Life is an adventure in forgiveness.

— Norman Cousins

My reason nourishes my faith and my faith my reason.

— Norman Cousins

Never deny a diagnosis but do deny the negative verdict that may go with it.

— Norman Cousins

Not every illness can be overcome. But many people allow illness to disfigure their lives more than it should. They cave in needlessly. They ignore and weaken whatever powers they have for standing erect. There is always a margin within which life can be lived with meaning and even with a certain measure of joy, despite illness.

— Norman Cousins

Nothing is more essential in the treatment of serious disease than the liberation of the patient from panic and foreboding.

— Norman Cousins

Optimism doesn't wait on facts. It deals with prospects. Pessimism is a waste of time.

— Norman Cousins

People are never more insecure than when they become obsessed with their fears at the expense of their dreams.

— Norman Cousins

People who develop the habit of thinking of themselves as world citizens are fulfilling the first requirement of sanity in our time.

— Norman Cousins

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

— Norman Cousins

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