--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is perhaps no psychological skill…" description: "\"“There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/daniel-goleman-1599_impulse_there-is-perhaps-no-psychological-skill_2366646.jpg" --- # There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental… ![“There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their very nature, lead to one or another impulse to act.” quote by Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/daniel-goleman-1599_impulse_there-is-perhaps-no-psychological-skill_2366646.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/daniel-goleman-1599_impulse_there-is-perhaps-no-psychological-skill_2366646.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f2/daniel-goleman-1599_impulse_there-is-perhaps-no-psychological-skill_2366646.jpg) > ““There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their very nature, lead to one or another impulse to act.”” [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑control stems from resisting impulses; this is the core of emotional regulation. **In simple terms:** Control impulses for emotional self‑control. Key Takeaway Practice impulse‑resistance to manage emotions. Themes self‑control emotion psychology Mood determined calm Type psychological self‑help When to use this quote - stress management - parenting - leadership - personal growth Key Concepts behavioral science mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What impulse do you struggle to resist? - How can you strengthen impulse control? A Different Perspective Impulse resistance can be exhausting over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-emotions/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/there-is-perhaps-no-psychological-skill-more-fundamental-than-2/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. It is the root of all emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/there-is-perhaps-no-psychological-skill-more-fundamental-than/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [We proceed by doubt, by trial and error, by resisting the impulse to lunge after certainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/we-proceed-by-doubt-by-trial-and-error-by-resisting-the-impulse-to/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > […goal directed self-imposed delay of gratification is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/goal-directed-self-imposed-delay-of-gratification-is-perhaps-the/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Nobody can make us feel any particular way only we have control over our own emotions and emotional reactions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/nobody-can-make-us-feel-any-particular-way-only-we-have-control-over/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [I think that everyone has the right to fall in love at any age. But in life you have to learn how to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-armani/i-think-that-everyone-has-the-right-to-fall-in-love-at-any-age-but-in/) [Giorgio Armani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-armani/) > [The minute you let someone make you angry, mad or bitter is the minute you have given them control over your emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/the-minute-you-let-someone-make-you-angry-mad-or-bitter-is-the-minute/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [If you don't control your emotions, your emotions will control your acts, and that's not good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariano-rivera/if-you-don-t-control-your-emotions-your-emotions-will-control-your/) [Mariano Rivera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariano-rivera/) > [Your privates aren't a talent show, don't show them off. Your wrist isn't wood, don't cut it. You're not fat, don't starve yourself. 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Who can't control its emotions and put us in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/the-reason-for-our-most-problems-and-tears-is-our-stupid-heart-who/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [Fans have to try to control their emotions, as we do as footballers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-adebayor/fans-have-to-try-to-control-their-emotions-as-we-do-as-footballers/) [Emmanuel Adebayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-adebayor/) ## More by Daniel Goleman > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [When the darkness is seen as a necessary prelude to the creative light, one is less likely to ascribe frustration to personal inadequacy or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/when-the-darkness-is-seen-as-a-necessary-prelude-to-the-creative/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [All the classical meditation traditions, in one way or another, stress nonattachment to the self as a goal of practice. Oddly, this dimension is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/all-the-classical-meditation-traditions-in-one-way-or-another-stress/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Feelings are self-justifying, with a set of perceptions and "proofs" all their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/feelings-are-self-justifying-with-a-set-of-perceptions-and-proofs-all/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Overloading attention shrinks mental control. Life immersed in digital distractions creates a near constant cognitive overload. And that overload wears out self-control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/overloading-attention-shrinks-mental-control-life-immersed-in-digital/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [What seems to set apart those at the very top of competitive pursuits from others of roughly equal ability is the degree to which,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/what-seems-to-set-apart-those-at-the-very-top-of-competitive-pursuits/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [“What distinguishes leaders in medicine goes far beyond that knowledge, into interpersonal skills like empathy, conflict resolution, and people development.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/what-distinguishes-leaders-in-medicine-goes-far-beyond-that-knowledge/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [“Richard Davidson, a University of Wisconsin psychologist. He discovered that people who have greater activity in the left frontal lobe, compared to the right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/richard-davidson-a-university-of-wisconsin-psychologist-he-discovered/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Emotional 'literacy' implies an expanded responsibility for schools in helping to socialize children. 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In a culture like ours in which inner, spiritual growth is totally neglected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-ability-to-handle-stress-increases-with-the-practice-of/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Research shows that for jobs of all kinds, emotional intelligence is twice as important an ingredient of outstanding performance as cognitive ability and technical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/research-shows-that-for-jobs-of-all-kinds-emotional-intelligence-is/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [The emotional brain responds to an event more quickly than the thinking brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-emotional-brain-responds-to-an-event-more-quickly-than-the/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Positive work environments outperform negative work environments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/positive-work-environments-outperform-negative-work-environments/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Who does not recall school at least in part as endless dreary hours of boredom punctuated by moments of high anxiety?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/who-does-not-recall-school-at-least-in-part-as-endless-dreary-hours/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) [Explore all 200 Daniel Goleman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) ## More Impulse quotes > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. 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It is a phobia that tethers and blinds ur ability to see and comprehend your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/anything-you-fear-is-a-shackle-to-ur-soul-it-is-a-phobia-that-tethers/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The odor of bowel wind is known to every human, but the fragrance of book glue has crossed only a fraction of mortal nostrils.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-odor-of-bowel-wind-is-known-to-every-human-but-the-fragrance-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Dialogue and education for peace can help free our hearts from the impulse toward intolerance and the rejection of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/dialogue-and-education-for-peace-can-help-free-our-hearts-from-the/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/where-one-person-shapes-their-life-by-precept-and-example-there-are-a/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [ No one suffers so much as he \[the genius\] with the people, and, therefore, for the people, with whom he lives. For, in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/no-one-suffers-so-much-as-he-the-genius-with-the-people-and-therefore/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [If we are to define science, ... it does not consist so much in knowing, nor even in "organized knowledge," as it does in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/if-we-are-to-define-science-it-does-not-consist-so-much-in-knowing/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Order is a prerequisite of survival; therefore the impulse to produce orderly arrangements is inbred by evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-arnheim/order-is-a-prerequisite-of-survival-therefore-the-impulse-to-produce/) [Rudolf Arnheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-arnheim/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) Browse all 1,476 Impulse quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There is perhaps no psychological skill more fundamental than resisting impulse. 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