My Current Reactions to 18 Ancient Proverbs

I’ve grown convinced that we benefit most from the brief. Proverbs are a particularly potent example of brevity. Proverbs are time-honored, distilled wisdom. My Psychology Today article today lists 18. For each, I amplify or dissent.

Wisdom in Fortune Cookies

The fortune cookie may contain a prediction based on nothing, for example, “You have a bright future." Or it may be cheeky, for example, “Help, I’m trapped in a fortune cookie factory!”

But occasionally, a fortune cookie contains surprising wisdom. Having reviewed over 1,000 fortune cookie aphorisms, my PsychologyToday.com article today offers 13 that seem worthy at least of the moment it takes to consider them.

10 Great and 10 Terrible Proverbs

As my PsychologyToday.com article today, I reviewed lists of popular proverbs and identified 10 particularly worth keeping top-of-mind and 10 that should be extirpated from your brain.

Worthy Proverbs and Silly Ones

We’re affected by proverbs, quotes, aphorisms, and slogans…and not always for the good.

We might even be affected more by those than by tomes. For example, might the slogan,  “Do random acts of kindness” have caused more good acts than have 1,000 sermons?

In any event, slogans or their for more formal analogue, proverbs, certainly have impact. 

 
In my PsychologyToday.com article today, I vote for the worthiest and silliest.