The 72 best quotes on Fritz Perls

A selection of reflections offered by this humanistic and existential psychotherapist.

Gestalt therapy is a type of experiential therapy that is considered not so much as a simple psychotherapy, but as an authentic philosophy of life, which influences the way the individual perceives relationships with the world.

In this article we have compiled the best phrases uttered by Fritz PerlsEnjoy them!

1. Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is the same as expecting a bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.

You should treat yourself well because it is the only thing you have under your control. One should not depend on others.

2. Friend, don't be a perfectionist. Perfectionism is a curse

Perfectionism is not good for our emotional health, because it makes us live with too high expectations. It can frustrate us.

3. It is very rare that people can talk and listen. Very few people listen without talking

Most people talk without listening, because they are too busy thinking about what they are going to say.

4. Consciousness is subjective. We become aware of ourselves through our body and our emotions. We become aware of the world through our senses

Emotions give our world its full meaning. That is why we must accept them as they are.

5. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who get upset don't matter and those who matter won't get upset.

Emotional experience should not be ignored, because that is breeding ground for emotional problems.

6. Every time you refuse to answer a question, you help the other person to use his or her own resources.

A quote from Fritz Perls that invites you to think about responsibility.

7. Things do not exist; every event is a process; the thing is merely a transitory form of an eternal process. Everything is in a flux

A quote that talks about how the world is what we perceive, what our mind interprets.

8. If one feels one is being chased by an ogre and becomes the ogre, the nightmare disappears

Another reflection that invites the reader to think deeply.

9. Anguish is the gap between the "now" and the "later".

When we have expectations that are irrational, we may experience distress.

10. Only one phenomenon can occupy the foreground at a time.

When anxiety manifests itself, it dominates our attention.

11. Anxiety is always the result of turning away from the now.

When we think about the future and the past, anxiety can appear. Therefore, we must live in the present moment.

12. Trying is lying. I will try means that you have no serious intention of doing it. If you really intend to do it, say: "I will"; if not, say: "I will not". We must speak clearly in order to think clearly and act clearly.

When we think too much about something, we procrastinate.

13. A truly whole person must have a good orientation as well as the ability to act.

Honesty and integrity are virtues that every human being must possess.

14. Be as you are, so that you can see who you are and how you are. Stop for a few moments what you should do and discover what you really do.

True health is found in one's own personal self-development.

15. Most modern men live in a "verbal trance". They neither see nor hear, and awakening takes a long time.

About the way in which existential crises appear when we do not reflect.

16. Fear of death means fear of life.

To live in fear is not to live fully. In fact, it is not to live at all.

17. Let the plan for yourself emerge from within you.

One's personal development must come from one's own motivations.

18. I have only one goal: to impart a fraction of the meaning of the word now.

Living in the moment is the way to get in touch with oneself.

19. The "how" of self-deformation is the first step on the path to self-development. It can be the stiffness of a body limb, a rapid heartbeat, or some discomfort, etc....

Self-reflection may be initiated after a crisis or triggering event.

20. The sickness, the pretending to be sick that constitutes a large part of this going crazy, is nothing more than a search for environmental support. We are sick in bed: someone takes care of us, feeds us, gives us shelter, we do not have to go out to earn a living, it is total regression. But regression is not, as Freud thought, a purely pathological phenomenon. Regression means retreating to a position where one can provide one's own support, where one feels safe and secure.

Gestalt therapy appeared as an alternative to conventional psychoanalysis.

21. Learning is nothing more than discovering that something is possible. Teaching is showing someone that something is possible.

True learning happens when we put our mind to the test.

22. If you feel uncomfortable with someone you can be sure that there is no real communication. As soon as one expresses oneself genuinely, all discomfort disappears.

Gestalt therapy emphasizes how communication between people can determine a dysfunctional relationship.

23. Being in the world with its ups and downs, alone or in company, is all part of the same thing: existing in the here and now.

Problems arise in life, but we must learn to accept them.

24. By not experiencing needs and impulses, organismic self-regulation deteriorates, making it necessary to rely on moralistic regulations.

Emotional self-regulation is necessary to live in harmony with others without depending on moral codes that are not questioned.

25. If you feel convinced of something, say so. State your true self. Feel what you say

Another of Fritz Perls' phrases in which he talks about honesty. We should not be afraid of ourselves, nor of expressing what we are.

26. Everything flows when you find mental well-being.

When we are well with ourselves, life flows and we are in a state of flow.

27. Being present now consists of uniting our attention and our consciousness.

One of the principles of Gestalt therapy is to be in the here and now.

28. At the same time that we deal with the patient's awareness of how he/she experiences him/herself, we fulfill the requirement of working in the present.

Gestalt therapists are of the humanistic-experiential type.

29. Happiness is a matter of awareness. Or are you being Freudian when you say: I am unconsciously happy?

Unlike psychoanalysis, Gestalt therapy emphasizes awareness.

30. The organism knows everything. We know very little. Intuition is the intelligence of the organism

There are forms of knowledge that express themselves through intuition.

31. I do my thing and you do yours. I am not in this world to fulfill your expectations and you are not in this world to fulfill mine. You are you and I am me and if by chance we meet, it is beautiful. If we don't, there's nothing to do

Being dependent on someone is not good for a person's development or emotional health.

32. Be as you are

True happiness occurs when someone finds himself/herself.

33. Guilt feels much nobler than resentment and it takes much more courage to express resentment than guilt. By expressing guilt you hope to pacify your opponent; with resentment you may arouse his hostility.

A reflection on the relationship between guilt and resentment.

34. All emotions are expressed in the muscular system. You cannot visualize anger without muscular movement. One cannot visualize joy, which is more or less identical to dancing, without muscular movements. In grief there is sobbing and crying, and in sex there is also sobbing and crying.

Emotions have three components: physical, cognitive and behavioral.

35. If love and hate come together, then one gets confused.

The line between love and hate can seem fine in some cases.

36. If you have difficulty communicating with someone, look for resentments. You must find what you resent and express it and make your demands explicit.

Emotions are present in our behaviors and our interpersonal relationships.

37. The therapist is constantly looking for ways to be in touch with the "how" of events occurring in the present. Attends to the flow of the patient's consciousness.

Fritz Perls was always an innovator in how to do therapy.

38. Every time they use the words "now" and "how" and realize this, then they grow. Every time you ask the question "why", you decrease in stature.

To grow you have to be aware and know yourself.

39. You cannot achieve happiness. Happiness happens and it is a transitory stage

Happiness is in the journey, in striving for your goals.

40. Deliberate changes do not work. Change happens on its own

A quote from Fritz Perls on change and the development of a person.

41. Our dependence makes us slaves of ourselves, especially if that dependence is on our self-esteem.

Dependence on someone or something has a great relationship with our self-esteem.

42. The goal of therapy is to make sure that the patient comes to know when he experiences himself, when he perceives his world, and when he makes use of his intellect.

Gestalt therapy aims to make the client aware of what is happening to him/her.

43. Abandon your mind and dedicate yourself to your senses.

When we are more aware of expectations, we do not pay attention to our emotions and sensations.

44. It is perfect if you let yourself be and be

Developing yourself has to do with finding yourself and finding the motivation to move forward.

45. The madman says: "I am Abraham Lincoln", the neurotic: "I wish I was like Abraham Lincoln", and the healthy person: "I am me, and you are you".

Mental well-being has to do with finding yourself and being clear about who you are.

46. If you need everyone's encouragement, praise and pats on the back, then you are making everyone your judge.

One must find inner peace to be happy and not constantly seek the approval of others.

47. There are two big lies: "I want to" and "I try to".

Do not think about doing something, but take the initiative and do it.

48. The person... how does he feel his own continuous inner change?

Fritz Perls poses this question with respect to how we feel ourselves developing.

49. I cannot perceive your consciousness. I know only your observable behavior and what you are willing to share.

Psychologists, as Fritz Perls understood them, are not soothsayers, but have to interpret on the basis of what they can observe and what people manifest.

50. No animal - except the domestic animal, already infected by mankind - no plant will find any plant that impedes its own growth.

Human beings can be our own worst enemy.

Our life is basically nothing more than a series of unfinished situations, incomplete gestalts.

There is no definitive closure to what we do.

52. Do not push the river, it flows of its own accord.

The present is a constant change.

53. The person who is most in control is the one who can relinquish that control.

The pretension of dominating everything that happens in our lives only produces frustration.

54. A hundred plastic flowers cannot make the desert bloom.

Everything that does not go through the acceptance of the present is destined to failure.

55. To educate means to show someone that something is possible.

An inspired reflection on the task of teachers and educators.

56. Emotions are not nuisances to be discharged. Emotions are the most important drivers of our behavior.

The emotional side is fully integrated with our lives.

57. They feed your computer, the intellect. And the intellect is the tip of intelligence. A hindrance in life

The accumulation of information can act distractingly.

58. Nothing has meaning without its context. Meaning does not exist

Everything that we interpret we do so from a given situation.

59. The fact that we live only with such a low percentage of our potentialities is due to the fact that we are not willing to accept ourselves.

Fritz Perls speaks about human potential.

60. We do not allow ourselves, or are not allowed, to be wholly us.

Part of the process of self-acceptance is actually a conquest.

61. If one refuses to remember one's dreams, one really refuses to face one's own existence.

A reflection on the expectations that mark our life journey.

62. Change is an opportunity

In the flow of time there are spaces to detect improvements.

63. Each person has the responsibility to direct his or her life towards what he or she wants.

Fritz Perls had a conception of humanism that in certain aspects was individualistic.

64. There is no way to avoid the situation in which one must strive to accept the present.

The processes of accepting the present cannot be avoided indefinitely.

65. Knowing what is blocking a life situation is the task of each person

No one can judge for us what our situation is.

66. The past is only seen through our eyes sequestered by the present.

There is no objective way to look at the past.

67. Much of what is involved in improving our visas has to do with knowing how to prioritize.

Avoiding vain struggles avoids frustrations.

68. Loneliness is in fact the place where one can connect with the feeling of belonging to the human.

A paradox about loneliness.

69. Re-encountering emotions and learning to embrace them is healing.

It is necessary to to reconcile with the emotional.

70. Distractions are also part of the vital path.

Throughout our lives, the highs also count.

71. Harmony returns in rest

In the simplest situations balance is created again.

72. There is a lot of potential in people, but knowing how to detect it also requires talent.

A paradox about the possibilities to be discovered and what they require to be discovered.