--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The universal and ever-present urge to…" description: "\"“The universal and ever-present urge to self-transcendence is not to be abolished by slamming the current popular Doors in the Wall. The only reasonabl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/aldous-huxley-97_hope_the-universal-and-ever-present-urge-to-s_1275390.jpg" --- # The universal and ever-present urge to self-transcendence… ![“The universal and ever-present urge to self-transcendence is not to be abolished by slamming the current popular Doors in the Wall. The only reasonable policy is to open other, better doors in the hope of inducing men and women to exchange their old habits for new and less harmful ones.” quote by Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/aldous-huxley-97_hope_the-universal-and-ever-present-urge-to-s_1275390.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/aldous-huxley-97_hope_the-universal-and-ever-present-urge-to-s_1275390.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/876/aldous-huxley-97_hope_the-universal-and-ever-present-urge-to-s_1275390.jpg) > ““The universal and ever-present urge to self-transcendence is not to be abolished by slamming the current popular Doors in the Wall. The only reasonable policy is to open other, better doors in the hope of inducing men and women to exchange their old habits for new and less harmful ones.”” [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates replacing harmful habits with better alternatives rather than suppressing desires **In simple terms:** Change habits by opening better doors Key Takeaway Seek healthier alternatives to old habits Themes self‑improvement habit change psychology Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - personal health - social policy - education reform - workplace culture Key Concepts behavioral economics addiction recovery Questions to Reflect On - What better doors can you open today? - How to sustain new habits long‑term? A Different Perspective New habits may be hard to adopt without support ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Old habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-habits/) [Present Urge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-urge-4103778/) [Self Transcendence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-transcendence-473860/) [Substance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substance/) [Transcendence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendence/) [Transcendence Abolished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transcendence-abolished-4103777/) [Urge Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urge-self-3675607/) ## Related quotes > [My urge to write is an urge not to self-expressionism but to self-transcendence. My work is both bigger and smaller than I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/my-urge-to-write-is-an-urge-not-to-self-expressionism-but-to-self/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [To mature is in part to realize that while complete intimacy and omniscience and power cannot be had, self-transcendence, growth, and closeness to others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissela-bok/to-mature-is-in-part-to-realize-that-while-complete-intimacy-and/) [Sissela Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissela-bok/) > [Only to the extent that someone is living out this self transcendence of human existence, is he truly human or does he become his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/only-to-the-extent-that-someone-is-living-out-this-self-transcendence/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self-transcendence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/self-actualization-cannot-be-attained-if-it-is-made-an-end-in-itself/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [There is a human striving for self-transcendence. It's part of what makes us human. With all of our flaws we want to go a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-leonard/there-is-a-human-striving-for-self-transcendence-it-s-part-of-what/) [George Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-leonard/) > [For the uniqueness of man lies in his capacity for self-transcendence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-nanda-anshen/for-the-uniqueness-of-man-lies-in-his-capacity-for-self-transcendence/) [Ruth Nanda Anshen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-nanda-anshen/) > [Self-forgetfulness in creativity can lead to self-transcendence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-ashton-warner/self-forgetfulness-in-creativity-can-lead-to-self-transcendence/) [Sylvia Ashton-Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-ashton-warner/) > [Individual self-transcendence collectively inspires humanity at large.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/individual-self-transcendence-collectively-inspires-humanity-at-large/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Learning always involves self-transcendence. Learning calls forth what is in us, helping us to move toward authenticity and wholeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/learning-always-involves-self-transcendence-learning-calls-forth-what/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [“Victor Frankl: By declaring that man is responsible and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/victor-frankl-by-declaring-that-man-is-responsible-and-must-actualize/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [What gives life its value if not its constant cry for self-transcendence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/what-gives-life-its-value-if-not-its-constant-cry-for-self/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [As always, the illusion of self-transcendence is far more facile and available than self-transcendence itself: in the vast majority of cases what human consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/as-always-the-illusion-of-self-transcendence-is-far-more-facile-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [To feel that you are the Buddha of all times and places and that in some way the salvation of anyone, including yourself, depends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/to-feel-that-you-are-the-buddha-of-all-times-and-places-and-that-in/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [...(I)ndividual selfhood is expressed in the self's capacity for self-transcendence and not in its rational capacity for conceptual and analytic procedures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/i-ndividual-selfhood-is-expressed-in-the-self-s-capacity-for-self/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [The most transformative experiences people have - bliss, devotion, self transcendence - are currently anchored to the worst parts of culture and to ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-most-transformative-experiences-people-have-bliss-devotion-self/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) ## More by Aldous Huxley > [“Unorthodoxy threatens more than the life of a mere individual; it strikes at Society itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/unorthodoxy-threatens-more-than-the-life-of-a-mere-individual-it/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Of course the Dharma-body of the Buddha was the hedge at the bottom of the garden. At the same time, and no less obviously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/of-course-the-dharma-body-of-the-buddha-was-the-hedge-at-the-bottom/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“The question for the man of sense is: Do we or do we not want to go to hell? And his answer is: No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-question-for-the-man-of-sense-is-do-we-or-do-we-not-want-to-go-to/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I’ll MAKE you be free whether you want to or not.’ -The Savage”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/i-ll-make-you-be-free-whether-you-want-to-or-not-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [The third petition of the Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/the-third-petition-of-the-lord-s-prayer-is-repeated-daily-by-millions/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Then what’s time for?” asked Lenina in some astonishment. Apparently, for going on walks in the Lake District; for that was what he now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/then-what-s-time-for-asked-lenina-in-some-astonishment-apparently-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/all-right-then-said-the-savage-defiantly-i-m-claiming-the-right-to-be/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Speed, it seems to me, provides the one genuinely modern pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/speed-it-seems-to-me-provides-the-one-genuinely-modern-pleasure/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What you need is a gramme of soma.” “All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-you-need-is-a-gramme-of-soma-all-the-advantages-of-christianity/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [To be enlightened is to be aware, always, of total reality in its immanent otherness - to be aware of it and yet remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/to-be-enlightened-is-to-be-aware-always-of-total-reality-in-its/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“Quote of the day:Quote of the day: A democracy which makes or even effectively prepares for modern, scientific war must necessarily cease to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/quote-of-the-day-quote-of-the-day-a-democracy-which-makes-or-even/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Explore all 1,291 Aldous Huxley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) ## More Hope 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/) > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“What can we do in any hardship? We can hope with prayerful praise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/what-can-we-do-in-any-hardship-we-can-hope-with-prayerful-praise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [“too—I realized that my only hope was to give up the life that had been, in order to make room for the life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-lesser/too-i-realized-that-my-only-hope-was-to-give-up-the-life-that-had/) [Elizabeth Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-lesser/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Give me love, give me peace on earth, give me light, give me life, keep me free from birth, give me hope, help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-me-love-give-me-peace-on-earth-give-me-light-give-me-life-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Pray, hope, don't worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/pray-hope-don-t-worry/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/do-not-pray-for-tasks-equal-to-your-powers-pray-for-powers-equal-to/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Im really happy that I met you I hope you know that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/im-really-happy-that-i-met-you-i-hope-you-know-that/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 24,868 Hope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The universal and ever-present urge to self-transcendence is not to be abolished by slamming the current popular Doors in the Wall. 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