---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I turn the thought around - the…"
description: "\"When I turn the thought around - the thought that war, let's say war in Iraq, should stop - the turnaround is the war in myself should stop.\" — Byron K..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/byron-katie-553_iraq_when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thoug_1160898.png"
---

#  When I turn the thought around - the thought that war…

![“When I turn the thought around - the thought that war, let's say war in Iraq, should stop - the turnaround is the war in myself should stop.” quote by Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/byron-katie-553_iraq_when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thoug_1160898.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/byron-katie-553_iraq_when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thoug_1160898.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/byron-katie-553_iraq_when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thoug_1160898.png)

> “When I turn the thought around - the thought that war, let's say war in Iraq, should stop - the turnaround is the war in myself should stop.”

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Changing perspective on external conflict reveals that inner conflict is the true battle to end.

**In simple terms:** Stop fighting external wars; focus on inner peace.

Key Takeaway

Shift focus from external to internal conflict resolution.

Themes

peace self‑awareness conflict mindfulness

Mood

thoughtful calm

Type

philosophical self‑help

When to use this quote

- handling anger
- political discourse
- personal stress
- meditation

Key Concepts

cognitive reframing inner peace self‑inquiry

Questions to Reflect On

- What inner beliefs fuel your external conflicts?
- How can you apply this shift to daily stress?

A Different Perspective

External issues may still need practical solutions.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Turnaround](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turnaround/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

## Related quotes

> [“Yes, we can all cart our fractured selves along as we move through our lives. But we can choose whether we keep plodding along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/yes-we-can-all-cart-our-fractured-selves-along-as-we-move-through-our/)

[Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/)

> [You think you know someone until you really get to know them &amp; then they turn out to be someone you never thought they would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-think-you-know-someone-until-you-really-get-to-know-them-then/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Turn that thought into action”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-dawne/turn-that-thought-into-action/)

[Darlene Dawne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-dawne/)

> [“So many times I looked at Wellhouse Turn and thought it might be nice to fly. And here it was, right when I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-zappia/so-many-times-i-looked-at-wellhouse-turn-and-thought-it-might-be-nice/)

[Francesca Zappia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-zappia/)

> [After you've been doing inquiry for a while, if you have the thought "She doesn't love me," you just get the immediate turnaround with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/after-you-ve-been-doing-inquiry-for-a-while-if-you-have-the-thought/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [“I always thought everyone was against war until I found out there are those who are all for it, especially those who do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/i-always-thought-everyone-was-against-war-until-i-found-out-there-are/)

[Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/)

> [Have you ever thought that war is a madhouse and that everyone in the war is a patient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/have-you-ever-thought-that-war-is-a-madhouse-and-that-everyone-in-the/)

[Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/)

> [“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on Brown people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/why-should-they-ask-me-to-put-on-a-uniform-and-go-10-000-miles-from/)

[Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/)

> [“Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/every-war-when-it-comes-or-before-it-comes-is-represented-not-as-a-2/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“If I could fly high as the sun, she thought, this war would seem so small to me. We would all be but specks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-arenson/if-i-could-fly-high-as-the-sun-she-thought-this-war-would-seem-so/)

[Daniel Arenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-arenson/)

> [“When I was young and impressionable, I thought of war as a sort of romantic crucible, a test of one’s manhood and mettle. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marko-kloos/when-i-was-young-and-impressionable-i-thought-of-war-as-a-sort-of/)

[Marko Kloos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marko-kloos/)

> [“I thought the war was a simple matter, with one side good and the other evil. But the more I read, the less clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemony-snicket/i-thought-the-war-was-a-simple-matter-with-one-side-good-and-the/)

[Lemony Snicket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemony-snicket/)

> [“I often thought about him during the war; if only 1900 were here, who knows what he'd do, what he'd say. 'Fuck war' he'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-baricco/i-often-thought-about-him-during-the-war-if-only-1900-were-here-who/)

[Alessandro Baricco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-baricco/)

> [I thought if war did not include killing, I'd like to see one every year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-thought-if-war-did-not-include-killing-i-d-like-to-see-one-every/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [You know what we need to heal are the thought forms and the feelings that cause us to create war and mass destruction on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/you-know-what-we-need-to-heal-are-the-thought-forms-and-the-feelings/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

## More by Byron Katie

> [The moment it begins to question itself, the mind becomes so clear that it starts working with itself rather than with the body's identification.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/the-moment-it-begins-to-question-itself-the-mind-becomes-so-clear/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [People don't need sudden revelations. They get what they need when they need it, thought by thought by thought. It's a constant thing when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/people-don-t-need-sudden-revelations-they-get-what-they-need-when/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [Your parents are your projection-nothing more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/your-parents-are-your-projection-nothing-more/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [When a thought hurts, that’s the signal that it isn’t true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-a-thought-hurts-that-s-the-signal-that-it-isn-t-true/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [Since the past is unreal and the future is unreal, all your thoughts are about nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/since-the-past-is-unreal-and-the-future-is-unreal-all-your-thoughts/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [I used to sleep on the floor next to the bed, because I believed that I didn't even deserve a bed to sleep in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/i-used-to-sleep-on-the-floor-next-to-the-bed-because-i-believed-that/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [You can never make yourself believe that you're loveable, however hard you try, because when the chips are down what you really believe rises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/you-can-never-make-yourself-believe-that-you-re-loveable-however-hard/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [“Your story is your identity, and you’d do almost anything to prove that it’s true. Inquiry into self is the only thing that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/your-story-is-your-identity-and-you-d-do-almost-anything-to-prove/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [It's not what happens in life that bothers us. It's what we're believing about it that bothers us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/it-s-not-what-happens-in-life-that-bothers-us-it-s-what-we-re/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [Love asks for nothing. Only personalities want something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/love-asks-for-nothing-only-personalities-want-something/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [I love what I think, and I'm never tempted to believe it. Thoughts are like the wind or the leaves on the trees or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/i-love-what-i-think-and-i-m-never-tempted-to-believe-it-thoughts-are/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [Reality doesn't wait for your opinion, vote, or permission, sweetheart. It just keeps being what it is and doing what it does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/reality-doesn-t-wait-for-your-opinion-vote-or-permission-sweetheart/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [As long as we believe our thoughts, there will always be war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/as-long-as-we-believe-our-thoughts-there-will-always-be-war/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [“Reality doesn’t wait for our agreement or approval. It is what it is. You can count on it. Gary:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/reality-doesn-t-wait-for-our-agreement-or-approval-it-is-what-it-is/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

> [You can't drop concepts. You can only shine a little flashlight on them as you do inquiry, an you see that what you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/you-can-t-drop-concepts-you-can-only-shine-a-little-flashlight-on/)

[Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

[Explore all 480 Byron Katie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/)

## More Iraq quotes

> [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/)

[Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/)

> [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/)

[Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/)

> [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/)

[Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [“Here you can shoot the bad guys,' a mercenary says in Baghdad. 'In America we give them corporate bonuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-robotham/here-you-can-shoot-the-bad-guys-a-mercenary-says-in-baghdad-in/)

[Michael Robotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-robotham/)

> [I believe Saddam Hussein's strategic objective was, and remains, to assert dominance over the Gulf region.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-berger/i-believe-saddam-hussein-s-strategic-objective-was-and-remains-to/)

[Sandy Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-berger/)

> [In the lead up to the Iraq war and its later conduct, I saw at a minimum, true dereliction, negligence and irresponsibility, at worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-zinni/in-the-lead-up-to-the-iraq-war-and-its-later-conduct-i-saw-at-a/)

[Anthony Zinni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-zinni/)

> [There aren't traditions of freedom in a place like Iraq. They're going to have to come to grips with a concept that they hadn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-wallop/there-aren-t-traditions-of-freedom-in-a-place-like-iraq-they-re-going/)

[Malcolm Wallop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-wallop/)

> [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/)

[Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/)

> [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/)

[Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/)

> [The U.S. cannot impose freedom, security, and unity in Iraq by force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-defazio/the-u-s-cannot-impose-freedom-security-and-unity-in-iraq-by-force/)

[Peter DeFazio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-defazio/)

> [While not widely reported, our victories in Iraq are plentiful. National elections, a democratic parliament and the drafting of a constitution are just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gillmor/while-not-widely-reported-our-victories-in-iraq-are-plentiful/)

[Paul Gillmor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gillmor/)

> [The tyrant has fallen, and Iraq is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-tyrant-has-fallen-and-iraq-is-free/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

[Browse all 2,606 Iraq quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When I turn the thought around - the thought that war, let's say war in Iraq, should stop - the turnaround is the war in myself should stop.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Byron Katie"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thought-that-war-let-s-say-war-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Iraq"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thought-that-war-let-s-say-war-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/byron-katie-553_iraq_when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thoug_1160898.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/byron-katie-553_iraq_when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thoug_1160898.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9db/byron-katie-553_iraq_when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thoug_1160898.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When I turn the thought around - the thought that war, let's say war in Iraq, should stop - the turnaround…” — Byron Katie",
                "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": "Byron Katie",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When I turn the thought around...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thought-that-war-let-s-say-war-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-i-turn-the-thought-around-the-thought-that-war-let-s-say-war-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
