Alain De Botton Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old Alain De Botton quotes, Alain De Botton sayings, and Alain De Botton proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.'

There's a whole category of people who miss out by not allowing themselves to be weird enough. Alain De Botton
There's a whole category of people who miss out by not allowing themselves to be weird enough. Alain De Botton
Curiosity might be pictured as being made up of chains of small questions extending outwards, sometimes over huge distances, from a central hub composed of a few blunt, large questions. Alain De Botton
Feeling lost, crazy and desperate belongs to a good life as much as optimism, certainty and reason. Alain De Botton
Bitterness: anger that forgot where it came from. Alain De Botton
Bitterness: anger that forgot where it came from. Alain De Botton
There is no such thing as work-life balance. Everything worth fighting for unbalances your life. Alain De Botton
Year-end financial statements express a truth about office life which is no less irrefutable yet also, in the end, no less irrelevant or irritating than an evolutionary biologist's proud reminder that the purpose of existence lies in the propagation of our genes. Alain De Botton
As for despair, it comes about when I have been a fool and hate myself and despair of my personality. I am prone to gloom, but not depression as such. Alain De Botton
One of the best protections against disappointment is to have a lot going on. Alain De Botton
Rage is caused by a conviction, almost comic in its optimistic origins, however tragic in its effects, that a given frustration has not been written into the contract of life. Alain De Botton
Anxiety is the handmaiden of contemporary ambition. Alain De Botton
To a shameful extent, the charm of marriage boils down to how unpleasant it is to be alone. Alain De Botton
Only as we mature does affection begin to depend on achievement. Alain De Botton
To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone. Alain De Botton
The blunt large questions become connected to smaller, apparently esoteric ones. Alain De Botton
To look at the paper is to raise a seashell to one's ear and to be overwhelmed by the roar of humanity. Alain De Botton
The true nature of bureaucracy may be nowhere more obvious to the observer than in a developing country, for only there will it still be made manifest by the full complement of documents, files, veneered desks and cabinets which convey the strict and inverse relationship between productivity and paperwork. Alain De Botton
What is fascinating about marriage is why anyone wants to get married. Alain De Botton
Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places are more conducive to internal conversations than moving planes, ships or trains. Alain De Botton
As victims of hurt, we frequently don't bring up what ails us, because so many wounds look absurd in the light of day. Alain De Botton
A 'good job' can be both practically attractive while still not good enough to devote your entire life to. Alain De Botton
The best cure for one’s bad tendencies is to see them in action in another person. Alain De Botton
Intimacy is the capacity to be rather weird with someone - and finding that that's ok with them. Alain De Botton
Only as we mature does affection begin to depend on achievement. Alain De Botton
One of the better guarantors of ending up in a good relationship: an advanced capacity to be alone. Alain De Botton
There is always the option of being emotionally lazy, that is, of quoting. Alain De Botton
We may seek a fortune for no greater reason than to secure the respect and attention of people who would otherwise look straight through us. Alain De Botton
The telephone becomes an instrument of torture in the demonic hands of a beloved who doesn't call. Alain De Botton
What we find exotic abroad may be what we hunger for in vain at home. Alain De Botton