--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not always by plugging away at a…" description: "\"It is not always by plugging away at a difficulty and sticking to it that one overcomes it; often it is by working on the one next to it. Some things a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/andre-gide-790_angle_it-is-not-always-by-plugging-away-at-a-d_941880.png" --- # It is not always by plugging away at a difficulty and… ![“It is not always by plugging away at a difficulty and sticking to it that one overcomes it; often it is by working on the one next to it. Some things and some people have to be approached obliquely, at an angle.” quote by Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/andre-gide-790_angle_it-is-not-always-by-plugging-away-at-a-d_941880.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/andre-gide-790_angle_it-is-not-always-by-plugging-away-at-a-d_941880.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/andre-gide-790_angle_it-is-not-always-by-plugging-away-at-a-d_941880.png) > “It is not always by plugging away at a difficulty and sticking to it that one overcomes it; often it is by working on the one next to it. Some things and some people have to be approached obliquely, at an angle.” [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overcoming challenges often requires indirect approaches, tackling related problems rather than the main one directly. **In simple terms:** Sometimes the side problem is the key to solving the main one. Key Takeaway Try addressing adjacent issues. Themes problem solving strategy adaptability Mood reflective strategic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - workplace conflicts - learning new skills - health recovery Key Concepts indirect tactics systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - What side issue could you focus on now? - How does changing angle alter difficulty? A Different Perspective Indirect methods may delay visible progress and seem less straightforward. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angle/) [Approached Obliquely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approached-obliquely-1615544/) [Difficulty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficulty/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Overcomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcomes/) [Overcomes Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overcomes-working-1615543/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sticking Overcomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sticking-overcomes-1615545/) ## Related quotes > [One completely overcomes only what one assimilates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/one-completely-overcomes-only-what-one-assimilates/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [I would like the events never to be told directly by the author, but rather to be introduced (and several times, from various angles)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-would-like-the-events-never-to-be-told-directly-by-the-author-but/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Effort overcomes a lot of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-taylor/effort-overcomes-a-lot-of-things/) [Jason Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-taylor/) > [“The truly brave man is not the man who does not feel fear but the man who overcomes it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells-2/the-truly-brave-man-is-not-the-man-who-does-not-feel-fear-but-the-man/) [H.G. 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Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-l-moody/) > [“The softest thing in the world dashes against and overcomes the hardest; that which has no (substantial) existence enters where there is no crevice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/the-softest-thing-in-the-world-dashes-against-and-overcomes-the/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“He who knows other men is discerning; he who knows himself is intelligent. He who overcomes others is strong; he who overcomes himself is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/he-who-knows-other-men-is-discerning-he-who-knows-himself-is/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“5Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes  t that Jesus is the Son of God?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/5who-is-it-that-overcomes-the-world-except-the-one-who-believes-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Movement overcomes cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/movement-overcomes-cold/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“To illustrate from the case of all females:—the female always overcomes the male by her stillness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/to-illustrate-from-the-case-of-all-females-the-female-always/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [The weak overcomes the strong. The soft overcomes the hard. Everybody in the world knows this, still nobody makes use of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-weak-overcomes-the-strong-the-soft-overcomes-the-hard-everybody/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-sutton/to-him-who-overcomes-i-will-give-some-of-the-hidden-manna-to-eat-and/) [Hilton Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-sutton/) ## More by Andre Gide > [Without mysticism man can achieve nothing great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/without-mysticism-man-can-achieve-nothing-great/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“The things one feels are different about oneself are the things that are rare, that give each person their value - and these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-things-one-feels-are-different-about-oneself-are-the-things-that/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [I believe that in every circumstance I have been able to see rather clearly the most advantageous course I could follow, which is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-believe-that-in-every-circumstance-i-have-been-able-to-see-rather/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/know-thyself-a-maxim-as-pernicious-as-it-is-ugly-whoever-studies/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“There is a germ of revolt lying in the spirit of inquiry and critical curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-is-a-germ-of-revolt-lying-in-the-spirit-of-inquiry-and-critical/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Oh, would that my mind could let fall its dead ideas, as the tree does its withered leaves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/oh-would-that-my-mind-could-let-fall-its-dead-ideas-as-the-tree-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [God lies ahead. I convince myself and constantly repeat to myself that: He depends on us. It is through us that God is achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/god-lies-ahead-i-convince-myself-and-constantly-repeat-to-myself-that/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“Welcome everything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/welcome-everything-that-comes-to-you-but-do-not-long-for-anything-else/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-are-many-things-that-seem-impossible-only-so-long-as-one-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Envying another man's happiness is madness; you wouldn't know what to do with it if you had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/envying-another-man-s-happiness-is-madness-you-wouldn-t-know-what-to/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [So long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/so-long-as-we-live-among-men-let-us-cherish-humanity/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is one of life's laws that as soon as one door closes another opens. But the tragedy is we look at the closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-one-of-life-s-laws-that-as-soon-as-one-door-closes-another/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“What would a narrative of happiness be like? All that can be described is what prepares it, and then what destroys it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/what-would-a-narrative-of-happiness-be-like-all-that-can-be-described/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-with-noble-sentiments-that-bad-literature-gets-written/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“C'est dans l'extraordinaire que je me sens le plus naturel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/c-est-dans-l-extraordinaire-que-je-me-sens-le-plus-naturel/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) [Explore all 304 Andre Gide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## More Angle quotes > [Well, you can certainly teach free-throwing. And you can teach the boys to pass at angles and run in curves. - University of Kansas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-dawkins/well-you-can-certainly-teach-free-throwing-and-you-can-teach-the-boys/) [Darryl Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-dawkins/) > [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/) [Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/) > [Los Angles to me seems to be a little bit more forgiving. They're just as rowdy and they're just as excited but they understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/los-angles-to-me-seems-to-be-a-little-bit-more-forgiving-they-re-just/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [Our mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. 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Does he not rest in angles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-genius-is-a-genius-by-the-first-look-he-casts-on-any-object-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once I'd worked out that I couldn't possibly expect people to enjoy a monstrous, 3000-page book, I realised I could in fact create a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/once-i-d-worked-out-that-i-couldn-t-possibly-expect-people-to-enjoy-a/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [I have known a very good, fisher angle diligently four or six hours for a river carp, and not have a bite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/i-have-known-a-very-good-fisher-angle-diligently-four-or-six-hours/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [“Distribution of weight is preferable to balancing everything on the head of a pin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psixaristw/distribution-of-weight-is-preferable-to-balancing-everything-on-the/) [Psixaristw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psixaristw/) > [He was not as soft as when I'd first met him, not as young, but the angles of his face, his quick gestures, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/he-was-not-as-soft-as-when-i-d-first-met-him-not-as-young-but-the/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [If somebody is really trying to take your head off with a baseball bat - I don't know how long you're supposed to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-somebody-is-really-trying-to-take-your-head-off-with-a-baseball/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Teaching, like any truly human activity, emerges from one's inwardness, for better or worse. 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