--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have assumed control where once we…" description: "\"We have assumed control where once we worked with what we were given.\" — Bill McKibben" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/838/bill-mckibben-1057_control_we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-wo_735837.jpg" --- # We have assumed control where once we worked with what we… ![“We have assumed control where once we worked with what we were given.” quote by Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/838/bill-mckibben-1057_control_we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-wo_735837.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/838/bill-mckibben-1057_control_we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-wo_735837.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/838/bill-mckibben-1057_control_we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-wo_735837.jpg) > “We have assumed control where once we worked with what we were given.” [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights a shift from passive acceptance to active control over environmental outcomes **In simple terms:** We now act instead of just accept conditions Key Takeaway Take proactive steps to shape outcomes Themes environment agency change Mood reflective determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - community projects - personal lifestyle changes - advocacy campaigns Key Concepts sustainability empowerment systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - What actions can individuals realistically influence? - How do power structures affect agency? A Different Perspective Assuming control can be limited by systemic constraints ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assumed Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assumed-control-5754653/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Control Worked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-worked-5754654/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Worked Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worked-given-5020925/) ## Related quotes > [“The long years had taught him that everything worked itself out given enough time, and some things would always be the way fate wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-m-pillow/the-long-years-had-taught-him-that-everything-worked-itself-out-given/) [Michelle M. Pillow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-m-pillow/) > [“The more we try to control the things outside of us the more we lose control of our mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-white/the-more-we-try-to-control-the-things-outside-of-us-the-more-we-lose/) [Jennifer White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-white/) > [Criticism is the fountainhead of control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-forward/criticism-is-the-fountainhead-of-control/) [Susan Forward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-forward/) > [Social control is best managed through fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/social-control-is-best-managed-through-fear/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I know my ability. I know what I can do. I've just got to control what I can control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordarrelle-patterson/i-know-my-ability-i-know-what-i-can-do-i-ve-just-got-to-control-what/) [Cordarrelle Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordarrelle-patterson/) > [I like to be in control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefflon-don/i-like-to-be-in-control/) [Stefflon Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefflon-don/) > [People who are ambitious - politicians who crave power - think that they're in control of it, but at some point, the movement that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/people-who-are-ambitious-politicians-who-crave-power-think-that-they/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [When a few people control the bulk of money, they can not only influence elections by money power - which enables various forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prashant-bhushan/when-a-few-people-control-the-bulk-of-money-they-can-not-only/) [Prashant Bhushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prashant-bhushan/) > [Never give up control! Live life on your own terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-give-up-control-live-life-on-your-own-terms/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If someone angers you, they control you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kenny/if-someone-angers-you-they-control-you/) [Elizabeth Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kenny/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) ## More by Bill McKibben > [I try not to be either optimistic or pessimistic. I try not to think about outcomes on that scale. My job, it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-try-not-to-be-either-optimistic-or-pessimistic-i-try-not-to-think/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Oil companies are radical because they're willing to alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/oil-companies-are-radical-because-they-re-willing-to-alter-the/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Whenever anyone challenges anything, the powers that be try to paint them as extremists or radicals or whatever. And I think that's actually nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/whenever-anyone-challenges-anything-the-powers-that-be-try-to-paint/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [My guess is that liberating the fossil fuel industry to frack anywhere they want will drive down the rate at which we're converting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/my-guess-is-that-liberating-the-fossil-fuel-industry-to-frack/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [What makes us different? We're the creature that can decide not to do something that we are capable of doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/what-makes-us-different-we-re-the-creature-that-can-decide-not-to-do/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“The snow was coming down so hard. It looked like the flakes were hurrying to get out of the sky so the next ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-snow-was-coming-down-so-hard-it-looked-like-the-flakes-were/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Most of the men and women who vote in Congress each year to continue subsidies have taken campaign donations from big energy companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/most-of-the-men-and-women-who-vote-in-congress-each-year-to-continue/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [“I’ve sat behind a microphone and listened for decades as Americans learned to stop talking with each other and start shouting instead. No discussions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/i-ve-sat-behind-a-microphone-and-listened-for-decades-as-americans/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [People in low-lying countries like Bangladesh with almost 140 million people who are managing to feed themselves, whose carbon emissions can't really be calculated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/people-in-low-lying-countries-like-bangladesh-with-almost-140-million/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We're putting more carbon into the atmosphere than the atmosphere can absorb. And everybody told us when we started, coz we knew nothing when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-re-putting-more-carbon-into-the-atmosphere-than-the-atmosphere-can/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Everything that the administration has done has been counterproductive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/everything-that-the-administration-has-done-has-been-counterproductive/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [We use the web to help people organize in the flesh, and then we take the images of those events and put them back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-use-the-web-to-help-people-organize-in-the-flesh-and-then-we-take/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [everyone knows, at some level, that the sharp line between "good weather" and "bad weather" is a fiction, that we need rain as surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/everyone-knows-at-some-level-that-the-sharp-line-between-good-weather/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [The thing about global warming is that you can address it on a great number of levels - in fact you have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-thing-about-global-warming-is-that-you-can-address-it-on-a-great/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Where people aren't as deeply reliant on fossil fuel as in the United States, it's far easier for them to imagine change on this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/where-people-aren-t-as-deeply-reliant-on-fossil-fuel-as-in-the-united/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) [Explore all 299 Bill McKibben quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) ## More Control quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“You can't control who loves you...you can't let someone love you anymore than you can make someone love you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/you-can-t-control-who-loves-you-you-can-t-let-someone-love-you/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [I thought I fought a really good Orlando Salido. I never let him get into his fight. I knew what I needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-thought-i-fought-a-really-good-orlando-salido-i-never-let-him-get/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) > [Don't think you can...know you can! You human body is the most impressive tool you'll ever own. Even if you can't control everything, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/don-t-think-you-can-know-you-can-you-human-body-is-the-most/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“Without time management, you lose control of your life and do what other people tell you to do. You lose control and become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-miller/without-time-management-you-lose-control-of-your-life-and-do-what/) [Thomas Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-miller/) > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [Some nights I'm funny with the between-song commentary, some nights I'm not. I have no control over this. I pace the stage a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/some-nights-i-m-funny-with-the-between-song-commentary-some-nights-i/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 6,032 Control quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have assumed control where once we worked with what we were given.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill McKibben" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-worked-with-what-we-were-given/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Control" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-worked-with-what-we-were-given/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/838/bill-mckibben-1057_control_we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-wo_735837.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/838/bill-mckibben-1057_control_we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-wo_735837.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/838/bill-mckibben-1057_control_we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-wo_735837.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have assumed control where once we worked with what we were given.” — Bill McKibben", "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": "Bill McKibben", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We have assumed control where once...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-worked-with-what-we-were-given/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/we-have-assumed-control-where-once-we-worked-with-what-we-were-given/#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 } } ] } ```