Quote

The hero is valorous because he stands up to every threat directed against his values. Heroism requires value conflict.

Andrew Bernstein

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Andrew Bernstein
Age: 65
Born: 1959
Born: June 6
Author
Philosopher
University Teacher
Every
Directed
Stands
Requires
Threat
Conflict
Hero
Value
Values
Heroism

More quotes by Andrew Bernstein

Image
We need to distinguish between stress and stimulation. Having deadlines, setting goals, and pushing yourself to perform at capacity are stimulating. Stress is when you're anxious, upset, or frustrated, which dramatically reduce your ability to perform.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
People around the world now complain about stressors everyday, and the word shows up throughout professional and lay literature. But in reality there is no such thing as a stressor. Why not? Because nothing has the inherent power to provoke stress.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
A hero has faced it all: he need not be undefeated, but he must be undaunted.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Stress is a byproduct of subconscious beliefs you have about the world. You can't choose not to believe something. You believe it because you think it's true. To eliminate stress, you must learn to challenge these beliefs so that you see them differently.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Stress is never a given. There are people who get divorced amicably. There are people who pack up and move with no emotional toll. There is no stressor 'out there' in the world. We experience stress - or we don't - depending on what we believe.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Stress is not the spice of life any more than arsenic is. And without it, you won't feel bored.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Even in this secular country, the threat posed by religious fundamentalists is never very far away. Every major religious text exhorts the same principles - that of unyielding obedience to a supernatural being, and renunciation of the intellect and personal aspirations.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
People often say that stress is a motivator. What we're referring to when we say this is really better described as stimulation and engagement.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Look closer at the stress in your own life and you can identify that negative emotions are always built on counterfactual statements.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The more you worry, the more you throw off the delicate balance of hormones required for health.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Stress is the negative whirlwind of emotions that gets imposed on top of our stimulation and engagement.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The less you think counterfactually, the less you experience stress. Stress, in this light, isn't a bad thing. It's simply a warning system telling you that your mind has lost touch with what's real.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The reason humans experience so much more stress than other species isn't just because we think more, but also because we think differently.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
A hero holds purposes appropriate to man and is, therefore, a thinker.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Altruism demands that an individual serve others, but doesn’t stipulate whether those others should be one’s family, or the homeless, or society as a whole. Collectivism states that, in politics, society comes first and the individual must obey. Collectivism is the application of the altruist ethics to politics.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
The truth is that stress doesn't come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about these circumstances.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Find the beliefs that are strangling your feelings, challenge them for your sake as well as theirs, and see how it feels to love someone without a thought about the future, simply for who they are today.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
Many argue that Christianity is different from other religions - that it is primarily about love of one's fellow man. The Crusades, The Inquisition, Calvin's Geneva all prove that this is not the case. These events were pre-eminently about obedience to authority.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
... statism systematically violates the rights of individuals and is, therefore, immoral. Because it suppresses the mind and violates men's rights, it thereby causes abysmal poverty and is utterly impractical.
Andrew Bernstein
Image
You might think that shifting your thoughts is as easy as setting your mind to it. But stressful thoughts aren't held in place through choice or will power. They're held in place through perceived truth value.
Andrew Bernstein