“When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.”

I may say that the only differences I expect to see revealed between the behavior of the rat and man (aside from enormous differences of complexity) lie in the field of verbal behavior.

I did not direct my life. I didn’t design it. I never made decisions. Things always came up and made them for me. That’s what life is.

It is a surprising fact that those who object most violently to the manipulation of behaviour nevertheless make the most vigorous effort to manipulate minds.

Society attacks early, when the individual is helpless.

The simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior – verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious process responsible for behavior but the very behavior itself in all the complexity of its controlling relations.

A scientist may not be sure of the answer, but he’s often sure he can find one. And that’s a condition which is clearly not enjoyed by philosophy.

Problem-solving typically involves the construction of discriminative stimuli

When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.

When we say that a man controls himself, we must specify who is controlling whom.

Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.

Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.

Somehow people get the idea I think we should be given gumdrops whenever we do anything of value.

To say that behaviors have different ‘meanings’ is only another way of saying that they are controlled by different variables.

To say that behaviors have different ‘meanings’ is only another way of saying that they are controlled by different variables.

To say that behaviors have different ‘meanings’ is only another way of saying that they are controlled by different variables.

A disappointment is not generally an oversight. It might just be the best one can do the situation being what it is. The genuine error is to quit attempting.

Although discipline demands control and asceticism, it actually results in freedom. When you have the discipline to get up early, you are rewarded with more free time.

If you want to go beyond your compulsive tendencies, the only way is to become conscious.

Focus on what you can control. Be a good person every day. Vote. Read. Treat one another kindly. Follow the law. Don’t tweet nasty stuff.

I’ve always been very much in control of my music and my image, and I think one of the things I’ve been lucky about is I didn’t bring a label on board until I really figured out who I was.

If you want to control other people, first control yourself.

All your children are poor unfortunate victims of systems beyond their control

But we can’t ever think we are too good to fail or that our enemies are not capable, deadly, and eager to exploit our weaknesses. We must never get complacent. This is where controlling the ego is most important.

Instead of letting the situation dictate our decisions, we must dictate the situation.