Top 120 Norman Cousins Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.”

— Norman Cousins

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2. “The tragedy of life is not death but what we let die inside of us while we live.”

— Norman Cousins

Featured in: Meaning Quotes, Deep Quotes, Moving Quotes

3. “History is a vast early warning system.”

— Norman Cousins

4. “Death is not the greatest tragedy in life. The greatest tragedy is what dies inside us while we live. We need not fear death. We need fear only that we may exist without having sensed something of the possibilities that lie within human existence.”

— Norman Cousins

5. “A library is the delivery room for the birth of ideas, a place where history comes to life.”

— Norman Cousins

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6. “Progress begins with the belief that what is necessary is possible.”

— Norman Cousins

7. “Belief creates biology.”

— Norman Cousins

8. “Integration is a basic law of life; when we resist it, disintegration is the natural result, both inside and outside of us. Thus we come to the concept of harmony through integration.”

— Norman Cousins

9. “Laughter is a form of internal jogging. It moves your internal organs around. It enhances respiration. It is an igniter of great expectations.”

— Norman Cousins

10. “Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is still the mark of an educated man.”

— Norman Cousins

11. “The growth of the human mind is still high adventure, in many ways the highest adventure on earth.”

— Norman Cousins

12. “The purpose of education is to enable us to develop to the fullest that which is inside us.”

— Norman Cousins

13. “Do you prefer that you be right or happy?”

— Norman Cousins

14. “The control center of your life is your attitude.”

— Norman Cousins

15. “The starting point for a better world is the belief that it is possible.”

— Norman Cousins

16. “All this sensory input, which begins in the brain, has its effect throughout the body.”

— Norman Cousins

17. “The tragedy of life is in what dies inside a man while he lives – the death of genuine feeling, the death of inspired response, the awareness that makes it possible to feel the pain or the glory of other men in yourself.”

— Norman Cousins

18. “The greatest force in the human body is the natural drive of the body to heal itself – but that force in not independent of the belief system. Everything begins with belief. What we believe is the most powerful option of all.”

— Norman Cousins

19. “The marvelous pharmacy that was designed by nature and placed into our being by the universal architect produces most of the medicines we need.”

— Norman Cousins

20. “Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.”

— Norman Cousins

21. “The essence of man is imperfection. Failure is simply a price we pay to achieve success. If we learn to embrace that new definition of failure, then we are free to start moving ahead – and failing forward.”

— Norman Cousins

22. “Drugs are not always necessary. Belief in recovery always is.”

— Norman Cousins

23. “Silence must be comprehended as not solely the absence of sound. It is the natural environment for serenity and contemplation. Life without silence is life without privacy. The difference between sanity and madness is the quality of our thoughts. Silence is on the side of sanity.”

— Norman Cousins

24. “Infinity converts the possible into the inevitable.”

— Norman Cousins

25. “Just as there is no loss of basic energy in the universe, so no thought or action is without its effects, present or ultimate, seen or unseen, felt or unfelt.”

— Norman Cousins

26. “The possibility of war increases in direct proportion to the effectiveness of the instruments of war.”

— Norman Cousins

27. “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions.”

— Norman Cousins

28. “Pessimism is a waste of time.”

— Norman Cousins

29. “Laughter is inner jogging.”

— Norman Cousins

30. “Second only to freedom, learning is the most precious option on earth.”

— Norman Cousins

31. “Intelligence and the spirit of adventure can be combined to create new energies, and out of these energies may come exciting and rewarding new prospects.”

— Norman Cousins

32. “The human body experiences a powerful gravitational pull in the direction of hope.”

— Norman Cousins

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33. “In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility.”

— Norman Cousins

34. “For every low there is an equal but opposite high.”

— Norman Cousins

35. “Optimism doesn’t wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time.”

— Norman Cousins

36. “Don’t defy the diagnosis, try to defy the verdict.”

— Norman Cousins

37. “He who keeps his cool best wins.”

— Norman Cousins

38. “Hope, purpose and determination are not merely mental states. They have electrochemical connections that affect the immune system.”

— Norman Cousins

39. “Your heaviest artillery will be your will to live. Keep that big gun going.”

— Norman Cousins

40. “Never deny a diagnosis, but do deny the negative verdict that may go with it.”

— Norman Cousins

41. “The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started.”

— Norman Cousins

42. “Nothing is more powerful than an individual acting out their conscience, thus helping bring the collective conscience to life.”

— Norman Cousins

43. “Death is not the enemy; living in constant fear of it is.”

— Norman Cousins

44. “It makes little difference how many university courses or degrees a person may own. If he cannot use words to move an idea from one point to another, his education is incomplete.”

— Norman Cousins

45. “All things are possible, once enough human beings realize that everything is at stake.”

— Norman Cousins

46. “You are younger today than you will ever be again. Make use of it for the sake of tomorrow.”

— Norman Cousins

47. “Laughter serves as a blocking agent. Like a bullet-proof vest, it may help protect you against the ravages of negative emotions that can assault you in disease.”

— Norman Cousins

48. “The essence of man is imperfection.”

— Norman Cousins

49. “The heart of the matter is that some people like to cause injury or death to living things. And many of those who do not are indifferent to those who do.”

— Norman Cousins

50. “Since the human body tends to move in the direction of its expectations- plus or minus-it is important to know that attitudes of confidence and determination are no less a part of the treatment program than medical science and technology.”

— Norman Cousins