--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Absorb what is useful, Discard what is…" description: "\"Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.\" — Bruce Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/bruce-lee-430_absorb_absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-no_728066.jpg" --- # Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is… ![“Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.” quote by Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/bruce-lee-430_absorb_absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-no_728066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/bruce-lee-430_absorb_absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-no_728066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/bruce-lee-430_absorb_absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-no_728066.jpg) > “Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.” [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Retain beneficial teachings, discard harmful ones, and personalize what remains to create a unique path. **In simple terms:** Keep useful, discard useless, add personal flair. Key Takeaway Craft your own effective philosophy. Themes self‑improvement creativity discipline Mood motivational pragmatic Type self‑help inspirational When to use this quote - learning new skills - career development - artistic creation - daily routines Key Concepts personal development minimalism innovation Questions to Reflect On - What can you keep, discard, or add today? - How does personalization affect effectiveness? A Different Perspective Over‑personalization may dilute core truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Self improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-improvement/) ## Related quotes > [“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-useless-and-add-what-is/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Take what's useful, discard what is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/take-what-s-useful-discard-what-is-not/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-reject-what-is-useless-add-what-is-specifically/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-inosanto/research-your-own-experience-absorb-what-is-useful-reject-what-is/) Dan Inosanto > [Because of styles people are separated. Research your own experience, absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/because-of-styles-people-are-separated-research-your-own-experience/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [You can never discard too many bad ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/you-can-never-discard-too-many-bad-ideas/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our (scheming for) gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/if-we-could-renounce-our-artful-contrivances-and-discard-our-scheming/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [“Sorting papers Rule of thumb—discard everything Once”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/sorting-papers-rule-of-thumb-discard-everything-once/) [Marie Kondō](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [Goethe said there would be little left of him if he were to discard what he owed to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-saunders-cushman/goethe-said-there-would-be-little-left-of-him-if-he-were-to-discard/) [Charlotte Saunders Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-saunders-cushman/) > [Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/keep-only-those-things-that-speak-to-your-heart-then-take-the-plunge/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [The challenge to Asia is to discard the dry, meatless bone of mysticism and fatalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-marcos/the-challenge-to-asia-is-to-discard-the-dry-meatless-bone-of/) [Ferdinand Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-marcos/) > [“Study whatever you were told very carefully. Make the best choices for the best brands and discard the rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/study-whatever-you-were-told-very-carefully-make-the-best-choices-for/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [The notion that you could discard the old world and now make a new one. This is what was so bad about Modernism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-jacobs/the-notion-that-you-could-discard-the-old-world-and-now-make-a-new/) [Jane Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-jacobs/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [In science, each new result, sometimes quite surprising, heralds a step forward and allows one to discard some hypotheses, even though one or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-b-prusiner/in-science-each-new-result-sometimes-quite-surprising-heralds-a-step/) [Stanley B. Prusiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-b-prusiner/) ## More by Bruce Lee > [Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear. Make a hairbreadth difference and heaven and earth are set apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/do-not-like-do-not-dislike-all-will-then-be-clear-make-a-hairbreadth/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-great-mistake-is-to-anticipate-the-outcome-of-the-engagement-you/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The more aware you become, the more you shed from day to day what you have learned so that your mind is always fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-more-aware-you-become-the-more-you-shed-from-day-to-day-what-you/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The usefulness of the cup is its emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-usefulness-of-the-cup-is-its-emptiness/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [My style? You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/my-style-you-can-call-it-the-art-of-fighting-without-fighting/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The founder of any branch must be more ingenious than the common man. However, if his achievement is not carried on by disciples of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-founder-of-any-branch-must-be-more-ingenious-than-the-common-man/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I don't believe in different ways of fighting now. I mean, unless human beings have 3 arms and 3 legs, then we will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/i-don-t-believe-in-different-ways-of-fighting-now-i-mean-unless-human/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Be a practical dreamer backed by action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/be-a-practical-dreamer-backed-by-action/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [In order to taste my cup of water you must first empty your cup.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/in-order-to-taste-my-cup-of-water-you-must-first-empty-your-cup/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Truth comes when your mind and heart are purged of all sense of striving and you are no longer trying to become somebody; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/truth-comes-when-your-mind-and-heart-are-purged-of-all-sense-of/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [A person cannot forget someone who is good to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/a-person-cannot-forget-someone-who-is-good-to-them/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [The highest art is no art. The highest form is no form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-highest-art-is-no-art-the-highest-form-is-no-form/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [To live is a constant process of relating, so come on out of that shell of isolation and conclusion, and relate DIRECTLY to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/to-live-is-a-constant-process-of-relating-so-come-on-out-of-that/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [I hope martial artists are more interested in the root of martial arts and not the different decorative branches, flowers or leaves. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/i-hope-martial-artists-are-more-interested-in-the-root-of-martial/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [Art lives where absolute freedom is, because where it is not, there can be no creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/art-lives-where-absolute-freedom-is-because-where-it-is-not-there-can/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) [Explore all 562 Bruce Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) ## More Absorb quotes > [The absence of God in most spheres of life is perceived to be normal, and even Christians feel it as normal - which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-absence-of-god-in-most-spheres-of-life-is-perceived-to-be-normal/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [We were interested in this notion of compression- a lot of the songs were really short so that you'd absorb them in memory rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arto-lindsay/we-were-interested-in-this-notion-of-compression-a-lot-of-the-songs/) [Arto Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arto-lindsay/) > [“Always read…always learn…always absorb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pia-leba-talmud/always-read-always-learn-always-absorb/) Pia Leba Talmud > [If you're very open to watching the world go by, with people's different tics, you absorb it all without realizing it and find ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-blunt/if-you-re-very-open-to-watching-the-world-go-by-with-people-s/) [Emily Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-blunt/) > [“…he was doing a breath hydrogen test. If you know the amount of hydrogen someone is exhaling orally, it's a simple matter to extrapolate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/he-was-doing-a-breath-hydrogen-test-if-you-know-the-amount-of/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [I would spend hours absorbing every intonation, every inflection - how the singer would convey a sentiment and how it would sound coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-edmonson/i-would-spend-hours-absorbing-every-intonation-every-inflection-how/) [Kat Edmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-edmonson/) > [Be a mirror, absorb everything around you and still remain the same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/be-a-mirror-absorb-everything-around-you-and-still-remain-the-same/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [To Kiss : An attempt to absorb the essence of the other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/to-kiss-an-attempt-to-absorb-the-essence-of-the-other-person/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [You absorb 2,000 years of history just by being near the Thames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/you-absorb-2-000-years-of-history-just-by-being-near-the-thames/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [We live with incessant music, all the time. It's like some weird musical purgatory, there is absolutely no rest for the ears, no space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-blake/we-live-with-incessant-music-all-the-time-it-s-like-some-weird/) [James Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-blake/) > [Technology teaches passivity. Absorbed in our devices - at any age - we are absorbed in someone else's perspective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-cameron/technology-teaches-passivity-absorbed-in-our-devices-at-any-age-we/) [Julia Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-cameron/) > [A man, to read, must read alone. He may make extracts, he may work at books in company; but to read, to absorb, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jefferies/a-man-to-read-must-read-alone-he-may-make-extracts-he-may-work-at/) [Richard Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jefferies/) > [Console yourself, you're better alone destroy yourself, see who gives a fuck. Absorb yourself, you're better alone destroy yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamb-of-god/console-yourself-you-re-better-alone-destroy-yourself-see-who-gives-a/) [Lamb Of God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamb-of-god/) > [In '77 there was no Internet, there was no Twitter or Facebook, and I think that, without being some old git who hates anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jones/in-77-there-was-no-internet-there-was-no-twitter-or-facebook-and-i/) [Steve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jones/) Browse all 194 Absorb quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bruce Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absorb" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/bruce-lee-430_absorb_absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-no_728066.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/bruce-lee-430_absorb_absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-no_728066.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/bruce-lee-430_absorb_absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-no_728066.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.” — Bruce Lee", "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": "Bruce Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Absorb what is useful, Discard what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/absorb-what-is-useful-discard-what-is-not-add-what-is-uniquely-your/#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 } } ] } ```