The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
If I had known what it would be like to have it all - I might have been willing to settle for less.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea that achieving everything one desires might not lead to happiness, suggesting that sometimes it's better to desire less.
Lily Tomlin's quote suggests a profound realization about the nature of fulfillment and the pursuit of desires. It implies that having everything one wants can lead to unexpected challenges and disappointments, making one reconsider whether striving for 'having it all' is truly worthwhile. Instead, it encourages the perspective of appreciating what one has rather than constantly seeking more, advocating for a reevaluation of personal aspirations and contentment.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a motivational speech about the importance of appreciating life.
More from Lily Tomlin
All quotes βSometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.
The road to success is always under construction.
Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.
Truth is, I've always been selling out. The difference is that in the past, I looked like I had integrity because there were no buyers.
Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?
Similar quotes
Be humble and you will remain entire. The sages do not display themselves, therefore they shine. They do not approve themselves, therefore they are noted. They do not praise themselves, therefore they have merit. They do not glory in themselves, therefore they excel.
Reality is easy. It's deception that's the hard work.
Time, dear friend, time brings round opportunity; opportunity is the martingale of man. The more we have ventured the more we gain, when we know how to wait.
"Some would call you a saint, some a chandala; some a lunatic, others a demon. Go on then straight to thy work without heeding either" - thus saith one of our great Sannyasins, an old emperor of India, King Bhartrihari, who joined the order in old times.
Choosing to take responsibility for ourselves and for the consequences our choices create looks like hard work, but it really sets us free.
Order is a necessary condition for anything the human mind is to understand.