t change the past, so we change how people are thinking, feeling, and behaving today.” — Albert Ellis
5. “You mainly feel the way you think.” — Albert Ellis
6. “To err is human; to forgive people and yourself for poor behavior is to be sensible and realistic.” — Albert Ellis
7. “By honestly acknowledging your past errors, but never damning yourself for them, you can learn to use your past for your own future benefit.” — Albert Ellis
8. “People and things do not upset us. Rather, we upset ourselves by believing that they can upset us.” — Albert Ellis
9. “There are three musts that hold us back: I must do well. You must treat me well. And the world must be easy.” — Albert Ellis
10. “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.” — Albert Ellis
Check out our collection of Erik Erikson quotes if you enjoy this article.
Albert Ellis Quotes About Therapy
Here are some quotes about the therapy that Ellis founded.
11. “The individual is taught that there is nothing that he as a total person is to feel ashamed of or self-hating for.” — Albert Ellis
12. “The next time you feel angry, try to become aware of some of the physical sensations and changes that are occurring in your body.” — Albert Ellis
13. “People got insights into what was bothering them, but they hardly did a damn thing to change.” — Albert Ellis
14. “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.” — Albert Ellis
15. “My rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) was one of the very few therapies that was originated partly or largely because I wanted to be brief and efficient.” — Albert Ellis
16. “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.” — Albert Ellis
17. “The trouble with most therapy is that it helps you feel better, but you don’t get better. You have to back it up with action, action, action.” — Albert Ellis
The Best Albert Ellis Quotes
Here are some of the best Albert Ellis quotes.
18. “Rational beliefs bring us closer to getting good results in the real world.” — Albert Ellis
19. “People don’t just get upset. They contribute to their upsetness.” — Albert Ellis
20. “In fact, most of what we call anxiety is overconcern about what someone thinks of you.” — Albert Ellis
21. “If the Martians ever find out how human beings think, they’ll kill themselves laughing.” — Albert Ellis
22. “Convince yourself that worrying about many situations will make them worse rather than improve them.” — Albert Ellis
23. “The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own.” — Albert Ellis
24. “Feelings largely cause behavior. The way you feel, and how strongly, greatly influence how you will behave in a situation.” — Albert Ellis
25. “Too many people are unaware that it is not outer events or circumstances that will create happiness; rather, it is our perception of events and of ourselves that will create, or uncreate, positive emotions.” — Albert Ellis
Albert Ellis’ Early Life
Albert Ellis was the oldest of three children and grew up in the Bronx borough of New York City.
His father was often away and uncaring, and his mother was self-absorbed and rarely showed attention or affection to the children.
His parents divorced when he was a teenager, leading him to care for his siblings at a young age.
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