Emmet Fox Quotes

Emmet Fox (1886 – 1951) was a 20th century preacher and New Thought author who is best known for his book, The Sermon on the Mount: The Key to Success in Life and the pamphlet The Seven Day Mental Diet : How to Change Your Life in a Week.

In his books, Fox lays out a simple yet profound philosophy for living a successful and meaningful life. Central to Fox’s philosophy is the idea that we create our own reality through our thoughts and actions. This philosophy has inspired and helped countless people over the years, and his words are just as relevant today as they were when he first wrote them.

If you’re looking for some inspiration and wisdom to help you navigate life’s challenges, take some time to read these famous quotes by Emmet Fox that show him linking the power of our thoughts to the actions and results that we see ‘play’ out in our lives.

“Look where you are going because you will inevitably go where you are looking.” Emmet Fox

“Whenever you are afraid of something you are worshipping it. Whatever you fear, you bow down to and give it power.” Emmet Fox

“When you are in difficulties, look upon the overcoming of them as a great adventure.” Emmet Fox

“What we experience is our own concept of things. That is why no two people see quite the same world, and why, in many cases, different people see such different worlds. To put it another way, we make our own world by the way in which we think; for we really do live in a world of our own thoughts.” Emmet Fox

“Criticism is an indirect form of self-boasting.” Emmet Fox

“Attention is the key to life. Whatever you really give your attention to, you become. Whatever you really concentrate upon will come into your life. We grow into the thing that fills our thoughts as inevitably as the stream merges into the ocean at last.” Emmet Fox

“You can never solve a problem on the same level as the problem.” Emmet Fox

“Your fixed convictions concerning the things that really matter mold your destiny.” Emmet Fox

“Whatever you experience in your life is really but the out picturing of your own thoughts and beliefs. Now, you can change these thoughts and beliefs, and then the outer picture must change too. The outer picture cannot change until you change your thought.” Emmet Fox

“Where you stand today does not matter; it is the direction in which you are moving, and the rate at which you travel, that counts.” Emmet Fox

“What we see in the outer is but a reflection of the inner, because we surround ourselves with a picture of our own beliefs. In other words, we manifest in general what we seriously think and believe. So, if we want to find out what our habitual thinking is like, we have but to look around us and ask ourselves what we really see.” Emmet Fox

“You must not allow yourself to dwell for a single moment on any kind of negative thought.” Emmet Fox

“It is the food which you furnish to your mind that determines the whole character of your life.” Emmet Fox

“A smile costs nothing in money, time, or effort but it is literally true that it can be of supreme importance in one’s life.” Emmet Fox

“If you want to dismiss a negative thought, the only way to do so is to think of something positive and constructive.” Emmet Fox

“A small spark can start a great fire.” Emmet Fox

“The art of life is to live in the present moment and to make that moment as perfect as we can by the realization that we are the instruments and expression of God himself.” Emmet Fox

“What you think upon grows. Whatever you allow to occupy your mind you magnify in your life. Whether the subject of your thought be good or bad, the law works, and the condition grows. Any subject that you keep out of your mind tends to diminish in your life, because what you do not use atrophies. The more you think of grievances, the more such trials you will continue to receive; the more you think of the good fortune you have had, the more good fortune will come to you.” Emmet Fox

“The great difference between the two feelings is that love is always creative, and fear is always destructive.” Emmet Fox

“If you have no time for prayer and meditation, you will have lots of time for sickness and trouble.” Emmet Fox

“We build in thought the conditions that will later come into manifestation on the physical plane.” Emmet Fox

“You are not happy because you are well. You are well because you are happy. You are not depressed because trouble has come to you, but trouble has come to you because you are depressed. You can change your thoughts and feelings, and then the outer things will come to correspond, and indeed there is no other way of working.” Emmet Fox

“Supply yourself with a mental equivalent, and the thing must come to you.” Emmet Fox

“Many people look upon change with dread and foreboding. But for those on the spiritual path-for those who believe in God and the power of prayer-change is a fuller expression of life. When a problem or condition arises in your life that indicates a change, rely upon God, and realize that it is not so much that a door has closed on a chapter of your life, but rather that a door has opened on new and more interesting things.” Emmet Fox

“Each day is a new life. Each moment is really a new life. What we call memories are really present thoughts. What we call anticipations are really present thoughts. No one has ever lived in any moment except the present.” Emmet Fox

“Claim your divine, glorious selfhood. Think it, talk it, live it and it will demonstrate itself in your life.” Emmet Fox

“Here’s an experiment: For one whole day think, speak, and act exactly as you would if you were absolutely convinced of the truth of the statements that God has all power and infinite intelligence, and that His nature is infinite goodness and love. To think in this manner all day will be the most difficult thing, because thought is so subtle. To speak in accordance with these truths will be easier, if you are vigilant. To act in accordance with them will be the easiest part, although it may require much in the way of moral courage.” Emmet Fox

“We make our own world by the way in which we think; for we really do live in a world of our own thoughts.” Emmet Fox

“It is the Law that any difficulties that can come to you at any time, no matter what they are, must be exactly what you need most at the moment, to enable you to take the next step forward by overcoming them. The only real misfortune, the only real tragedy, comes when we suffer without learning the lesson.” Emmet Fox

“When you resist a difficulty you antagonize it, and it bites back.” Emmet Fox

“You must not under any pretense allow your mind to dwell on any thought that is not positive, constructive, optimistic, kind.” Emmet Fox

“The art of life is to live in the present moment” Emmet Fox

“Let us be merciful in our mental judgments of our brothers and sisters, for, in truth, we are all one, and the more deeply they seem to err, the more urgent is the need for us to help them with the right thought, and so make it easier for them to get free.” Emmet Fox

These quotes by Emmet Fox are a great reminder of why we need to be conscious of what beliefs we hold, and what we continue to tell ourselves. For more inspiring quotes on the New Thought philosophy, check out the following: