--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Very often the only way to get a quality…" description: "\"Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already.\" — C. S. Lewis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/c-s-lewis-2-132_behaving_very-often-the-only-way-to-get-a-quality_1476579.png" --- # Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to… ![“Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already.” quote by C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/c-s-lewis-2-132_behaving_very-often-the-only-way-to-get-a-quality_1476579.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/c-s-lewis-2-132_behaving_very-often-the-only-way-to-get-a-quality_1476579.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/c-s-lewis-2-132_behaving_very-often-the-only-way-to-get-a-quality_1476579.png) > “Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already.” [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Act as if you already possess a desired quality to manifest it in reality. **In simple terms:** Pretend you have it to make it real. Key Takeaway Adopt the mindset of the person you want to become. Themes mindset self‑actualization confidence Mood inspirational thought‑provoking Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career development - skill acquisition - personal growth - habit formation Key Concepts psychology of self‑fulfilling prophecy identity formation Questions to Reflect On - What quality do you wish to embody? - How can you practice it daily? A Different Perspective May lead to overconfidence without concrete effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [When we stop thinking about ourselves, when we stop being so devoted to 'me,' we can start behaving in a way that actually benefits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-goldsmith/when-we-stop-thinking-about-ourselves-when-we-stop-being-so-devoted/) [Marshall Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-goldsmith/) > [I know exactly who I am and where I come from. And my mom would bust my chops if I would suddenly start behaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/weston-mckennie/i-know-exactly-who-i-am-and-where-i-come-from-and-my-mom-would-bust/) [Weston McKennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/weston-mckennie/) > [You need to start behaving like the person you want to attract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-dickinson/you-need-to-start-behaving-like-the-person-you-want-to-attract/) [Amy Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-dickinson/) > [I always start with reality, in anything I do, everything I do, I always start from something real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michal-rovner/i-always-start-with-reality-in-anything-i-do-everything-i-do-i-always/) [Michal Rovner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michal-rovner/) > [Change can come in either of two important ways: Start behaving positively or stop behaving negatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/change-can-come-in-either-of-two-important-ways-start-behaving/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [I tried to nutmeg him. It never came off and he gave me a slap on the back of the head and told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-gerrard/i-tried-to-nutmeg-him-it-never-came-off-and-he-gave-me-a-slap-on-the/) [Steven Gerrard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-gerrard/) > [Until you start thinking right, you will never start behaving right. Repentance always deals with the changing of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-hunt/until-you-start-thinking-right-you-will-never-start-behaving-right/) [Johnny Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-hunt/) > [Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/do-not-waste-time-bothering-whether-you-love-your-neighbor-act-as-if/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-you-are-behaving-as-if-you-loved-someone-you-will-presently-come-2/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The human qualities of the raw materials show through. Naivety, error, contradiction, even (as in the cursing Psalms) wickedness are not removed. The total…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-human-qualities-of-the-raw-materials-show-through-naivety-error/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [It's risky because any number of things are going to happen that nobody can foresee. But right now everybody is the left is playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-s-risky-because-any-number-of-things-are-going-to-happen-that/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I always laugh a lot when I see the dramas that I end up doing. I see myself behaving very seriously and I'm like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-garcia-bernal/i-always-laugh-a-lot-when-i-see-the-dramas-that-i-end-up-doing-i-see/) [Gael Garcia Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-garcia-bernal/) > [We have recognized that the world is changing. How your children are behaving, how their friends are behaving. What they consume and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-packer/we-have-recognized-that-the-world-is-changing-how-your-children-are/) [James Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-packer/) > [In a world where people want answers immediately, I'm behaving a lot of the time in ways that contradict certain people's beliefs, or normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/in-a-world-where-people-want-answers-immediately-i-m-behaving-a-lot/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [So long as God reveals Himself, or doesn't, He is behaving like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/so-long-as-god-reveals-himself-or-doesn-t-he-is-behaving-like-god/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More by C. S. Lewis > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Either Jesus is the Son of God ; or a madman or worse. But His being just a great teacher? He's not left that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/either-jesus-is-the-son-of-god-or-a-madman-or-worse-but-his-being/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [To every soul, God will look like its first love because He IS its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-every-soul-god-will-look-like-its-first-love-because-he-is-its/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Don't you understand anything? Isn't it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/don-t-you-understand-anything-isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that. As”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/really-great-moral-teachers-never-do-introduce-new-moralities-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“When He died in the Wounded World He died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/when-he-died-in-the-wounded-world-he-died-not-for-men-but-for-each/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [All I am in private life is a literary critic and historian, that's my job...And I'm prepared to say on that basis if anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/all-i-am-in-private-life-is-a-literary-critic-and-historian-that-s-my/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [If a man is going to write on chemistry, he learns chemistry. The same is true of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-a-man-is-going-to-write-on-chemistry-he-learns-chemistry-the-same/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [The first fact in the history of Christendom is a number of people who say they have seen the Resurrection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-first-fact-in-the-history-of-christendom-is-a-number-of-people/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I#pray because the need flows out of me all the time-walking and sleeping. It does not change # God - it changes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/i-pray-because-the-need-flows-out-of-me-all-the-time-walking-and/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Are the gods not just?' 'Oh no, child. What would become us us if they were?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/are-the-gods-not-just-oh-no-child-what-would-become-us-us-if-they-were/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Love is more than an emotion, it is a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/love-is-more-than-an-emotion-it-is-a-decision/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Ink is the great cure for all human ills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/ink-is-the-great-cure-for-all-human-ills/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [A man may have to die for our country: but no man must, in any exclusive sense, live for his country. He who surrenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-man-may-have-to-die-for-our-country-but-no-man-must-in-any/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [War creates no absolutely new situation: it simply aggravates the permanent human situation so that we can no longer ignore it. Human life has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/war-creates-no-absolutely-new-situation-it-simply-aggravates-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Explore all 1,190 C. S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More Behaving quotes > [So long as God reveals Himself, or doesn't, He is behaving like God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/so-long-as-god-reveals-himself-or-doesn-t-he-is-behaving-like-god/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [It's risky because any number of things are going to happen that nobody can foresee. But right now everybody is the left is playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/it-s-risky-because-any-number-of-things-are-going-to-happen-that/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [We have recognized that the world is changing. How your children are behaving, how their friends are behaving. What they consume and what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-packer/we-have-recognized-that-the-world-is-changing-how-your-children-are/) [James Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-packer/) > [I always laugh a lot when I see the dramas that I end up doing. I see myself behaving very seriously and I'm like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gael-garcia-bernal/i-always-laugh-a-lot-when-i-see-the-dramas-that-i-end-up-doing-i-see/) [Gael Garcia Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gael-garcia-bernal/) > [In a world where people want answers immediately, I'm behaving a lot of the time in ways that contradict certain people's beliefs, or normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/in-a-world-where-people-want-answers-immediately-i-m-behaving-a-lot/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [“We need to get our minds right, because right now we are behaving as if we are out of our right minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-wallace/we-need-to-get-our-minds-right-because-right-now-we-are-behaving-as/) [Carlos Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-wallace/) > [Happiness comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that's consistent with those beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/happiness-comes-from-knowing-what-you-truly-value-and-behaving-in-a/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [“A great many grown-up and intelligent people believe, or pretend to believe, that by behaving in a friendly and accommodating way to our attackers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bowman/a-great-many-grown-up-and-intelligent-people-believe-or-pretend-to/) James Bowman > [At some point you have to stop acting as though life is happening to you and acknowledge the ways you are happening to it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jillian-michaels/at-some-point-you-have-to-stop-acting-as-though-life-is-happening-to/) [Jillian Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jillian-michaels/) > [Life is all about ass; you're either covering it,laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-all-about-ass-you-re-either-covering-it-laughing-it-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you know why someone is doing what they're doing, why they're behaving the way they are, then that's your job to reveal that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/if-you-know-why-someone-is-doing-what-they-re-doing-why-they-re/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [We're herded into schools and terrified into behaving. Taught how we're supposed to pretend to be, taught to parrot all kinds of nonsense at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/we-re-herded-into-schools-and-terrified-into-behaving-taught-how-we/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Life is all about ass. You're either covering it, kicking it, kissing it, busting it, trying to get a piece of it or behaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-all-about-ass-you-re-either-covering-it-kicking-it-kissing-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every time I see somebody behaving truly insanely in real life, I think, 'Yes! I'm not over the top after all!'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/every-time-i-see-somebody-behaving-truly-insanely-in-real-life-i/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [I was brought up to believe that human beings are good, which is why it shocks me to the core when I see human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/i-was-brought-up-to-believe-that-human-beings-are-good-which-is-why/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) Browse all 119 Behaving quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C. S. 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