I am like a man so busy in letting rooms in one end of his house, that he can't stop to put out the fire that is burning the other.
Abraham LincolnRead
The human mind is impelled to action, or held in rest by some power, over which the mind itself has no control.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the idea that our thoughts and actions are influenced by forces beyond our control.
Abraham Lincoln's quote suggests that while we may believe we have control over our decisions and actions, there are underlying forces or circumstances that drive us or hold us back. It points to the complexity of the human experience and the idea that external factors, whether psychological, social, or environmental, play a significant role in motivating or inhibiting our behaviors.
Themes
MindActionControlForcesInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles, this quote highlights the importance of recognizing external influences on our willpower.
More from Abraham Lincoln
All quotes βSir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.
Abraham LincolnRead
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.
Abraham LincolnRead
How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg.
Abraham LincolnRead
For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country's cause. The highest merit, then is due to the soldier.
Abraham LincolnRead
And having thus chosen our course, without guile, and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear, and with manly hearts.
Abraham LincolnRead
Similar quotes
Like the winds that we come we know not whence and blow whither soever they list, the forces of society are derived from an obscure and distant origin. They arise before the date of philosophy, from the instincts, not the speculations of men.
Adam FergusonRead
But I believe the words entered me and changed me and still work in me. The words eat me and sustain me. And when I'm dead and in a box in the dark dark ground, and all my various souls have died and I am nothing but insensible bones, something in the marrow will still feel yearning, desire persisting beyond flesh.
Charles FrazierRead
Drag is a chicken suit, and you're very emboldened. Whatever you do or say or fail at or succeed at is attributed to your costume and not you as a person. So there's a lot of freedom.
Katya ZamolodchikovaRead
Wealth should come like manna from heaven, unearned and uncalled for. Money should be like grace -- a gift. It is not worth sweating and scheming for.
Edward AbbeyRead
I have a really interesting political point of view, and its not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you cant go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal. You cant. I wouldnt wish that experience on anyone else, but it was very, very, very educational for me and has informed my proclivities and politics every since.
Robert Downey, Jr.Read
I've had many uncanny experiences. I think it's hard to be alive and not have them. But I don't know if I can decide what that means or what they are.
Alan AldaRead