“Every day, in every way…”

FAMOUS PSYCHOTHERAPY MANTRA: “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” (“Tous les jours, a tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux.”)         Émile Coué (1857-1926)        French psychologist and pharmacist        Coué was renowned for his theories about the healing power of “conscious autosuggestion” or self-hypnosis, also called Couéism or the Coué method. This famous line was inscribed on the wall of Coué’s sanitarium in Nancy, France in 1910 and promoted in his books, such as De la suggestion et de ses application (“On Suggestion and its Applications”), published in 1915.        Coué claimed that people with mental or physical problems could be cured by saying his catchphrase to themselves 15 to 20 times every day.

UPDATED PSYCHOTHERAPY QUOTE: “It seems to me that psychotherapy, perhaps like so much else in our current culture, has learned to chant a distinctly counter-Coué mantra: ‘Every day, in every way, I get worse and worse.’”        Professor Ernesto Spinelli        British psychotherapist and psychologist        In his book The Mirror and the Hammer (2004)

WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY COUNTERQUOTE: “Every day, in every way, things [in America] are getting worse and worse. It wouldn’t be so bad if, while running through the darkening wood, we knew we were headed toward daylight, but we don’t know any such thing.”        William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008)        Conservative political commentator and author        In his column in The National Review, July 2, 1963

SCARY MOTHER TERESA VARIATION: “We think of our own faces as ugly because of the wrinkles and lines and sagging flesh...When you look in the mirror, don't ask yourself whether you look like Marilyn Monroe. Say instead to yourself — every day in every way, I look more like Mother Teresa!”        Dr. Ronda Chervin        American theologist        In her book Seeking Christ in the Crosses & Joys of Aging (2003)

HENRY MILLER’S COSMIC VERSION: “I am living out my share of life and thus abetting the scheme of things. I further the development, the enrichment, the evolution and the devolution of the cosmos, every day in every way. I give all I have to give, voluntarily, and take as much as I can possibly ingest.”        Henry Miller (1891-1980)        American novelist, painter and social commentator        In his book The Wisdom of the Heart (1960)

TRANSFORMERS BEAST WAR VERSION: “EVERY DAY, IN EVERY WAY, I’M GETTING BADDER.”        Hydra        His motto in The Transformers Beast Wars Sourcebook (2008)

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Related reading…

“First, do no harm.” (“Primum non nocere.”)

THE FAMOUS ALLEGED DOCTORS’ OATH: “First, do no harm.” (“Primum non nocere.”)        Commonly attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 460 B.C. - c. 377 B.C.)        It is widely — and wrongly — believed that this phrase was written by Hippocrates and is part of the “The Hippocratic Oath” that doctors take. In reality, the Hippocratic Oath was written by the early followers of Hippocrates, not by Hippocrates himself. Moreover, the phrase “First, do no harm” (“Primum non nocere” in Latin) does not appear in the original version or modern versions of the Hippocratic Oath and there is no legal requirement for doctors to take this oath, though it is a tradition at most medical schools.

THE ALLEGED ALTERNATE OATH OF SOME DOCTORS: “First, do no harm. Second, leave no wallet with anything other than a condom in it.”        From a post by the anonymous author of The Enlightening Nonsense blog        His view on the high fees charged by some physicians and medical clinics

AN ECO-MINDED BUDDHIST’S CODE: “First, do no harm; second, do what you can to relieve suffering. It’s bound to be a slow process and is part of what the Dalai Lama has called ‘ethics for a new millennium.’” Everyone must take responsibility for the well-being of the planet.”        Arnold Kozak        From Kozak’s Buddhism, The Everything Buddhism Book (2011)

A NINJA’S CODE: “The rule is: first, do no harm; second, never make a challenge; third, never turn down a challenge.”        Ashida Kim         Marshal arts code in Kim’s book The Invisible Fist: Secret Ninja Methods of Vanishing Without a Trace (1998)

A TYPICAL POLITICIAN’S CODE: “The doctor’s code is, ‘First — do no harm.’ The politician’s code is, ‘First — go on television.”        Guillermo Del Toro, with co-author Chuck Hogan        Said by the character Dr. Barnes, in their modern vampire novel The Strain (2009)

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A new (and highly-recommended) book of quotations: NEVERISMS: A Quotation Lover's Guide to Things You Should Never Do, Never Say, or Never Forget By quotation maven Dr. Mardy Grothe