Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it's the time when they most need to think.
Interpretation
In times of stress, people often avoid thinking, yet that's when thoughtful reflection is most necessary.
This quote by William J. Clinton highlights the paradoxical behavior people exhibit under stress. Often, in moments of pressure, individuals are inclined to avoid deep thinking and reflection, even though these very moments are crucial for making informed decisions and navigating challenges effectively. Stress can cloud judgment and lead to hasty decisions, but it is precisely during such times that one should take a step back and engage in critical thought to ensure clarity and direction.
In practice
In a speech about managing stress in the workplace, this quote can inspire employees to engage in mindful thinking.
You know, there was a recent poll which said that young people in the generation of the students here felt it was far more likely that they would see a UFO than that they would draw Social Security... It's very important you understand this. Once you understand this, you realize this is not an episode from the X Files, and you're not more likely to see a UFO if you do certain specific things.
When we got organized as a country, [and] wrote a fairly radical Constitution, with a radical Bill of Rights, giving radical amounts of freedom to Americans, it was assumed that Americans who had that freedom would use it responsibly...When personal freedom is being abused, you have to move to limit it.
For too long we've been told about 'us' and 'them.' Each and every election we see a new slate of arguments and ads telling us that 'they' are the problem, not 'us.' But there can be no 'them' in America. There's only us.
There is a huge body of business evidence now showing that energy savings give better service at lower cost with higher profit. We have to tear down barriers to successful markets and we have to create incentives to enter them.
Demand that your government pays more attention. It's immoral that people in Africa die like flies of diseases that no one dies of in the United States. And the more disease there is, the more political unrest there will be, leading to more Darfurs, which the U.S. will have to pay to fix.
I was not elected to produce a pile of vetoes.
Long live impudence. It was my guardian angel in this world.
What if desire wasn't an urge to be tamed, but a beacon of truth to be followed?
We reap what we sow. We are the makers of our own fate. None else has the blame, none has the praise.
I suffer much less than many of my colleagues. I am perfectly able to go to Australia and film within three hours of arrival.
Morning comes every day; the sunrise does not fail, nor the sunset. _x000D_ Give it time. That is all that may be required. Just give it time. Do not try to push the river. The cycles of life present themselves, play themselves out, and make smooth every passage and terrain. _x000D_ Try not to get caught up in your story of the moment. Look, rather, to the Long Story. Therein will be found your peace. The cycles will redeem this moment, if you let them, and even this shall pass.
I'm a very old man. _x000D_ I've had lots of problems. _x000D_ Most of them never happened..!
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.