He who has so little knowledge of human nature, as to seek happiness by changing any thing but his own dispositions, will waste his life in fruitless efforts, and multiply the griefs which he purposes to remove.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
The Rambler, #6 (7 Apr 1750)
(Source)
Quotations about:
self-change
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
What is wrong then? The system. But when you’ve said that you’ve said nothing. The system, after all, is only the outcome of the human psyche, the human desires. We shout and blame the machine. But who on earth makes the machine, if we don’t? And any alterations in the system are only modifications in the machine. The system is in us, it is not something external to us. The machine is in us, or it would never come out of us. Well then, there’s nothing to blame but ourselves, and there’s nothing to change except inside ourselves.
David Herbert "D. H." Lawrence (1885-1930) English novelist
“Education of the People,” Reflections on the Death of a Porcupine (1925)
To become different from what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are.
Eric Hoffer (1902-1983) American writer, philosopher, longshoreman
The Passionate State of Mind, Aphorism 151 (1955)
(Source)
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."
We must become the change we want to see.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) Indian philosopher and nationalist [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."
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®
