Each of us guides our behavior based on values acquired and assumed throughout our lives It is a set of principles, beliefs and deep convictions regarding how we should act, establishing a basis that helps us evaluate reality and what we should or should not do.
Acting in a discordant way with them will generate a certain feeling of anguish and discomfort, more accentuated the more important the value is for us, while acting consistently with them gives us satisfaction and the feeling of having done things well.
Being so important to us throughout history, numerous personalities have made different reflections on them, from which we have chosen a brief collection of phrases.
70 phrases about ethical values
Below we present seventy of some of the best phrases about values that exist, dealing with the topic directly or making reference to what it means to act based on a certain value.
1. Try not to be a successful man, but a man with values
Einstein reflects the need to act according to values, what we believe is right, rather than simply pursuing success and wealth.
2. Every time a value is born, existence takes on a new meaning; Every time one dies, a part of that meaning fades away.
Joseph Wood Krutch uttered this phrase which reflects the importance of following what we believe is right and not allowing that value to be crushed and ignored by our behavior.
3. Duty is a god who does not consent to atheists
In this phrase, Victor Hugo reflects the value of responsibility and the need to act in accordance with it.
4. Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; but it’s also what it takes to sit and listen
Churchill indicated that courage is not only acting but daring not to do it and reflecting when necessary.
5. When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that’s my religion
This phrase from Abraham Lincoln reflects on a general level the sensations generated by acting in accordance with our values or against them.
6. Values are not just words, values are what we live by. They are the causes we defend and what people fight for.
John Kerry teaches us in this phrase how important values are for everyone, even if they are not shared.
7. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values
Flexibility is something highly valued today, but as the Dalai Lama tells us in this phrase, this does not mean that we have to let go of what makes us who we are or what we believe.
8. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools
The value of cooperation, communication and mutual respect is essential to allow us to develop in society, as Martin Luther King reminds us.
9. Loyalty cannot be printed. It cannot be produced on an assembly line, because its origin is in the human heart, the center of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force that exists only when the exact conditions are met and it is a force that is very sensitive to betrayal.
Maurice Franks expresses that loyalty is a complex value that cannot be generated by force.
10. Never think you know everything. No matter how high you value yourself, always have the courage to say to yourself: I am ignorant.
This phrase by Ivan Pavlov refers to the value of humility.
11. Above talent are common values: discipline, love, good luck, but above all tenacity
James Baldwin’s phrase regarding some of the most well-known and relevant values.
12. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny
It was Mahatma Gandhi who uttered this phrase, indicating that pursuing and maintaining our values will guide our path in life in their direction.
13. I prefer to suffer an injustice rather than cause it, because if I cause it I will become an unjust person
This phrase from Socrates indicates the preference to be authentic and act in accordance with what is believed to be right even if it may cause others to take advantage of or attack us for it.
14. Courage is not having the strength to move forward; It’s moving forward when you don’t have the strength
Theodore Roosevelt quote about perseverance and courage.
15. Hope is the pillar that supports the world. Hope is a waking man’s dream
Pliny the Elder tells us about the value of hope as one of the main elements that allow us to fight against difficulties and continue living.
16. Keep love in your heart. A life without him is like a garden with sunshine when the flowers are dead.
Love is also an important value that directs our behavior, being in fact one of the most powerful, as Oscar Wilde states in this phrase.
17. I only know that I know nothing
The value of humility and honesty is what we find in this well-known phrase from Socrates.
18. Anonymity is the most genuine expression of altruism
Whoever is truly altruistic does not require recognition from others, as Eric Gibson indicates.
19. If it were not a fact of experience that the supreme values reside in the Soul, Psychology would not interest me in the least, since the soul would then be nothing more than a miserable vapor.
Carl Gustav Jung reflected the importance of our values as an element that explains much of our behavior and even our way of perceiving reality.
20. It doesn’t matter how slow you go as long as you don’t stop.
Andy Warhol indicates in this phrase the importance of the value of perseverance
21. I do what you can’t and you what I can’t. Together we can do great things
With this phrase, Maria Teresa of Calcutta indicated the importance of the value of cooperation.
22. Instead of censoring people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to imagine why they do what they do. That is much more useful and more interesting than criticism, and from it arises sympathy, tolerance and kindness.
Quote from Dale Carnegie that indicates the importance of being tolerant, trying to understand and accept what they do and why.
23. A true friend is the one who comes in when the rest leaves
Walter Winchell reflects what true friendship is, when it is an important value for the person.
24. Being honest may not get you friends, but it will always get you the right ones.
John Lennon tells us about the value of honesty and the importance of maintaining it even though it may have consequences.
25. Let’s be grateful to the people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners that make our soul bloom
Marcel Proust makes us see the need to be grateful, gratitude also being a value to take into account in our daily lives.
26. When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen
Hemingway indicated the need to take consideration for others as a value.
27. See with the eyes of another, listen with the ears of another and feel with the heart of another
This phrase by Alfred Adler greatly expresses what empathy implies, which should also be an element to take into account when dealing with others.
28. Only those who stand up and look for circumstances and create them if they cannot find them triumph in the world.
An important value in our current society is proactivity, as George Bernard Shaw reminds us.
29. When you are true to yourself in what you do, fascinating things happen.
Deborah Norville reflects on the importance of being authentic.
30. If you tell the truth you won’t have to remember anything
Mark Twain reflects in this phrase the value of authenticity and honesty.
31. Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties and obstacles disappear
John Quincy Adams tells us that these aspects help us face difficult situations and solve them.
32. Everything you can or dream of doing, start it. Audacity contains within itself genius, power and magic.
Goethe expresses the benefits of acting boldly, expressing the value of proactivity and bravery.
33. He who is slowest to make a promise is the most faithful to keep it
Rousseau reflects on the value of fidelity and commitment.
34. Those who want to sing always find a song
Joy can be considered a value, and keeping it present in our lives will make us see our life and act in a positive way.
35. Strength and wisdom are not opposite values
Sometimes it has been considered that being strong implies being rigid and not being wise, and the same goes the other way around, but in reality these are complementary values since being wise gives us strength. This phrase is from Winston Churchill.
36. Your values define who you really are. Your real identity is the sum total of your values
This phrase by Assegid Habtewold reflects that values shape not only how we act but also our self-concept: who we are.
37. Men are rich only in measure of what they give. He who gives a great service receives a great reward
Elbert Hubbard elicits in this phrase the value of generosity and solidarity, which makes us give to others with the intention of improving their lives.
38. Education without values seems to make man a more intelligent demon
Lewis indicates that it is essential to educate the population in values, so that they can direct their behavior.
39. Love establishes the foundations of all human values
As Milan Hollister says, it is love and affection that causes us to subscribe to certain values and beliefs and feel some closer to us than others.
40. Values provide perspective in the best and worst of times
Values offer us, as Charles Garfield indicates in this phrase, a guide to act at any time and situation, allowing us to know how to act even in our worst moments.
41. Sometimes impatience bears more fruit than the deepest calculations
Bernard Shaw, although he mentions the value of patience, basically defends the value of spontaneity in this phrase.
42. Passion is a feeling that tells you: this is what needs to be done. Nothing can get in my way
Wayne Dyer expresses in this phrase the value of passion and perseverance to achieve our goals.
43. If you are looking for different results, don’t always do the same thing
Einstein’s phrase that expresses the value of flexibility in order to adapt, learn and generate changes in our lives.
44. It is wrong and immoral to try to escape the consequences of one’s actions
Our actions have their consequences. Being able to accept our involvement and face these consequences is what responsibility as a value entails, as indicated by this phrase from Mahatma Gandhi.
45. A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life.
James Allen encourages us to take responsibility for our own lives, because ultimately the decisions we make will be made by us and no one else. The values of responsibility and autonomy are expressed.
46. I want to die a slave to principles, not to men
A famous phrase from the great Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata.
47. Happiness is something internal, not external; and that is why it will never depend on what we have, but on what we are
A good recipe that we can follow as an example to achieve happiness.
48. I am the master of my destiny, I am the captain of my soul
A truly inspiring phrase, by former South African president Nelson Mandela.
49. You learn to love, not when you find the perfect person, but when you learn to believe in the perfection of an imperfect person
People who have loved understand this phrase perfectly.
50. Loyalty is based on respect, and respect is the fruit of love
One of Paulo Coelho’s most beautiful phrases about loyalty.
51. How you make others feel says a lot about you
Something that we must take into account throughout our lives.
52. The true friend is the one who knows everything about you and remains your friend (Kurt Cobain)
A very accurate image of true friendship.
53. Honesty is the best of all the lost arts
A great phrase attributed to the American author Mark Twain.
54. Stories are more full of examples of faithful dogs than of faithful friends.
A very humorous image that makes us reflect on fidelity.
55. Even the survival of a gang of thieves requires mutual loyalty
A very accurate reflection, attributed to former president Antonio Cánovas del Castillo.
56. When the battle rages, the soldier’s loyalty is tested
A phrase that can inspire us in our daily lives, awarded to Martin Luther.
57. The human being who loses loyalty loses his life
The value of loyalty is one of the most important in any person.
58. Loyalty is based on respect, and respect is the fruit of love
A truly beautiful quote about the importance of loyalty.
59. All for one and one for all
The motto used by the Three Musketeers who star in the novel by Alexandre Dumas.
60. Integrity is doing the right thing even if no one is watching
A phrase that can serve as a guideline for conduct throughout our lives.
61. Being loyal to yourself is the only way to become loyal to others
One of the most remembered phrases of the Spanish poet Vicente Aleixandre.
62. Never be mean in anything; never be disloyal; never be cruel
A recipe that we can use in our daily lives.
63. Searching for the “I” in the power of gold is building on sand
We must be humble and fight to achieve our goals from scratch.
64. Loyalty has a calm heart
Without a doubt a very poetic image of loyalty.
65. Each one gives what he receives, then he receives what he gives
One of the most remembered verses by singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler.
66. Not everything that counts can be counted, nor does everything that can be counted count.
A very profound phrase with which we can reflect deeply.
67. That is one of the limitations of noble people, incapable of thinking that others can act motivated by interests other than those of loyalty and nobility.
Some people cannot see evil even if it is right in front of them.
68. Solidarity is the tenderness of peoples
A truly beautiful image that we can be inspired by.
69. The true friend is the one who is by your side when you would prefer to be somewhere else
True loyalty is measured in the moments of greatest difficulty.
70. These are the rules of happiness: something to do, something to love, something to hope for.
One of the most famous phrases of the German thinker Immanuel Kant.
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PsychologyFor. (2024). 70 Phrases of Human Values that We Should Always Remember. https://psychologyfor.com/70-phrases-of-human-values-that-we-should-always-remember/