--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People change, but there really are…" description: "\"People change, but there really are limits. One thing you discover in psychoanalytic treatment is the limits of what you can change about yourself or y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/adam-phillips-18270_about-yourself_people-change-but-there-really-are-limit_1773555.png" --- # People change, but there really are limits. One thing you… ![“People change, but there really are limits. One thing you discover in psychoanalytic treatment is the limits of what you can change about yourself or your life. We are children for a very long time.” quote by Adam Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/adam-phillips-18270_about-yourself_people-change-but-there-really-are-limit_1773555.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/adam-phillips-18270_about-yourself_people-change-but-there-really-are-limit_1773555.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/adam-phillips-18270_about-yourself_people-change-but-there-really-are-limit_1773555.png) > “People change, but there really are limits. One thing you discover in psychoanalytic treatment is the limits of what you can change about yourself or your life. We are children for a very long time.” [Adam Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-phillips/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People can change, but deep psychological structures have limits; therapy reveals what aspects of self are immutable. **In simple terms:** Change is possible, yet some core traits stay the same. Key Takeaway Accept limits while working on achievable growth. Themes change limits psychotherapy Mood reflective thoughtful Type psychological inspirational When to use this quote - counseling - life transitions - parenting - career shifts Key Concepts psychodynamic developmental psychology self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - Which personal limits feel unchangeable? - How can you work within those limits? A Different Perspective Focusing on immutable traits may lead to resignation rather than effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Limits Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits-change-353882/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-change/) [Psychoanalytic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychoanalytic/) [Psychoanalytic Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychoanalytic-treatment-1801090/) [Treatment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment/) [Treatment Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treatment-limits-1801091/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing that doesn’t push you past your limits can change your life. 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To keep faith with recognition we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-phillips/sanity-as-the-project-of-keeping-ourselves-recognizably-human/) [Adam Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-phillips/) > [“So there is something perhaps more difficult to conceive of, sometimes born of resignation and sometimes not- a life in which not getting it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-phillips/so-there-is-something-perhaps-more-difficult-to-conceive-of-sometimes/) [Adam Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-phillips/) > [ The child..will try to make himself..independent of other people. .. Excesses of appetite are self-cures for feelings of hopelessness. ..The child \[uses\] ‘doubt about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-phillips/the-child-will-try-to-make-himself-independent-of-other-people/) [Adam Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-phillips/) > [To grow up is to discover what one is unequal to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-phillips/to-grow-up-is-to-discover-what-one-is-unequal-to/) [Adam Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-phillips/) > [There is nothing more terrorizing than the possibility that nothing is hidden. 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There's only one you. You should embrace anything that you don't like about yourself because that's individual and that's you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesy-nelson/always-be-yourself-there-s-only-one-you-you-should-embrace-anything/) [Jesy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesy-nelson/) > [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/) [Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. 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