--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are all motivated far more than we…" description: "\"We are all motivated far more than we care to admit by characteristics inherited from our ancestors which individual experiences of childhood can modif..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/agnes-meyer-driscoll-48870_ancestor_we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-ca_1927105.png" --- # We are all motivated far more than we care to admit by… ![“We are all motivated far more than we care to admit by characteristics inherited from our ancestors which individual experiences of childhood can modify, repress, or enhance, but cannot erase.” quote by Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/agnes-meyer-driscoll-48870_ancestor_we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-ca_1927105.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/agnes-meyer-driscoll-48870_ancestor_we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-ca_1927105.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/agnes-meyer-driscoll-48870_ancestor_we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-ca_1927105.png) > “We are all motivated far more than we care to admit by characteristics inherited from our ancestors which individual experiences of childhood can modify, repress, or enhance, but cannot erase.” [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our drive is shaped by ancestral traits and childhood, which can be altered but not erased. **In simple terms:** Drive comes from ancestors and childhood, changeable yet lasting. Key Takeaway Recognize deep roots of motivation. Themes motivation heritage childhood Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - career planning - parenting - therapy - education Key Concepts psychology genetics Questions to Reflect On - How do family patterns affect your goals? - Can you reshape inherited drives? A Different Perspective Past influences can limit present choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Characteristics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics/) [Characteristics Inherited](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characteristics-inherited-1389968/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Erase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erase/) [Experiences Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences-childhood-805639/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Inherited Ancestors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inherited-ancestors-456059/) [Motivated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivated/) [Motivated Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivated-far-1443411/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) ## Related quotes > [What we've inherited from our ancestors has never existed to this extent before. And if we fail to preserve it, it will never, ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/what-we-ve-inherited-from-our-ancestors-has-never-existed-to-this/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [What's amazing is, if young people understood how doing well in school makes the rest of their life so much interesting, they would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/what-s-amazing-is-if-young-people-understood-how-doing-well-in-school/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“He hovered, as it were, on the fringes of both the scientific and the classical worlds, making, apparently, no deep impression on either. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-d-arcy-thompson/he-hovered-as-it-were-on-the-fringes-of-both-the-scientific-and-the/) [Ruth D'Arcy Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-d-arcy-thompson/) > [Acquired characteristics are inherited in technology and culture. Lamarckian evolution is rapid and accumulative. It explains the cardinal difference between our past, purely biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/acquired-characteristics-are-inherited-in-technology-and-culture/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [There are physical characteristics which are inherited. These include things like good looks, high intelligence, physical coordination. These attributes contribute to success in life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/there-are-physical-characteristics-which-are-inherited-these-include/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [Mostly my ideas come from within, from my experiences, my childhood and the master of all sweets and lollies, Mr. Willy Wonka.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriano-zumbo/mostly-my-ideas-come-from-within-from-my-experiences-my-childhood-and/) [Adriano Zumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriano-zumbo/) > [I can remember the three restaurant experiences of my childhood. All I wanted to do on my birthday was to go to the Automat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-waters/i-can-remember-the-three-restaurant-experiences-of-my-childhood-all-i/) [Alice Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-waters/) > [As people grow and evolve, we still are the experiences that we had in our childhood, but they shape us in different ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-schull/as-people-grow-and-evolve-we-still-are-the-experiences-that-we-had-in/) [Amanda Schull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-schull/) > [If the experiences in my childhood have helped me become strong, then I can articulate those experiences and perhaps tell people out there that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leong/if-the-experiences-in-my-childhood-have-helped-me-become-strong-then/) [Melissa Leong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leong/) > [It's kind of a mystery to me, as far as my own life experiences and what I've witnessed - why some people can just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annette-bening/it-s-kind-of-a-mystery-to-me-as-far-as-my-own-life-experiences-and/) [Annette Bening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annette-bening/) > [Education affects every major challenge we face in society. It creates economic growth, paves the way for peace and stability and helps erase the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/education-affects-every-major-challenge-we-face-in-society-it-creates/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [What I have found is, so much of that is like a Chinese finger trap: the more you play to the dark, the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-palmer/what-i-have-found-is-so-much-of-that-is-like-a-chinese-finger-trap/) [Amanda Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-palmer/) > [I'm still the baddest expletive in the world. Yeah, I'm getting older, but Kareem got older. Hakeem got older. I don't need Earthlings' respect.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-m-still-the-baddest-expletive-in-the-world-yeah-i-m-getting-older/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Erase from your mind that your preparation must be perfect. Hard work + dedication = a shot at your dreams. Keep believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-goucher/erase-from-your-mind-that-your-preparation-must-be-perfect-hard-work/) [Kara Goucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-goucher/) ## More by Agnes Meyer Driscoll > [We can never achieve absolute truth but we can live hopefully by a system of calculated probabilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/we-can-never-achieve-absolute-truth-but-we-can-live-hopefully-by-a/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) > [Fortunate are the people whose roots are deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/fortunate-are-the-people-whose-roots-are-deep/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) > [Tension is a prerequisite for creative living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/tension-is-a-prerequisite-for-creative-living/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) > [We have forgotten that democracy must live as it thinks and think as it lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/we-have-forgotten-that-democracy-must-live-as-it-thinks-and-think-as/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) > [Once the pursuit of truth begins to haunt the mind, it becomes an ideal never wholly attained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/once-the-pursuit-of-truth-begins-to-haunt-the-mind-it-becomes-an/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) > [The children are always the chief victims of social chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/the-children-are-always-the-chief-victims-of-social-chaos/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) > [What the Nation must realize is that the home, when both parents work, is non-existent. Once we have honestly faced that fact, we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/what-the-nation-must-realize-is-that-the-home-when-both-parents-work/) [Agnes Meyer Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) [Explore all 8 Agnes Meyer Driscoll quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/) ## More Ancestor quotes > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [Food binds us to our roots as strongly as any song or poem. Many of us have learned more about our ancestors in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-thomas/food-binds-us-to-our-roots-as-strongly-as-any-song-or-poem-many-of-us/) [Anna Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-thomas/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [Going where no man has gone before is more difficult than it sounds. Our cousins and ancestors were no less curious than we are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/going-where-no-man-has-gone-before-is-more-difficult-than-it-sounds/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [I use the phrase 'sibling society' to suggest a culture fundamentally without fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, or ancestors. The thinking is horizontal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bly/i-use-the-phrase-sibling-society-to-suggest-a-culture-fundamentally/) [Robert Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bly/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Southerners, whose ancestors a hundred years ago knew the horrors of a homeland devastated by war, are particularly determined that war shall never come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/southerners-whose-ancestors-a-hundred-years-ago-knew-the-horrors-of-a/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [Two hundred years ago, before the advent of capitalism, a man's social status was fixed from the beginning to the end of his life;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/two-hundred-years-ago-before-the-advent-of-capitalism-a-man-s-social/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [And I saw for the first time how, despite the isolation of our own lives, we are always connected to our ancestors; our bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-richman/and-i-saw-for-the-first-time-how-despite-the-isolation-of-our-own/) [Alyson Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-richman/) > [There is an ancient Indian saying: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." If we use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/there-is-an-ancient-indian-saying-we-do-not-inherit-the-earth-from/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [It is how it has always been. We will accept the legacy of our ancestors,' Asha says, smiling, and in her smile I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/it-is-how-it-has-always-been-we-will-accept-the-legacy-of-our/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [My ancestors came over from Germany about the time of the Civil War and one of them lost a leg and went back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/my-ancestors-came-over-from-germany-about-the-time-of-the-civil-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/empress-dowager-cixi/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) [Browse all 767 Ancestor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancestor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are all motivated far more than we care to admit by characteristics inherited from our ancestors which individual experiences of childhood can modify, repress, or enhance, but cannot erase.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Agnes Meyer Driscoll" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-care-to-admit-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ancestor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-care-to-admit-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/agnes-meyer-driscoll-48870_ancestor_we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-ca_1927105.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/agnes-meyer-driscoll-48870_ancestor_we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-ca_1927105.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/agnes-meyer-driscoll-48870_ancestor_we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-ca_1927105.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are all motivated far more than we care to admit by characteristics inherited from our ancestors which…” — Agnes Meyer Driscoll", "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": "Agnes Meyer Driscoll", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-meyer-driscoll/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are all motivated far more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-care-to-admit-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-meyer-driscoll/we-are-all-motivated-far-more-than-we-care-to-admit-by/#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 } } ] } ```