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The 72 best quotes about Fritz Perls

The 72 best quotes about Fritz Perls

March 21, 2024

Friedrich (Fritz) Perls was a psychologist who was born in Berlin in 1893 and that is known to develop Gestalt therapy, a model of humanistic-existentialist therapeutic intervention. Perls has inspired many psychologists and his legacy is still alive in the form of intervention types far removed from psychotherapeutic orthodoxy.

  • Related article: "Biography of Fritz Perls and his contributions to Psychology"

Phrases and thoughts of Fritz Perls

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


In this article we have compiled the best phrases pronounced by Fritz Perls . Enjoy them!

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

One must treat oneself well because it is the only thing that he has under his control. Do not depend on others.

2. Friend, do not be a perfectionist. Perfectionism is a curse

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

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

Most people speak 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 are aware of the world through the senses

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

5. I know who you are and say what you feel, because those who bother do not matter and those who matter will not be bothered

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

6. Each time you refuse to answer a question, you help the other person to use their own resources

A phrase by Fritz Perls that invites you to think about responsibility.

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

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


8. If one feels persecuted 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 "now" and "after"

When we have expectations that are irrational, we can experience anguish.

10. Only one phenomenon can occupy the foreground every time

When anxiety manifests, it dominates our attention.

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

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

12. Trying is lying. I'll try it means you have no serious intention to do so. If you really think about doing it, say: "I will do it"; and if not, say: "I will not do it". You have to speak clearly to think clearly and act clearly

When we give a lot of thought to something, then we procrastinate.

13. A truly whole person must have a good orientation and also an ability to act

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

14. Be like you are, so you can see who you are and how you are. Leave 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 do not see or hear, and the awakening takes a long time

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

16. Fear of death means fear of life

Living with fear is not living fully. Actually, it is not living.

17. Let the plan for you emerge within you

The personal development of oneself must come from one's motivations.

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

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

19. The "how" of the deformation of oneself is the first step on the path to personal development. It can be the rigidity of a member of the body, the accelerated heartbeat, or some discomfort, etc ...

Self-reflection can begin after a crisis or a triggering event.

20. Illness, pretending to be sick that is a big 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 and make 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 we feel safe

Gestalt therapy appeared as an alternative to conventional psychoanalysis.

21. Learning is nothing more than discovering that something is possible. To teach is to show someone that something is possible

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

22. If you feel uncomfortable with someone you can be sure that there is no real communication. As soon as one is genuinely expressed, 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 accompanied, is part of the same thing: existing in the here and now

Problems arise in life, but you have to learn to accept them.

24. By not living needs and impulses, organismic self-regulation deteriorates, needing to rely on moralistic regulations

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

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

Another of the Fritz Perls phrases in which honesty is discussed. We must 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. To be present now is to unite our attention and our conscience

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 experiences himself, we fulfill the requirement to work in the present

Gestalt therapists are humanistic-experiential type.

29. Happiness is a matter of awareness. Or is it that you are becoming Freudian by saying: I am unconsciously happy

Unlike psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy emphasizes consciousness.

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

There are forms of knowledge that are expressed through intuition ..

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

Being dependent on someone is not good for the development of the person or for their emotional health.

32. I know how you are

True happiness occurs when someone encounters himself.

33. Guilt feels much nobler than resentment and much more courage is needed to express resentment than guilt. By expressing guilt you hope to pacify your opponent; with resentment you can awaken their hostility

A reflection on the relationship between guilt and resentment.

34. All emotions are expressed in the muscular system. You can not visualize anger without muscle movement. You can not visualize the joy, which is more or less identical when dancing, without muscle movements. In grief there are sobs and tears, and in sex there are also

Emotions have three components: physical, cognitive and behavioral.

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

The line between love and hatred may seem fine in some cases.

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

Emotions are present in our behaviors and our interpersonal relationships.

37. The therapist constantly seeks ways to be in contact with the "how" of the events that occur in the present. Address the flow of the patient's consciousness

Fritz Perls was always innovative in how to do therapy.

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

To grow you have to be aware and know yourself.

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

Happiness is on the way, in fighting for goals.

40. Deliberate changes do not result. Changes are made alone

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

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

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

42. The goal of therapy is to make sure that the patient gets to know when he is experiencing himself, when he perceives his world and when he uses his intellect

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

43. Give up 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's perfect if you let yourself be and be

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

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

Mental well-being has to do with finding oneself and being clear about who one is.

46. ​​If you need encouragement, flattery and patting on everyone's back, then you are making everyone your judge

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

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

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

48. The person ... how do you feel your own continuous internal change?

Fritz Perls raises this question regarding how we feel that we develop.

49. I can not perceive your conscience. I know only your observable behavior and what you are willing to share

Psychologists, as Fritz Perls understood them, are not fortune-tellers, but have to interpret based on what they can observe and what people manifest.

50. They will not find any animal - except the domestic animal, already infected by humanity - no plant that prevents its own growth

Human beings can be our worst enemy.

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

There is no definitive closure for what we do.

52. Do not push the river, it flows by itself

The present is a constant change.

53. The person who is most in control is the one who can give up control

The pretension to dominate everything that happens in our lives only produces frustration.

54. A hundred plastic flowers can not make the desert bloom

Everything that does not pass through the acceptance of the present is destined to fail.

55. Educating means showing someone that something is possible

An inspired reflection about the task of teachers and educators .

56. Emotions are not discomforts that should be discharged. Emotions are the most important drivers of our behavior

The emotional side is totally integrated with our lives.

57. Feed your computer, the intellect. And the intellect is the tip of intelligence. A nuisance in life

The accumulation of information can act by distracting us.

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

Everything we interpret we do from a certain situation.

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

Fritz Perls talks about human potential.

60. We are not allowed, or are not allowed, to be entirely us

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

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

A reflection on the expectations that mark our vital journey.

62. Change is an opportunity

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

63. Everyone has the responsibility to direct their life towards what they want

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

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

The acceptance processes of the present can not be avoided indefinitely.

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

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 of looking to the past.

67. Much of what it means to improve our visas has to do with knowing how to prioritize

Avoiding struggles in vain avoids frustrations.

68. Loneliness is actually the place where you can connect with the feeling of belonging to the human

A paradox about loneliness.

69. Getting reacquainted with emotions and learning to embrace them is something healing

Must reconcile with the emotional .

70. Distractions are also part of the life path

Throughout our life the tall ones count too.

71. In the rest the harmony returns

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 discover and what they require to be discovered.


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