--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is about movement, expansion…" description: "\"Life is about movement, expansion, growth, and actualizing potential. If you stay in a home, relationship, or job beyond the time it is healthy for you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/alan-cohen-1112_choices_life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth_2945433.jpg" --- # Life is about movement, expansion, growth, and actualizing… ![“Life is about movement, expansion, growth, and actualizing potential. If you stay in a home, relationship, or job beyond the time it is healthy for you, the universe will prod you with thorns as if to say, “It’s time to move to a broader domain.” If you do not heed the message, the thorns will get…” quote by Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/alan-cohen-1112_choices_life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth_2945433.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/alan-cohen-1112_choices_life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth_2945433.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/alan-cohen-1112_choices_life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth_2945433.jpg) > “Life is about movement, expansion, growth, and actualizing potential. If you stay in a home, relationship, or job beyond the time it is healthy for you, the universe will prod you with thorns as if to say, “It’s time to move to a broader domain.” If you do not heed the message, the thorns will get sharper and at some point you will have no choice but to fly. When you do, you will understand why a once comfortable situation became uncomfortable.” [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges continual growth, warning that staying stagnant invites pain, prompting change. **In simple terms:** Stagnation leads to discomfort, prompting growth. Key Takeaway Embrace change before pain forces it. Themes growth change comfort zones universal signals potential Mood inspirational motivational Type self-help philosophical When to use this quote - career moves - relationship transitions - personal development Key Concepts existentialism self-actualization Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate it’s time to move? - How can one prepare for inevitable change? A Different Perspective Change can be frightening. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broader Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broader-domain-4412259/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Comfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfortable/) [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Expansion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expansion/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Healthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy/) [Heed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heed/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-relationship-4412261/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Life Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-movement/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns/) [Thorns Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns-say-3639725/) [Thorns Sharper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns-sharper-4412260/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Uncomfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncomfortable/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/) ## Related quotes > [“It was all the answer Rook needed. He plunged his hand into the soil, long fingers grasping down. This was no offering to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-rogerson/it-was-all-the-answer-rook-needed-he-plunged-his-hand-into-the-soil/) [Margaret Rogerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-rogerson/) > [“Don’t beat around the bush, it will only get you into the thorns. Say what you mean and mean what you say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-hoevelmann/don-t-beat-around-the-bush-it-will-only-get-you-into-the-thorns-say/) [Jason Hoevelmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-hoevelmann/) > [I think if you make a decision to leave a job, a home, a relationship, then you've usually got a pretty major reason to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-dobson/i-think-if-you-make-a-decision-to-leave-a-job-a-home-a-relationship/) [Anita Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-dobson/) > [I didnt have the kind of childhood or family life that would have given me any perspective on what a happy home or relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/i-didnt-have-the-kind-of-childhood-or-family-life-that-would-have/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [“Throughout your life you will meet thousands of people, but every once in a while, you feel instant chemistry with a person and connect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/throughout-your-life-you-will-meet-thousands-of-people-but-every-once/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [When you have an animal in your home, a relationship forms very quickly, where that animal ceases to be an animal to you. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-wood/when-you-have-an-animal-in-your-home-a-relationship-forms-very/) [Elijah Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-wood/) > [The feeling, "this can't be it", is a very powerful form of prayer. It's the agony of the separated self longing for reunion with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-feeling-this-can-t-be-it-is-a-very-powerful-form-of-prayer-it-s/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [My dancing is not an attempt to interpret life in the literary sense. It is an affirmation of life through movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-graham/my-dancing-is-not-an-attempt-to-interpret-life-in-the-literary-sense/) [Martha Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-graham/) > [All life is a movement in relationship. There is no living thing on earth which is not related to something or other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/all-life-is-a-movement-in-relationship-there-is-no-living-thing-on/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Movement is life; without movement life is unthinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-feldenkrais/movement-is-life-without-movement-life-is-unthinkable/) [Moshe Feldenkrais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-feldenkrais/) > [“To be in touch with wilderness is to have stepped past the proud cattle of the field and wandered far from the twinkles of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-shaw/to-be-in-touch-with-wilderness-is-to-have-stepped-past-the-proud/) [Martin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-shaw/) > [Life for me is about movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvis-costello/life-for-me-is-about-movement/) [Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvis-costello/) > [“The supreme value of this new religion is ‘information flow’. If life is the movement of information, and if we think that life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-supreme-value-of-this-new-religion-is-information-flow-if-life-is/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Life is a movement, a constant movement in relationship; and thought, trying to capture that movement in terms of the past, as memory, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/life-is-a-movement-a-constant-movement-in-relationship-and-thought/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I live, therefore I make films. I make film, therefore I live. Life. Movement. I make home movies, therefore I live. I live, therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/i-live-therefore-i-make-films-i-make-film-therefore-i-live-life/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) ## More by Alan Cohen > [When you protect yourself from pain, be sure you do not protect yourself from love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/when-you-protect-yourself-from-pain-be-sure-you-do-not-protect/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Anyone in a state of seeking can never be happy. Only those who are constantly finding are fulfilled. And finding is not something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/anyone-in-a-state-of-seeking-can-never-be-happy-only-those-who-are/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“You cannot be other than you are. Thank God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/you-cannot-be-other-than-you-are-thank-god/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Evaluate every act by whether it brings you greater life, or deadens you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/evaluate-every-act-by-whether-it-brings-you-greater-life-or-deadens/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Put aside ambition for public recognition, and simply do what you do because it feels good inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/put-aside-ambition-for-public-recognition-and-simply-do-what-you-do/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“When you finally give up striving, you will be left with what you have been striving for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/when-you-finally-give-up-striving-you-will-be-left-with-what-you-have/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“newspaper ads for lost pets and earthquakes that soon follow. Other studies indicate a higher rate of last-minute cancellations for airplane flights that crash.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/newspaper-ads-for-lost-pets-and-earthquakes-that-soon-follow-other/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [“Quit using your creative power to formulate questions. You can just as easily—more easily— use it to formulate answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/quit-using-your-creative-power-to-formulate-questions-you-can-just-as/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > ['How can I be more like you?' she asked the guru. 'The best way to be more like me is to be more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/how-can-i-be-more-like-you-she-asked-the-guru-the-best-way-to-be-more/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Turmoil is a call for awakening. Every challenge, great or small, is moving you to look deeper and draw forth the highest in you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/turmoil-is-a-call-for-awakening-every-challenge-great-or-small-is/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [The difficulties of life do not keep you from greatness. They show you to its door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-difficulties-of-life-do-not-keep-you-from-greatness-they-show-you/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [What a doctor or healer tells you is a reflection of the beliefs and expectations you hold. Change your beliefs and you change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/what-a-doctor-or-healer-tells-you-is-a-reflection-of-the-beliefs-and/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Quit planning your dream and start living it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/quit-planning-your-dream-and-start-living-it/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [The more you invest in your happiness, the more happiness will invest in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/the-more-you-invest-in-your-happiness-the-more-happiness-will-invest/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [Joy is the wild card of life; it supersedes every other formula for success. If you can find a way to create joy, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/joy-is-the-wild-card-of-life-it-supersedes-every-other-formula-for/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) [Explore all 290 Alan Cohen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) [Alison James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-james/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [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/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is about movement, expansion, growth, and actualizing potential. If you stay in a home, relationship, or job beyond the time it is healthy for you, the universe will prod you with thorns as if to say, “It’s time to move to a broader domain.” If you do not heed the message, the thorns will get sharper and at some point you will have no choice but to fly. When you do, you will understand why a once comfortable situation became uncomfortable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Cohen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth-and-actualizing-potential-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choices" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth-and-actualizing-potential-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/alan-cohen-1112_choices_life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth_2945433.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/alan-cohen-1112_choices_life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth_2945433.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c3/alan-cohen-1112_choices_life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth_2945433.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is about movement, expansion, growth, and actualizing potential. If you stay in a home, relationship…” — Alan Cohen", "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": "Alan Cohen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life is about movement, expansion, growth,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth-and-actualizing-potential-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/life-is-about-movement-expansion-growth-and-actualizing-potential-if/#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 } } ] } ```