--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If things do not turn out as we wish, we…" description: "\"If things do not turn out as we wish, we should wish for them as they turn out.\" — Aristotle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/aristotle-78_should_if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we_940356.png" --- # If things do not turn out as we wish, we should wish for… ![“If things do not turn out as we wish, we should wish for them as they turn out.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/aristotle-78_should_if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we_940356.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/aristotle-78_should_if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we_940356.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/aristotle-78_should_if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we_940356.png) > “If things do not turn out as we wish, we should wish for them as they turn out.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocating acceptance of reality while maintaining desire for better outcomes, suggesting a flexible mindset that aligns wishes with actual circumstances. **In simple terms:** Adapt wishes to reality when things differ. Key Takeaway Adjust expectations to reality. Themes philosophy resilience adaptability mindset wisdom Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal setbacks - career planning - relationship negotiations - health challenges Key Concepts Stoicism cognitive flexibility goal setting Questions to Reflect On - How can one balance acceptance with ambition? - What strategies help reframe wishes? A Different Perspective May conflict with proactive goal pursuit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Things Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-turn/) [Turn Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turn-wish-1601311/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wish Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-turn-1601312/) [Wish Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish-wish/) ## Related quotes > [I wish I could turn back time. Unfortunately, I can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-donaghy/i-wish-i-could-turn-back-time-unfortunately-i-can-t/) [Tim Donaghy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-donaghy/) > [“If I had a wish, I would turn you to a pair of shoes to keep you under my feet and you get an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pushpa-rana/if-i-had-a-wish-i-would-turn-you-to-a-pair-of-shoes-to-keep-you-under/) [Pushpa Rana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pushpa-rana/) > [“I wish my wish would not be granted!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-r-hofstadter/i-wish-my-wish-would-not-be-granted/) [Douglas R. Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-r-hofstadter/) > [“I wish. I wish. I wish . And nothing ever comes true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-ritchie/i-wish-i-wish-i-wish-and-nothing-ever-comes-true/) [Krista Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-ritchie/) > [Give me 3 wishes I wish I wish I wish you would b\*\*\*h](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/give-me-3-wishes-i-wish-i-wish-i-wish-you-would-b-h/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [?I WISH TO BE? I wish to be that friend of yours. to whom you can turn whenever you are cross. I wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe/i-wish-to-be-i-wish-to-be-that-friend-of-yours-to-whom-you-can-turn/) [Chloe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe/) > [If you have one wish, wish for everything to be exactly as it is. Then wait patiently for your wish to come true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-russell/if-you-have-one-wish-wish-for-everything-to-be-exactly-as-it-is-then/) [Stephen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-russell/) > [“But I'll tell you what I do wish. Wish we could live twice, take a different path each time. That at the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-crouch/but-i-ll-tell-you-what-i-do-wish-wish-we-could-live-twice-take-a/) [Blake Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-crouch/) > [If I had one wish, I would wish for 10 more wishes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juju/if-i-had-one-wish-i-would-wish-for-10-more-wishes/) [Juju](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juju/) > [If I could have one wish... I would wish to wake up every day to the sound of your breath on my neck... the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-could-have-one-wish-i-would-wish-to-wake-up-every-day-to-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I could have just one wish, I would wish to wake up everyday to the sound of your breath on my neck, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-kuchta/if-i-could-have-just-one-wish-i-would-wish-to-wake-up-everyday-to-the/) [Courtney Kuchta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-kuchta/) > [If God would grant me just one wish I'd wish to be with you, cause the day you died is the day you took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-god-would-grant-me-just-one-wish-i-d-wish-to-be-with-you-cause-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How I wish, how I wish you were here... We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, Year after year… Running over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pink-floyd/how-i-wish-how-i-wish-you-were-here-we-re-just-two-lost-souls/) [Pink Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pink-floyd/) > [If airplanes were shooting stars, I'd wish one wish to be with you:) <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-airplanes-were-shooting-stars-i-d-wish-one-wish-to-be-with-you-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I wish your heart was free, Kellen, I wish that for me, but I wish it for you even more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-cunning/i-wish-your-heart-was-free-kellen-i-wish-that-for-me-but-i-wish-it/) [Olivia Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-cunning/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Should quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [Unmarried couples should get married - that's an excellent tax avoidance measure, if a bit drastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-whiting/unmarried-couples-should-get-married-that-s-an-excellent-tax/) [John Whiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-whiting/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [They are focused on whether they can do something. They never think whether they should do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/they-are-focused-on-whether-they-can-do-something-they-never-think/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I just think that things should be allowed to run their course, and not turned into a Disney ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-shaw/i-just-think-that-things-should-be-allowed-to-run-their-course-and/) [Fiona Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-shaw/) > [If you're a top 10 guy you should pay a top 10 guy or even a top 5 guy what he deserves, whether it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aljamain-sterling/if-you-re-a-top-10-guy-you-should-pay-a-top-10-guy-or-even-a-top-5/) [Aljamain Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aljamain-sterling/) > [There's no reason someone who has fought for their country should be homeless of jobless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kyle/there-s-no-reason-someone-who-has-fought-for-their-country-should-be/) [Chris Kyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kyle/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [He who mistrusts most should be trusted least.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theognis-of-megara/he-who-mistrusts-most-should-be-trusted-least/) [Theognis of Megara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theognis-of-megara/) > [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/) > [“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. Every single one of us. We shouldn't spend our time trying to avoid falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/we-will-all-at-some-point-in-our-lives-fall-every-single-one-of-us-we/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) [Browse all 44,672 Should quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If things do not turn out as we wish, we should wish for them as they turn out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we-should-wish-for-them-as-they/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Should" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we-should-wish-for-them-as-they/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/aristotle-78_should_if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we_940356.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/aristotle-78_should_if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we_940356.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/aristotle-78_should_if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we_940356.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If things do not turn out as we wish, we should wish for them as they turn out.” — Aristotle", "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": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If things do not turn out...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we-should-wish-for-them-as-they/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/if-things-do-not-turn-out-as-we-wish-we-should-wish-for-them-as-they/#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 } } ] } ```