Quote of the Day: Ambrose Bierce on Daily Inspiration

Notice Bierce’s choice of “lunatics.” He could have said “mistaken” or “confused,” but “lunatics” is a jolt, an unapologetic word that refuses to let us hide behind polite self-descriptions. It sets the stage for a blunt confession: “All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher.”

Bierce isn’t condemning us; he’s naming a human default. We all carry private stories that bend reality, about our talent, our motives, our enemies, our odds. Some delusions are comforting (“I’m fine, this will fix itself”), others are corrosive (“I always ruin things”). The common thread is that they operate silently, steering choices while we swear we’re being “rational.”

The hinge word is “analyze.” Not deny. Not conquer. Analyze means you can hold a belief at arm’s length and inspect it like evidence. That skill turns impulsive reactions into thoughtful responses, which is the quiet engine of leadership, of your time, your temper, your money, your relationships. When you can say, “This is the story my mind is telling,” you regain agency: you can test it, revise it, or replace it.

Ambrose Bierce earned his authority the hard way, as a Civil War veteran, a razor-sharp journalist, and the author of The Devil’s Dictionary, he made a career out of exposing self-deception with wit and precision.

Today, run one “philosopher check”: write down a belief that’s driving your mood (“They don’t respect me,” “I’m behind,” “I need this to be perfect”), then list three alternative explanations and one small experiment to test them. May your clarity be kinder than your certainty.