--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we don't act at all (express our…" description: "\"If we don't act at all (express our imaginings either in work or a changing personality, so that we can learn and think again something better) we cert..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/brenda-ueland-3836_change_if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imagi_1723517.jpg" --- # If we don't act at all (express our imaginings either in… ![“If we don't act at all (express our imaginings either in work or a changing personality, so that we can learn and think again something better) we certainly rot.” quote by Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/brenda-ueland-3836_change_if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imagi_1723517.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/brenda-ueland-3836_change_if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imagi_1723517.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/brenda-ueland-3836_change_if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imagi_1723517.jpg) > “If we don't act at all (express our imaginings either in work or a changing personality, so that we can learn and think again something better) we certainly rot.” [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inaction leads to stagnation; we must engage creatively to grow. **In simple terms:** Doing nothing causes decay. Key Takeaway Take creative action. Themes creativity stagnation growth Mood inspirational encouraging Type self-help philosophical When to use this quote - writing - painting - skill learning - personal reflection Key Concepts personal development learning cycles Questions to Reflect On - What creative habit will you start? - How can you overcome inertia? A Different Perspective Fear of failure can inhibit action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Personality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personality/) [Something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something-better/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Realizing that our actions, feelings and behaviour are the result of our own images and beliefs gives us the level that psychology has always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-maltz/realizing-that-our-actions-feelings-and-behaviour-are-the-result-of/) [Maxwell Maltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-maltz/) > [In the beginning you can think, "The world is like a stage. I am only an actor. God is the director. All are His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/in-the-beginning-you-can-think-the-world-is-like-a-stage-i-am-only-an/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [If you don't have that indefinable unique personality, you must learn as much as possible about acting in a variety of roles. That's why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-heflin/if-you-don-t-have-that-indefinable-unique-personality-you-must-learn/) [Van Heflin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-heflin/) > [If you would have peace, genuine peace, you must accept all the aspects of your personality and learn to be comfortable with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-llywelyn/if-you-would-have-peace-genuine-peace-you-must-accept-all-the-aspects/) [Morgan Llywelyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-llywelyn/) > [...I believe that once you find something you love, something that works, why keep looking for more? People always think there is something better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-mass/i-believe-that-once-you-find-something-you-love-something-that-works/) [Wendy Mass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-mass/) > [I think you can get better at everything. That's in football. That's in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-mccaffrey/i-think-you-can-get-better-at-everything-that-s-in-football-that-s-in/) [Christian McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-mccaffrey/) > [Haters can hate. Because they are the only ones who actually think you're better than them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gaohlee-thao/haters-can-hate-because-they-are-the-only-ones-who-actually-think-you/) [Mary Gaohlee Thao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gaohlee-thao/) > [My husband has spent more time with our children than I have. I don't think they're better or worse off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-marie-slaughter/my-husband-has-spent-more-time-with-our-children-than-i-have-i-don-t/) [Anne-Marie Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-marie-slaughter/) > [Even though, physically, I can't do it, the mind says, 'Yeah, I can still do it,' and I still think I can do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/even-though-physically-i-can-t-do-it-the-mind-says-yeah-i-can-still/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [Actually I think it's better for me to come off the bench, because for them first couple of minutes when that first five is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-wallace/actually-i-think-it-s-better-for-me-to-come-off-the-bench-because-for/) [Rasheed Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-wallace/) > [“If you think you are better than Stork, then by all means, get hold of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/if-you-think-you-are-better-than-stork-then-by-all-means-get-hold-of/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I think I'm better than Mamet, I would say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/i-think-i-m-better-than-mamet-i-would-say/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [Sometimes you look in a field and you see a cow and you think it's a better cow than the one you've got in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ferguson/sometimes-you-look-in-a-field-and-you-see-a-cow-and-you-think-it-s-a/) [Alex Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ferguson/) > [I think you get better as you get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-jewison/i-think-you-get-better-as-you-get-older/) [Norman Jewison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-jewison/) > [I'll run through things over and over and over again in my head and think, "How could I have done that better?" Silly things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-dallas-howard/i-ll-run-through-things-over-and-over-and-over-again-in-my-head-and/) [Bryce Dallas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-dallas-howard/) ## More by Brenda Ueland > [“At least I understood that writing was this: an impulse to share with other people a feeling or truth that I myself had. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/at-least-i-understood-that-writing-was-this-an-impulse-to-share-with/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [If I did not wear torn pants, orthopedic shoes, frantic disheveled hair, that is to say, if I did not tone down my beauty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-i-did-not-wear-torn-pants-orthopedic-shoes-frantic-disheveled-hair/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“\[4It is hard to be carefree when you have many anxieties. But the more you have, the more necessary it is to feel carefree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/4it-is-hard-to-be-carefree-when-you-have-many-anxieties-but-the-more/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“I will tell you what I have learned myself. For me, a long five- or six-mile walk helps. And one must go alone and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-will-tell-you-what-i-have-learned-myself-for-me-a-long-five-or-six/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Self-trust is so important. When you launch on a story, make your neck loose, feel free, good-natured. And be lazy. Feel that you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/self-trust-is-so-important-when-you-launch-on-a-story-make-your-neck/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [We start out in our lives as little children, full of light and the clearest vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/we-start-out-in-our-lives-as-little-children-full-of-light-and-the/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Inspiration comes to us slowly and quietly . prime it with a little solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/inspiration-comes-to-us-slowly-and-quietly-prime-it-with-a-little/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... to paint with oil paints for the first time ... is like trying to make something exquisitely accurate and microscopically clear out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/to-paint-with-oil-paints-for-the-first-time-is-like-trying-to-make/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [running is the right thing to do! I am free, healthy with a good complexion. It is that automobile addict who should be ashamed:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/running-is-the-right-thing-to-do-i-am-free-healthy-with-a-good/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [The only good teachers for you are those friends who love you, who think you are interesting, or very important, or wonderfully funny; whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-only-good-teachers-for-you-are-those-friends-who-love-you-who/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [... when I am really alone some power seems to grow in me. ... Conjugality made me think of a three-legged race, where two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-i-am-really-alone-some-power-seems-to-grow-in-me-conjugality/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“In the same way there is much, much in all of us, but we do not know it. No one ever calls it out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/in-the-same-way-there-is-much-much-in-all-of-us-but-we-do-not-know-it/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand. Ideas actually begin to grow within us and come to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/when-we-are-listened-to-it-creates-us-makes-us-unfold-and-expand/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [“...the best way to know the Truth or Beauty is to try to express it. And what is the purpose of existence Here or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/the-best-way-to-know-the-truth-or-beauty-is-to-try-to-express-it-and/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [Sometimes I think of life as a process where everybody is discouraging and taking everybody else down a peg or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/sometimes-i-think-of-life-as-a-process-where-everybody-is/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) [Explore all 121 Brenda Ueland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [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/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [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/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If we don't act at all (express our imaginings either in work or a changing personality, so that we can learn and think again something better) we certainly rot.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brenda Ueland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imaginings-either-in-work-or-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imaginings-either-in-work-or-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/brenda-ueland-3836_change_if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imagi_1723517.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/brenda-ueland-3836_change_if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imagi_1723517.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a2/brenda-ueland-3836_change_if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imagi_1723517.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If we don't act at all (express our imaginings either in work or a changing personality, so that we can…” — Brenda Ueland", "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": "Brenda Ueland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If we don't act at all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imaginings-either-in-work-or-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/if-we-don-t-act-at-all-express-our-imaginings-either-in-work-or-a/#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 } } ] } ```