--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The will to change begins in the body…" description: "\"The will to change begins in the body, not in the mind.\" — Adrienne Rich" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/adrienne-rich-803_body_the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-no_1907798.png" --- # The will to change begins in the body, not in the mind. ![“The will to change begins in the body, not in the mind.” quote by Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/adrienne-rich-803_body_the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-no_1907798.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/adrienne-rich-803_body_the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-no_1907798.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/adrienne-rich-803_body_the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-no_1907798.png) > “The will to change begins in the body, not in the mind.” [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physical transformation precedes mental shift; bodily change catalyzes new thinking. **In simple terms:** Changing the body sparks mental change. Key Takeaway Start with physical actions to shift mindset. Themes change body mind growth empowerment Mood motivational reflective empowering Type poetry philosophical When to use this quote - exercise routines - diet changes - posture adjustments Key Concepts embodiment psychology habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What bodily habit could reshape your thoughts? - Can physical discipline alter beliefs? A Different Perspective Physical change alone may not guarantee mental change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [All physical activity begins with the body's core. I maintain the strength in my core so that I can jump, run, start, stop, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-rose/all-physical-activity-begins-with-the-body-s-core-i-maintain-the/) [Derrick Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-rose/) > [Writing begins in the body, it is the music of the body, and even if the words have meaning, can sometimes have meaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-begins-in-the-body-it-is-the-music-of-the-body-and-even-if/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“You cannot possibly know what gives you discomfort unless you step outside your comfort zone, this where change begins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taskinsoy/you-cannot-possibly-know-what-gives-you-discomfort-unless-you-step/) [JOHN TASKINSOY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taskinsoy/) > [The body and mind are continually changing, and are, in fact, only names of series of changeful phenomena, like rivers whose waters are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-body-and-mind-are-continually-changing-and-are-in-fact-only-names/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The body has a mind of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/the-body-has-a-mind-of-its-own/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/to-be-creative-means-to-connect-it-s-to-abolish-the-gap-between-the/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [When you do not consciously relate to your body, your mind does not relate consciously to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/when-you-do-not-consciously-relate-to-your-body-your-mind-does-not/) [Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/) > [ \[A\]ll change, even very large and powerful change, begins when a few people start talking with one another about something they care about. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/a-ll-change-even-very-large-and-powerful-change-begins-when-a-few/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [Real change begins with citizens registering to vote, becoming active and engaged in their communities, and casting their ballot at every election for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-turner/real-change-begins-with-citizens-registering-to-vote-becoming-active/) [Nina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-turner/) > [“Real change is difficult at the beginning, but gorgeous at the end. Change begins the moment you get the courage and step outside your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-t-bennett/real-change-is-difficult-at-the-beginning-but-gorgeous-at-the-end/) [Roy T. Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-t-bennett/) > [“No old road leads to new destinations! Change begins when one realizes that it is unwise to pour a new wine into an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/no-old-road-leads-to-new-destinations-change-begins-when-one-realizes/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Change begins as soon as you step outside your comfort zone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taskinsoy/change-begins-as-soon-as-you-step-outside-your-comfort-zone/) [John Taskinsoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taskinsoy/) > [For the last couple of years, as the economic ground beneath all I've accomplished and cherished has shifted so profoundly in a life-shattering reversal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/for-the-last-couple-of-years-as-the-economic-ground-beneath-all-i-ve/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Change begins within: the world is as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-reitman/change-begins-within-the-world-is-as-you-are/) [Greg Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-reitman/) > [“Revolution is about change, and the first place the change begins is in yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/revolution-is-about-change-and-the-first-place-the-change-begins-is/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) ## More by Adrienne Rich > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you...it means that you do not treat your body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/responsibility-to-yourself-means-refusing-to-let-others-do-your/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [What I search for continuously in my art is adequate language, language I hope can stand beyond any particular occasion. What I'm finding is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/what-i-search-for-continuously-in-my-art-is-adequate-language/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Well, she's long about her coming, who must be more merciless to herself than history. Her mind full to the wind, I see her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/well-she-s-long-about-her-coming-who-must-be-more-merciless-to/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I think my work comes out of both an intense desire for connection and what it means to feel isolated. There's always going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/i-think-my-work-comes-out-of-both-an-intense-desire-for-connection/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Popular culture entered my life as Shirley Temple, who was exactly my age and wrotea letter in the newspapers telling how her mother fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/popular-culture-entered-my-life-as-shirley-temple-who-was-exactly-my/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [... in a history of spiritual rupture, a social compact built on fantasy and collective secrets, poetry becomes more necessary than ever: it keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/in-a-history-of-spiritual-rupture-a-social-compact-built-on-fantasy/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [It's as if, in the mother's eyes, her smile, her stroking touch, the child first reads the message:'You are there!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/it-s-as-if-in-the-mother-s-eyes-her-smile-her-stroking-touch-the/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The women's movement appeared at a very crucial moment in my life. There was a whole political movement asking such questions and others I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-women-s-movement-appeared-at-a-very-crucial-moment-in-my-life/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The word revolution itself has become not only a dead relic of Leftism, but a key to the deadendedness of male politics: the revolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-word-revolution-itself-has-become-not-only-a-dead-relic-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The decision to feed the world is the real decision. No revolution has chosen it. For that choice requires that women shall be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-decision-to-feed-the-world-is-the-real-decision-no-revolution-has/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [The necessity of poetry has to be stated over and over, but only to those who have reason to fear its power, or those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-necessity-of-poetry-has-to-be-stated-over-and-over-but-only-to/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [I think many poets, including myself, write both for the voice and for the page. I certainly write for the person alone in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/i-think-many-poets-including-myself-write-both-for-the-voice-and-for/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [If I cling to circumstances I could feel not responsible. Only she who says she did not choose, is the loser in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/if-i-cling-to-circumstances-i-could-feel-not-responsible-only-she-who/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) [Explore all 364 Adrienne Rich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The will to change begins in the body, not in the mind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adrienne Rich" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-not-in-the-mind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-not-in-the-mind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/adrienne-rich-803_body_the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-no_1907798.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/adrienne-rich-803_body_the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-no_1907798.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a8/adrienne-rich-803_body_the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-no_1907798.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The will to change begins in the body, not in the mind.” — Adrienne Rich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Adrienne Rich", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The will to change begins in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-not-in-the-mind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-will-to-change-begins-in-the-body-not-in-the-mind/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```