When you blame others, you give up your power to change.
Robert Anthony (contemp.) American psychologist, author
(Spurious)
This particular phrase is frequently attributed to Anthony, but is not found in his works. It is in keeping with what he has written, though, such as the following from his The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-confidence, ch. 3 (1979):We blame others and complain to and about them because we refuse to accept the fact that we are responsible for everything that happens to us. It is much easier to blame someone else than to say, "It is I who has the problem" or "It is I who must change."
The phrase is also often misattributed to Douglas Adams.
Quotations about:
change
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator.
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) English philosopher, scientist, author, statesman
“Of Innovations,” Essays, No. 24 (1625)
(Source)
I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge.
CALVIN: Know what’s weird? Day by day nothing seems to change. But pretty soon, everything is different.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead (1901–1978) American anthropologist
(Attributed)
Phrase frequently attributed to Mead, but not found in her writings. The first sentence, however, is trademarked.
Mead founded the Institute for Intercultural Studies in 1944 (it dissolved in 2009). Regarding this quote, the IIS noted on its still extant website:We have been unable to locate when and where it was first cited, becoming a motto for many organizations and movements. We believe it probably came into circulation through a newspaper report of something said spontaneously and informally. We know, however, that it was firmly rooted in her professional work and that it reflected a conviction that she expressed often, in different contexts and phrasings.
Additional discussion about this quotation's origins: Never Doubt That a Small Group of Thoughtful, Committed Citizens Can Change the World; Indeed, It’s the Only Thing That Ever Has – Quote Investigator.
LADY MACBETH: Things without all remedy
Should be without regard: what’s done is done.William Shakespeare (1564–1616) English dramatist and poet
Macbeth, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 13ff [Lady Macbeth] (1606)
(Source)
There is nowhere you can go and only be with people who are like you. Give it up.
Bernice Johnson Reagon (b. 1942) American song leader, composer, scholar, social activist
“Coalition Politics: Turning the Century,” presentation, West Coast Women’s Music Festival, Yosemite (1981)
(Source)
There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Time Must Have a Stop (1944)
Prayer does not change God, but changes him who prays.
Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher, theologian
Works of Love (1847)
And yet in our world everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.
Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910) Russian novelist and moral philosopher
Pamphlets, “Some Social Remedies,” “Three Methods of Reform” [tr. Free Age Press (1900)]
(Source)
More common variant: "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.
Saul Alinsky (1909–1972) American community organizer, writer.
Rules for Radicals, “The Purpose” (1971)
(Source)
I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself.
Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
Quoted in “Sayings of the Week,” The Observer (2 Jul 1961)
Not actually found in any of Huxley's published works, and this reference does not provide a source or situation where it was said.
For more discussion: I Wanted To Change the World. But I Have Found That the Only Thing One Can Be Sure of Changing Is Oneself – Quote Investigator®
To be interested in the changing seasons is, in this middling zone, a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring.
George Santayana (1863–1952) Spanish-American poet and philosopher [Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruíz de Santayana y Borrás]
The Life of Reason or The Phases of Human Progress, Vol. 4 “Reason in Art,” ch. 9 “Justification of Art” (1905-06)
Full text.
Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.
Frank Zappa (1940–1993) American singer-songwriter
A Day with Frank Zappa, Part 5, documentary, dir. Roelof Kiers, VPRO-TV (1971-02-11)
Widely attributed to Zappa in various forms, but with very few actual citations.
The Kiers documentary gave the quotation twice. First (Source, Video):Well I think that progress is not possible without deviation. And I think that it's important that people be aware of some of the creative ways in which some of their fellow men are deviating from the norm, because in some instances they might find these deviations inspiring and might suggest further deviations which might cause progress, you never know.
Second (Source, Video):KIERS: What kind of influence did the Mothers [of Invention] have, you think?
ZAPPA: Well, we had some, but not very much, because of the size of our audience was so small.
KIERS: But, what kind of influence?
ZAPPA: Well, I think we perhaps inspired some of the people who liked what we do to get a little bit looser and a little bit more devious, and as I said before about progress not being possible without some sort of deviation. We need a few deviants.
A variant of this quote shows up in a photo essay titled "A Quarter Century of Gay Life in New York," New York Magazine (1994-06-20). It is attributed to Zappa (who had died the previous December), and is dated (without citation) to 1966:My attitude toward anybody's sexual persuasion is this: without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.
The quotation also shows up in Leigh Rutledge, The Gay Book of Lists (1987) and his Unnatural Quotations (1988).
Rosemary Silva's Lesbian Quotations (1993) mentions this latter Rudtledge book as a citation, but gives a date on the quote as 1980.
I have not been able to find an earlier source of this variant.
Another use by Zappa can be found in his autobiography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, ch. 8 "All About Music" [with Peter Occhiogrosso] (1989):One of the things I've said before in interviews is: "Without deviation (from the norm), 'progress' is not possible."
In order for one to deviate successfully, one has to have at least a passing acquaintance with whatever norm one expects to deviate from.
The section this text begins is titled "Deviation from the Norm" -- Zappa is speaking here about music, "radio music norms," and enjoying "nuking those norms" when prepping touring arrangements. (He also gives a lengthy critique of the classical / symphonic music realm and their rigid adherence to their norms).
See also Shaw (1903).
No individual or group will be judged by whether they come up to or fall short of some fixed result, but by the direction in which they are moving. The band mans is the man who no matter how good he has been is beginning to deteriorate, to grow less good. The good man in the man who no matter how morally unworthy he has been is moving to become better. Such a conception makes one severe in judging himself and humane in judging others.
John Dewey (1859–1952) American teacher and philosopher
Reconstruction in Philosophy, ch. 7 “Moral Reconstruction” (1919)
(Source)
A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.
Edmund Burke (1729–1797) Anglo-Irish statesman, orator, philosopher
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)
(Source)
The Framers knew, better perhaps than we do today, the risks they were taking. They knew that free speech might be the friend of change and revolution. But they also knew that it is always the deadliest enemy of tyranny. With this knowledge they still believed that the ultimate happiness and security of a nation lies in its ability to explore, to change, to grow and ceaselessly to adapt itself to new knowledge born of inquiry free from any kind of governmental control over the mind and spirit of man. Loyalty comes from love of good government, not fear of a bad one.
Hugo Black (1886–1971) American politician and jurist; US Supreme Court Justice (1937–71)
James Madison Lecture, NYU School of Law (1960-02-17)
(Source)
The inaugural Madison lecture. Reprinted as "The Bill of Rights," NYU Law Review, Vol. 35 (Apr 1960).
It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who never change.
[唯上知與下愚不移]
Confucius (c. 551- c. 479 BC) Chinese philosopher, sage, politician [孔夫子 (Kǒng Fūzǐ, K'ung Fu-tzu, K'ung Fu Tse), 孔子 (Kǒngzǐ, Chungni), 孔丘 (Kǒng Qiū, K'ung Ch'iu)]
The Analects [論語, 论语, Lúnyǔ], Book 17, verse 3 (17.3) (6th C. BC – 3rd C. AD) [tr. Soothill (1910)]
(Source)
Some scholars recommend reading 17.2-3 together (I don't get it), and some actually merge them into a single verse; that is noted below. (Source (Chinese)). Other translations:There are only the wise of the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed.
[tr. Legge (1861)]Only the supremely wise and the most deeply ignorant do not alter.
[tr. Jennings (1895)]It is only men of the highest understanding and men of the grossest dullness, who do not change.
[tr. Ku Hung-Ming (1898)]There are two classes that never change: the supremely wise and the profoundly stupid.
[Source (1906)]Only the wisest and the dullest never change.
[tr. Soothill (1910), Alternate 1]Only the uppermost wise and the lowermost stupid do not change.
[tr. Soothill (1910), Alternate 2]Only those of highest intelligence, and lowest simplicity do not shift.
[tr. Pound (1933)]It is only the very wisest and the very stupidest who cannot change.
[tr. Waley (1938)]Only the highest and the lowest characters don’t change.
[tr. Lin Yutang (1938)]The only ones who do not change are sages and idiots.
[tr. Ware (1950), 17.2]It is only the most intelligent and the most stupid who are not susceptible to change.
[tr. Lau (1979)]Only the most intelligent and the most stupid do not change.
[tr. Dawson (1993), 17.2]Only the wisest and the stupidest never change.
[tr. Leys (1997)]Only the highest of the wise and the lowest of the stupid do not change.
[tr. Huang (1997), 17.2]Only the super wisdom and the infer stupidness cannot be changed.
[tr. Cai/Yu (1998), #443]Only the most wise (zhi) and the most stupid do not move.
[tr. Ames/Rosemont (1998)]It is the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity that do not change.
[tr. Brooks/Brooks (1998), 17.2b]Those of the loftiest wisdom and those of the basest ignorance: they alone never change.
[tr. Hinton (1998)]Only the highest among the wise and the lowest among the stupid never change.
[tr. Watson (2007)]Only the most intelligent and the most stupid are not inclined to change.
[tr. Annping Chin (2014)]Only superior wisdom and extreme stupidity cannot be changed.
[tr. Li (2020)]Only the supremely wise and the most deeply ignorant do not alter.
[Source]Only the supremely wise and the abysmally ignorant do not change.
Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.
John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
Economics, Peace and Laughter (1971)
(Source)
(also called "Galbraith's Law")
The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) American lawyer, politician, US President (1861–65)
Message (1862-12-01) to Congress, Annual Message (State of the Union)
(Source)
All great truths begin as blasphemies.
The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman; US President (1933–45)
Speech (1932-05-22), Commencement, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia
(Source)
A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot. It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.
Mildred W. Struven (1892–1983) American Christian Scientist, housewife
(Attributed)
Quoted by her daughter Jean Harris, Stranger in Two Worlds (1986)
You know, the more you read and observe about this Politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that’s out always looks the best.
Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1922-12-31), “Weekly Article: Breaking into the Writing Game”
(Source)
Reprinted in The Illiterate Digest (1924)
Often paraphrased along the lines of, "The more you observe politics, the more you've got to admit that each party is worse than the other."
CALVIN: Well, Hobbes, I guess there’s a moral to all this.
HOBBES: What’s that?
CALVIN: “Snow goons are bad news.”
HOBBES: That lesson certainly ought to be inapplicable elsewhere.
CALVIN: I like maxims that don’t encourage behavior modification.
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganized. Presumably the plans for our employment were being changed. I was to learn later in life that, perhaps because we are so good at organizing, we tend as a nation to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.
Charlton Ogburn, Jr. (1911–1998) American journalist, author
“Merrill’s Marauders: The truth about an incredible adventure,” Harper’s Magazine (Jan 1957)
In his 1959 book, The Marauders, Ogburn rephrased this as: "As a result, I suppose, of high-level changes of mind about how we were to be used, we went through several reorganizations. Perhaps because Americans as a nation have a gift for organizing, we tend to meet any new situation by reorganization, and a wonderful method it is for creating the illusion of progress at a mere cost of confusion, inefficiency and demoralization."
Sometimes incorrectly cited to Gaius Petronius Arbiter. For more on this quotation, see here.
Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul in this world — and never will.
Mark Twain (1835–1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]
Paper delivered in Hartford (1884)
First part (to "soul") engraved on Twain's bust in the National Hall of Fame, New York University.
The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order.
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) English mathematician and philosopher
Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology (1929)
(Source)
Based on his Gifford Lectures, University of Edinburgh (1927-28), on process philosophy.
We would rather be ruined than changed,
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die.W. H. Auden (1907–1973) Anglo-American poet [Wystan Hugh Auden]
The Age of Anxiety, Part 6 [Malin] (1948)
(Source)
We must become the change we want to see.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, political ethicist [Mahatma Gandhi]
(Attributed)
Variants:Almost always attributed to Gandhi, but not found in any of his published works. More discussion here.
- "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
- "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
There is a time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go.
