--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem isn't so much finding good…" description: "\"The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into everyday practice.\" — Alain de Botton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/alain-de-botton-221_embedding_the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-i_2863878.jpg" --- # The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no… ![“The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into everyday practice.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/alain-de-botton-221_embedding_the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-i_2863878.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/alain-de-botton-221_embedding_the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-i_2863878.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/alain-de-botton-221_embedding_the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-i_2863878.jpg) > “The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into everyday practice.” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Generating ideas is easy; the real challenge is integrating them into daily habits and actions. **In simple terms:** Ideas are abundant, but applying them is hard. Key Takeaway Focus on practical implementation of ideas. Themes creativity implementation habit practice mindset Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - Workplace - personal projects - learning routines Key Concepts Systems thinking behavior change execution Questions to Reflect On - How can you turn a good idea into a daily habit? - What obstacles stop you from acting on ideas? A Different Perspective Implementation can be blocked by inertia or fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Embedding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embedding-54560/) [Everyday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday/) [Everyday Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-practice-1912024/) [Finding Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finding-good-829818/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Good ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-ideas/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Ideas Shortage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas-shortage-3879850/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Shortage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortage/) [Shortage Embedding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortage-embedding-3879851/) ## Related quotes > [There's no shortage of great ideas. There's a shortage of execution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/there-s-no-shortage-of-great-ideas-there-s-a-shortage-of-execution/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Everyday I must practice to paint a smile on my face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/motionless-in-white/everyday-i-must-practice-to-paint-a-smile-on-my-face/) [Motionless in White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/motionless-in-white/) > [The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions and to all people, experiencing everything totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/the-everyday-practice-is-simply-to-develop-a-complete-acceptance-and/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [If your everyday practice is open to all your emotions, to all the people you meet, to all the situations you encounter, without closing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/if-your-everyday-practice-is-open-to-all-your-emotions-to-all-the/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The supremacy of Parliament and the embedding of property rights in Common Law put political power in the hands of men anxious to exploit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/the-supremacy-of-parliament-and-the-embedding-of-property-rights-in/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) > [Personally, I consider 'Titanic' the most brilliant example of successful counterprogramming; the film actually countered itself by embedding an epic chick flick within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/personally-i-consider-titanic-the-most-brilliant-example-of/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) > [I love Cate Blanchett. She's extremely classy and has this knack for taking on roles and being very, very strong, but also embedding vulnerability.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-greene/i-love-cate-blanchett-she-s-extremely-classy-and-has-this-knack-for/) [Ashley Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-greene/) > [I know how models are built, because I build them myself, so I know that I'm embedding my values into every single algorithm I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/i-know-how-models-are-built-because-i-build-them-myself-so-i-know/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) > [ ...We then examine a particular coding system in DNA and discover that UI \[universal information\] is conveyed within the genes. Using this DNA evidence… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-gitt/we-then-examine-a-particular-coding-system-in-dna-and-discover-that/) [Werner Gitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-gitt/) > [...heavy investments in information technology have delivered disappointing results - largely because companies tend to use technology to mechanize old ways of doing business...Instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-martin-hammer/heavy-investments-in-information-technology-have-delivered/) [Michael Martin Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-martin-hammer/) > [Merchandisers, by embedding subliminal trigger devices in media, are able to evoke a strong emotional relationship between, say, a product perceived in an advertisement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-bryan-key/merchandisers-by-embedding-subliminal-trigger-devices-in-media-are/) [Wilson Bryan Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-bryan-key/) > [When we have the same thought again, the line of the original thought is deepened, causing what's called a memory trace. With each repetition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/when-we-have-the-same-thought-again-the-line-of-the-original-thought/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“Reading, as it turned out, is the easy part. Finding a good book is the real challenge. It's a crapshoot. It's like trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-robinson/reading-as-it-turned-out-is-the-easy-part-finding-a-good-book-is-the/) [Doug Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-robinson/) > [“Many switched into a field that didn’t initially interest them, but that they believed was important for the world. After developing their skills, finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-todd/many-switched-into-a-field-that-didn-t-initially-interest-them-but/) [Benjamin Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-todd/) > [Finding good chilcare is a massive thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-bowman/finding-good-chilcare-is-a-massive-thing/) [Edith Bowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-bowman/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Embedding quotes > [When we have the same thought again, the line of the original thought is deepened, causing what's called a memory trace. With each repetition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/when-we-have-the-same-thought-again-the-line-of-the-original-thought/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [Merchandisers, by embedding subliminal trigger devices in media, are able to evoke a strong emotional relationship between, say, a product perceived in an advertisement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-bryan-key/merchandisers-by-embedding-subliminal-trigger-devices-in-media-are/) [Wilson Bryan Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-bryan-key/) > [...heavy investments in information technology have delivered disappointing results - largely because companies tend to use technology to mechanize old ways of doing business...Instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-martin-hammer/heavy-investments-in-information-technology-have-delivered/) [Michael Martin Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-martin-hammer/) > [ ...We then examine a particular coding system in DNA and discover that UI \[universal information\] is conveyed within the genes. Using this DNA evidence… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-gitt/we-then-examine-a-particular-coding-system-in-dna-and-discover-that/) [Werner Gitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-gitt/) > [I know how models are built, because I build them myself, so I know that I'm embedding my values into every single algorithm I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-o-neil/i-know-how-models-are-built-because-i-build-them-myself-so-i-know/) [Cathy O'Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-o-neil/) > [I love Cate Blanchett. She's extremely classy and has this knack for taking on roles and being very, very strong, but also embedding vulnerability.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-greene/i-love-cate-blanchett-she-s-extremely-classy-and-has-this-knack-for/) [Ashley Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-greene/) > [Personally, I consider 'Titanic' the most brilliant example of successful counterprogramming; the film actually countered itself by embedding an epic chick flick within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diablo-cody/personally-i-consider-titanic-the-most-brilliant-example-of/) [Diablo Cody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diablo-cody/) > [The supremacy of Parliament and the embedding of property rights in Common Law put political power in the hands of men anxious to exploit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglass-north/the-supremacy-of-parliament-and-the-embedding-of-property-rights-in/) [Douglass North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglass-north/) [Browse all 9 Embedding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embedding-54560/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into everyday practice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-ideas-there-is-no-shortage-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Embedding" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-ideas-there-is-no-shortage-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/alain-de-botton-221_embedding_the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-i_2863878.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/alain-de-botton-221_embedding_the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-i_2863878.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d6/alain-de-botton-221_embedding_the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-i_2863878.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem isn't so much finding good ideas (there is no shortage) as embedding the ones we have into…” — Alain de Botton", "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": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem isn't so much finding...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-ideas-there-is-no-shortage-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-problem-isn-t-so-much-finding-good-ideas-there-is-no-shortage-as/#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 } } ] } ```