A Quote by Reinhold Niebuhr

The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Quote Topics

Adequate Believed Mastery Nature Self Self Mastery Substitute

Quote Author

Reinhold Niebuhr
American - Theologian
June 21, 1892 - June 1, 1971

The price that must be paid for mastery is discipline. No one achieves lasting success without it. So from the moment you awake each day, devote yourself to the perfection of whatever you pursue. Do this and you will achieve self-mastery. Achieve self-mastery and you will have the makings of a great leader... Discipline is all about cultivating powerful habits that become part of your lifestyle.

Robin Crow

Mastery requires endurance. Mastery, a word we don’t use often, is not the equivalent of what we might consider its cognate—perfectionism—an inhuman aim motivated by a concern with how others view us. Mastery is also not the same as success—an event-based victory based on a peak point, a punctuated moment in time. Mastery is not merely a commitment to a goal, but to a curved-line, constant pursuit.

Sarah Lewis

A pivotal spiritual attribute is that of self-mastery-th e strength to place reason over appetite. Self-mastery builds a strong conscience. And your conscience determines your moral responses in difficult, tempting, and trying situations.

Russell M. Nelson

Self-mastery is a challenge for every individual. Only we can control our appetites and passions. Self-mastery cannot be bought by money or fame. It is the ultimate test of our character. It requires climbing out of the deep valleys of our lives and scaling our own Mount Everests.

James E. Faust

How incredible it is that in this fragile existence we should hate and destroy one another. There are possibilities enough for all who will abandon mastery over others to pursue mastery over nature. There is world enough for all to seek their happiness in their own way.

Lyndon B. Johnson

She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life.

Susan B. Anthony

Creativity follows mastery, so mastery of skills is the first priority for young talent.

Benjamin Bloom

Mastery.- We have reached mastery when we neither mistake nor hesitate in the achievement.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Technical skill is mastery of complexity, while creativity is mastery of simplicity.

Christopher Zeeman

And in spite of all the mastery we've attained, we don't have enough mastery to stop devastating the world, or to repair the devastation we've already wrought.

Daniel Quinn

At the heart of it, mastery is practice. Mastery is staying on the path.

George Leonard

One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.

Leonardo da Vinci

His constant fight is with the Nafs (self-interest), the root of all disharmony and the only enemy of man. By crushing this enemy man gains mastery over himself; this wins for him mastery over the whole universe, because the wall standing between the self and the Almighty has been broken down. Gentleness, mildness, respect, humility, modesty, self-denial, conscientiousness, tolerance and forgiveness are considered by the Sufi as the attributes which produce harmony within one's own soul as well as within that of another.

Hazrat Inayat Khan

The care leadership strategy is simple: be a model. Commit yourself to your own personal mastery. Talking about personal mastery may open people's minds somewhat, but actions always speak louder than words. There is nothing more powerful you can do to encourage others in their quest for personal mastery than to be serious in your own quest.

Peter Senge

The proper timing of an attacking plan is a difficult matter which places great strain on a player's nerves. Mastery of this art is required for success in the international arena, but perfect mastery eludes even the very best chessplayers!