Jordan Bernt Peterson is a known public speaker, clinical psychologist, and Canadian Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto. In late 2010, he received widespread attention because of his views on political and cultural issues. May these famous Jordan Peterson quotes give you the insights you need on your life's greatest journey.
1. “The purpose of life is finding the largest burden that you can bear and bearing it.” – Jordan Peterson
2. “Don't compare yourself with other people; compare yourself with who you were yesterday.” – Jordan Peterson
3. “The secret to your existence is right in front of you. It manifests itself as all those things you know you should do, but are avoiding.” – Jordan Peterson
4. “Dreams shed light on the dim places where reason itself has yet to voyage.” – Jordan Peterson
5. “You're going to pay a price for every bloody thing you do and everything you don't do. You don't get to choose to not pay a price. You get to choose which poison you're going to take. That's it.” – Jordan Peterson
6. “You don't get to choose not to pay a price, you only get to choose which price you pay.” – Jordan Peterson
7. “In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.” – Jordan Peterson
8. “There’s some real utility in gratitude. It’s also good protection against the dangers of victimhood and resentment.” – Jordan Peterson
9. “If you can't understand why someone is doing something, look at the consequences of their actions, whatever they might be, and then infer the motivations from their consequences.” – Jordan Peterson
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jordan Peterson")
10. “There are some games you don't get to play unless you are all in.” – Jordan Peterson
11. “And you must be cautious, because making your life better means adopting a lot of responsibility, and that takes more effort and care than living stupidly in pain and remaining arrogant, deceitful and resentful.” – Jordan Peterson
12. “It is better, proverbially, to rule your own spirit than to rule a city.” – Jordan Peterson
13. “If you don't say what you think then you kill your unborn self.” – Jordan Peterson
14. “Every bit of learning is a little death. Every bit of new information challenges a previous conception, forcing it to dissolve into chaos before it can be reborn as something better. Sometimes such deaths virtually destroy us.” – Jordan Peterson
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jordan Peterson")
15. “If you fulfill your obligations everyday you don't need to worry about the future.” – Jordan Peterson
16. “We require rules, standards, and values—alone and together. We’re pack animals, beasts of burden. We must bear a load to justify our miserable existence.” – Jordan Peterson
17. “It’s appropriate and praiseworthy to associate with people whose lives would be improved if they saw your life improve.” – Jordan Peterson
18. “The better ambitions have to do with the development of character and ability, rather than status and power. Status you can lose. You carry character with you wherever you go, and it allows you to prevail against adversity.” – Jordan Peterson
19. “If you remember that something bad happened, and you can figure out why, then you can try to avoid that bad thing happening again. That’s the purpose of memory. It’s not to remember the past. It’s to stop the same damn thing from happening over and over.” – Jordan Peterson
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jordan Peterson")
20. “If you don't stand your ground, then all that happens is people push you backwards.” – Jordan Peterson
21. “When you have something to say, silence is a lie—and tyranny feeds on lies.” – Jordan Peterson
22. “There are so many ways that things can fall apart, or fail to work altogether, and it is always wounded people who are holding it together.” – Jordan Peterson
23. “It is far better to render Beings in your care competent than to protect them.” – Jordan Peterson
24. “It took untold generations to get you where you are. A little gratitude might be in order. If you're going to insist on bending the world to your way, you better have your reasons.” – Jordan Peterson
-min.jpg "Famous quotes and sayings by Jordan Peterson")
25. “You should never sacrifice what you could be for what you are.” – Jordan Peterson
26. “If you are not willing to be a fool, you can't become a master.” – Jordan Peterson
27. “Always place your becoming above your current being.” – Jordan Peterson
28. “What you aim at determines what you see.” – Jordan Peterson
29. “You cannot be protected from the things that frighten you and hurt you, but if you identify with the part of your being that is responsible for transformation, then you are always the equal, or more than the equal of the things that frighten you.” – Jordan Peterson
30. “If you betray yourself, if you say untrue things, if you act out a lie, you weaken your character.” – Jordan Peterson
More Jordan Peterson Quotes about Life
31. “Consciousness is a mystery that faces the mystery of potential and transforms it into actuality. We do that with every choice we make. Our choices determine the destiny of the world. By making a choice, you alter the structure of reality.” – Jordan Peterson
32. “And if you think tough men are dangerous, wait until you see what weak men are capable of.” – Jordan Peterson
33. “We believe that in reducing the scope and importance of our errors, we are properly humble; in truth, we are merely unwilling to bear the weight of our true responsibility.” – Jordan Peterson
34. “Ideologies are substitutes for true knowledge, and ideologues are always dangerous when they come to power because a simple-minded I-know-it-all approach is no match for the complexity of existence.” – Jordan Peterson
35. “The successful among us delay gratification. The successful among us bargain with the future.” – Jordan Peterson
36. “You must determine where you are going in your life, because you cannot get there unless you move in that direction. Random wandering will not move you forward. It will instead disappoint and frustrate you and make you anxious and unhappy and hard to get along with.” – Jordan Peterson
37. “Stop saying those things that make you weak and ashamed. Say only those things that make you strong. Do only those things that you could speak of with honour.” – Jordan Peterson
38. “The purpose of life, as far as I can tell is to find a mode of being that’s so meaningful that the fact that life is suffering is no longer relevant.” – Jordan Peterson
39. “If you have a comprehensive explanation for everything then it decreases uncertainty and anxiety and reduces your cognitive load. And if you can use that simplifying algorithm to put yourself on the side of moral virtue then you’re constantly a good person with a minimum of effort.” – Jordan Peterson
40. “Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.” – Jordan Peterson
41. “It isn’t precisely that people will fight for what they believe. They will fight, instead, to maintain the match between what they believe, what they expect, and what they desire.” – Jordan Peterson
42. “The things that pose the greatest threats to your survival are the most real things.” – Jordan Peterson
43. “The truth is something that burns. It burns off dead wood. And people don't like having the dead wood burnt off, often because they're ninety five percent dead wood.” – Jordan Peterson
44. “No one gets away with anything, ever, so take responsibility for your own life.” – Jordan Peterson
45. “As pessimistic as I am about the nature of human beings and our capacity for atrocity and malevolence and betrayal and laziness and inertia, and all those things, I think we can transcend all that and set things straight.” – Jordan Peterson
46. “Accept the terrible responsibility of life with eyes wide open.” – Jordan Peterson
47. “It's in responsibility that most people find the meaning that sustains them through life. It's not in happiness. It's not in impulsive pleasure.” – Jordan Peterson
48. “There's a personality trait known as agreeableness. Agreeable people are compassionate and polite. And agreeable people get paid less than disagreeable people for the same job. Women are more agreeable than men.” – Jordan Peterson
49. “When you start to realise how much of what you've constructed of yourself is based on deception and lies, that is a horrifying realisation.” – Jordan Peterson
50. “You can't have a value structure without a hierarchy. They're the same thing because a value structure means one thing takes precedence over another.” – Jordan Peterson
Share these Best Jordan Peterson Quotes with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.
2. “Don't compare yourself with other people; compare yourself with who you were yesterday.” – Jordan Peterson
3. “The secret to your existence is right in front of you. It manifests itself as all those things you know you should do, but are avoiding.” – Jordan Peterson
4. “Dreams shed light on the dim places where reason itself has yet to voyage.” – Jordan Peterson
5. “You're going to pay a price for every bloody thing you do and everything you don't do. You don't get to choose to not pay a price. You get to choose which poison you're going to take. That's it.” – Jordan Peterson
6. “You don't get to choose not to pay a price, you only get to choose which price you pay.” – Jordan Peterson
7. “In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.” – Jordan Peterson
8. “There’s some real utility in gratitude. It’s also good protection against the dangers of victimhood and resentment.” – Jordan Peterson
9. “If you can't understand why someone is doing something, look at the consequences of their actions, whatever they might be, and then infer the motivations from their consequences.” – Jordan Peterson
11. “And you must be cautious, because making your life better means adopting a lot of responsibility, and that takes more effort and care than living stupidly in pain and remaining arrogant, deceitful and resentful.” – Jordan Peterson
12. “It is better, proverbially, to rule your own spirit than to rule a city.” – Jordan Peterson
13. “If you don't say what you think then you kill your unborn self.” – Jordan Peterson
14. “Every bit of learning is a little death. Every bit of new information challenges a previous conception, forcing it to dissolve into chaos before it can be reborn as something better. Sometimes such deaths virtually destroy us.” – Jordan Peterson
16. “We require rules, standards, and values—alone and together. We’re pack animals, beasts of burden. We must bear a load to justify our miserable existence.” – Jordan Peterson
17. “It’s appropriate and praiseworthy to associate with people whose lives would be improved if they saw your life improve.” – Jordan Peterson
18. “The better ambitions have to do with the development of character and ability, rather than status and power. Status you can lose. You carry character with you wherever you go, and it allows you to prevail against adversity.” – Jordan Peterson
19. “If you remember that something bad happened, and you can figure out why, then you can try to avoid that bad thing happening again. That’s the purpose of memory. It’s not to remember the past. It’s to stop the same damn thing from happening over and over.” – Jordan Peterson
21. “When you have something to say, silence is a lie—and tyranny feeds on lies.” – Jordan Peterson
22. “There are so many ways that things can fall apart, or fail to work altogether, and it is always wounded people who are holding it together.” – Jordan Peterson
23. “It is far better to render Beings in your care competent than to protect them.” – Jordan Peterson
24. “It took untold generations to get you where you are. A little gratitude might be in order. If you're going to insist on bending the world to your way, you better have your reasons.” – Jordan Peterson
26. “If you are not willing to be a fool, you can't become a master.” – Jordan Peterson
27. “Always place your becoming above your current being.” – Jordan Peterson
28. “What you aim at determines what you see.” – Jordan Peterson
29. “You cannot be protected from the things that frighten you and hurt you, but if you identify with the part of your being that is responsible for transformation, then you are always the equal, or more than the equal of the things that frighten you.” – Jordan Peterson
30. “If you betray yourself, if you say untrue things, if you act out a lie, you weaken your character.” – Jordan Peterson
More Jordan Peterson Quotes about Life
31. “Consciousness is a mystery that faces the mystery of potential and transforms it into actuality. We do that with every choice we make. Our choices determine the destiny of the world. By making a choice, you alter the structure of reality.” – Jordan Peterson
32. “And if you think tough men are dangerous, wait until you see what weak men are capable of.” – Jordan Peterson
33. “We believe that in reducing the scope and importance of our errors, we are properly humble; in truth, we are merely unwilling to bear the weight of our true responsibility.” – Jordan Peterson
34. “Ideologies are substitutes for true knowledge, and ideologues are always dangerous when they come to power because a simple-minded I-know-it-all approach is no match for the complexity of existence.” – Jordan Peterson
35. “The successful among us delay gratification. The successful among us bargain with the future.” – Jordan Peterson
36. “You must determine where you are going in your life, because you cannot get there unless you move in that direction. Random wandering will not move you forward. It will instead disappoint and frustrate you and make you anxious and unhappy and hard to get along with.” – Jordan Peterson
37. “Stop saying those things that make you weak and ashamed. Say only those things that make you strong. Do only those things that you could speak of with honour.” – Jordan Peterson
38. “The purpose of life, as far as I can tell is to find a mode of being that’s so meaningful that the fact that life is suffering is no longer relevant.” – Jordan Peterson
39. “If you have a comprehensive explanation for everything then it decreases uncertainty and anxiety and reduces your cognitive load. And if you can use that simplifying algorithm to put yourself on the side of moral virtue then you’re constantly a good person with a minimum of effort.” – Jordan Peterson
40. “Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world.” – Jordan Peterson
41. “It isn’t precisely that people will fight for what they believe. They will fight, instead, to maintain the match between what they believe, what they expect, and what they desire.” – Jordan Peterson
42. “The things that pose the greatest threats to your survival are the most real things.” – Jordan Peterson
43. “The truth is something that burns. It burns off dead wood. And people don't like having the dead wood burnt off, often because they're ninety five percent dead wood.” – Jordan Peterson
44. “No one gets away with anything, ever, so take responsibility for your own life.” – Jordan Peterson
45. “As pessimistic as I am about the nature of human beings and our capacity for atrocity and malevolence and betrayal and laziness and inertia, and all those things, I think we can transcend all that and set things straight.” – Jordan Peterson
46. “Accept the terrible responsibility of life with eyes wide open.” – Jordan Peterson
47. “It's in responsibility that most people find the meaning that sustains them through life. It's not in happiness. It's not in impulsive pleasure.” – Jordan Peterson
48. “There's a personality trait known as agreeableness. Agreeable people are compassionate and polite. And agreeable people get paid less than disagreeable people for the same job. Women are more agreeable than men.” – Jordan Peterson
49. “When you start to realise how much of what you've constructed of yourself is based on deception and lies, that is a horrifying realisation.” – Jordan Peterson
50. “You can't have a value structure without a hierarchy. They're the same thing because a value structure means one thing takes precedence over another.” – Jordan Peterson
Share these Best Jordan Peterson Quotes with your friends, family, and loved ones to inspire them as well.