--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great virtue of being alone is that…" description: "\"The great virtue of being alone is that your mind can go its own way.\" — Andy Rooney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/andy-rooney-1253_character_the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that_216919.png" --- # The great virtue of being alone is that your mind can go… ![“The great virtue of being alone is that your mind can go its own way.” quote by Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/andy-rooney-1253_character_the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that_216919.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/andy-rooney-1253_character_the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that_216919.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/andy-rooney-1253_character_the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that_216919.png) > “The great virtue of being alone is that your mind can go its own way.” [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Alone time lets thoughts wander freely, fostering self‑discovery and creativity. **In simple terms:** Being alone frees the mind. Key Takeaway Embrace solitude for insight. Themes solitude creativity self‑reflection Mood contemplative calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing - meditation - travel - personal growth Key Concepts mindfulness autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude shape your ideas? - When do you need company? A Different Perspective Too much isolation can lead to loneliness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Great Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-virtue-231832/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-way-238576/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-mind-2225562/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Virtue is in the mind, not in the appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/virtue-is-in-the-mind-not-in-the-appearance/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [“There's something really interesting in the way you shy away from virtuous touch," he said. "I don't mind the virtue part. It's you I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-rose/there-s-something-really-interesting-in-the-way-you-shy-away-from/) [Frankie Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-rose/) > [Laziness in doing stupid things can be a great virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/laziness-in-doing-stupid-things-can-be-a-great-virtue/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [One of the greatest disasters of our time is our universal acceptance of the word "tolerance" as a great virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/one-of-the-greatest-disasters-of-our-time-is-our-universal-acceptance/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [“JFK's great virtue, and the essential difference between him and George W. Bush, was that he had an instinctive appreciation for the chaotic forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dobbs/jfk-s-great-virtue-and-the-essential-difference-between-him-and/) [Michael Dobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dobbs/) > [Even if we have thousands of acts of great virtue to our credit, our confidence in being heard must be based on God's mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/even-if-we-have-thousands-of-acts-of-great-virtue-to-our-credit-our/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [The great virtue of those who seek the spiritual path is courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-great-virtue-of-those-who-seek-the-spiritual-path-is-courage/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Humility was considered a great virtue in my family household. No show of complacency or self-satisfaction was ever tolerated. Patting yourself on the back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-laurie/humility-was-considered-a-great-virtue-in-my-family-household-no-show/) [Hugh Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-laurie/) > [My son, forbearance is a great virtue; there's no other like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarada-devi/my-son-forbearance-is-a-great-virtue-there-s-no-other-like-it/) [Sarada Devi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarada-devi/) > [Audacity in wooing is a great virtue, but a man must measure even his virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/audacity-in-wooing-is-a-great-virtue-but-a-man-must-measure-even-his/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The great virtue in life is real courage that knows how to face facts and live beyond them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-great-virtue-in-life-is-real-courage-that-knows-how-to-face-facts/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Cheapness is a great virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/cheapness-is-a-great-virtue/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“He makes it his task to be wholly sincere with himself, and he notes this definition of wisdom which he finds in Pindar: “True…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/he-makes-it-his-task-to-be-wholly-sincere-with-himself-and-he-notes/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Rarely do great beauty and great virtue dwell together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/rarely-do-great-beauty-and-great-virtue-dwell-together/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [“No! No one who was great in the world will be forgotten, but everyone was great in his own way, and everyone in proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/no-no-one-who-was-great-in-the-world-will-be-forgotten-but-everyone/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) ## More by Andy Rooney > [I like Valentine's Day. The trouble is the florists and the candy-makers and the card people are all advertising so much, you don't dare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-like-valentine-s-day-the-trouble-is-the-florists-and-the-candy/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Almost all of us have an elevator or two in our lives somewhere. We wait for them, we ride on them. We're annoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/almost-all-of-us-have-an-elevator-or-two-in-our-lives-somewhere-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Last night we had three small zucchini for dinner that were grown within fifty feet of our back door. I estimate they cost somewhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/last-night-we-had-three-small-zucchini-for-dinner-that-were-grown/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Sooner or later the world will have to return to the good old days when we fought wars and killed people the old-fashioned way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/sooner-or-later-the-world-will-have-to-return-to-the-good-old-days/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [I've learned that no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-ve-learned-that-no-matter-how-serious-your-life-requires-you-to-be/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Unfortunately, propaganda works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/unfortunately-propaganda-works/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [You're almost always better off keeping your mouth shut, but don't let that stop you from popping off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/you-re-almost-always-better-off-keeping-your-mouth-shut-but-don-t-let/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [The fastest thing computers do is go obsolete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/the-fastest-thing-computers-do-is-go-obsolete/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Every one starts out being an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/every-one-starts-out-being-an-atheist/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [If you don't enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/if-you-don-t-enjoy-getting-up-and-working-and-finishing-your-work-and/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [As an old reporter, we have a few secrets, and the first thing is we try the phone book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/as-an-old-reporter-we-have-a-few-secrets-and-the-first-thing-is-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [I've learned... That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-ve-learned-that-it-s-those-small-daily-happenings-that-make-life-so/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [... all of us talk faster than we listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/all-of-us-talk-faster-than-we-listen/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [You can't be a good writer without being a good thinker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/you-can-t-be-a-good-writer-without-being-a-good-thinker/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [A great many people do not have the right to their own opinion because they don't know what they are talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/a-great-many-people-do-not-have-the-right-to-their-own-opinion/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) [Explore all 264 Andy Rooney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The great virtue of being alone is that your mind can go its own way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Andy Rooney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that-your-mind-can-go-its-own-way/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that-your-mind-can-go-its-own-way/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/andy-rooney-1253_character_the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that_216919.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/andy-rooney-1253_character_the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that_216919.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/430/andy-rooney-1253_character_the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that_216919.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The great virtue of being alone is that your mind can go its own way.” — Andy Rooney", "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": "Andy Rooney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The great virtue of being alone...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that-your-mind-can-go-its-own-way/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/the-great-virtue-of-being-alone-is-that-your-mind-can-go-its-own-way/#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 } } ] } ```