One of the little-celebrated powers of Presidents (and other high government officials) is to listen to their critics with just enough sympathy to ensure their silence.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People often prefer to defend their existing beliefs rather than change their minds, even when they should.
This quote by John Kenneth Galbraith highlights a common human tendency to prioritize validation of current beliefs over the willingness to adapt or change one's perspective. It suggests that rather than objectively evaluating and potentially altering their views, individuals often invest time and effort in justifying their positions, demonstrating a resistance to change that can hinder personal growth and understanding.
Themes
ChangeBeliefsMindsetResistanceGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting, referencing this quote can emphasize the importance of being open to new ideas.
More from John Kenneth Galbraith
All quotes βIf all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
All successful revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
Money differs from an automobile or mistress in being equally important to those who have it and those who do not.
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People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
Similar quotes
Change is as inexorable as time, yet nothing meets with more resistance.
Benjamin DisraeliRead
We've been in the mountain of war. We've been in the mountain of violence. We've been in the mountain of hatred long enough. It is necessary to move on now, but only by moving out of this mountain can we move to the promised land of justice and brotherhood and the Kingdom of God. It all boils down to the fact that we must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals. We must always maintain a kind of divine discontent.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
Change only takes place through action, not through meditation and prayer.
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If citizens do not believe they can change their leaders through the ballot box, they will find other ways, even at the risk of destabilizing their countries.
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In this speedy world of ours when facts are multiplying rapidly and giant rearrangements are happening all around us, it seems dangerous to be made nervous by the new - to want what we can never have, to want things not to be rearranged. It would be better to be able to take the leap, which is to be able not only to live with change and newness, but even to help make it.
Corita KentRead
What iβm saying is, my friends, one ought to be able to let go. If a path does not please us, instead of insisting on going that specific way, of making our selfishness the guide, we ought to forsake. The books we cannot write, the films we cannot shoot, the projects we cannot develop, the jobs we cannot pursue and the people who no longer love us. Being able to let go, at times, is the most beautiful of all!
Elif SafakRead