--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not the strongest, but the most…" description: "\"It's not the strongest, but the most adaptable that survive.\" — Charles Darwin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/charles-darwin-507_adaptable_it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adap_590252.jpg" --- # It's not the strongest, but the most adaptable that survive. ![“It's not the strongest, but the most adaptable that survive.” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/charles-darwin-507_adaptable_it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adap_590252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/charles-darwin-507_adaptable_it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adap_590252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/charles-darwin-507_adaptable_it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adap_590252.jpg) > “It's not the strongest, but the most adaptable that survive.” [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Survival depends more on flexibility than sheer strength. **In simple terms:** Adaptability beats raw power. Key Takeaway Cultivate adaptability. Themes evolution survival flexibility Mood thoughtful motivational Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - business - environmental change - personal growth Key Concepts natural selection resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can you become more adaptable? - When has rigidity limited you? A Different Perspective Adaptability alone may not overcome systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adaptable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptable/) [Adaptable Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptable-survive-4832647/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Strongest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strongest/) [Strongest Adaptable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strongest-adaptable-4832648/) [Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive/) ## Related quotes > [Why do some die and some live? The answer was clearly, that on the whole the best fitted live. From the effects of disease…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/why-do-some-die-and-some-live-the-answer-was-clearly-that-on-the/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-not-the-strongest-of-the-species-that-survives-nor-the-most-2/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [To survive, to avert what we have termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/to-survive-to-avert-what-we-have-termed-future-shock-the-individual/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [“It is not the strongest animal that survives, nor the fastest, but the one most adaptable to change. —Leon C. Megginson, paraphrasing Charles Darwin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-falk/it-is-not-the-strongest-animal-that-survives-nor-the-fastest-but-the/) [Ben Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-falk/) > [The moral faculties are generally esteemed, and with justice, as of higher value than the intellectual powers. But we should always bear in mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-moral-faculties-are-generally-esteemed-and-with-justice-as-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I believe that all brands will become storytellers, editors and publishers, all stores will become magazines, and all media companies will become stores. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-massenet/i-believe-that-all-brands-will-become-storytellers-editors-and/) [Natalie Massenet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-massenet/) > [Only the fittest will survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/only-the-fittest-will-survive/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes is shown by mans attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-chief-distinction-in-the-intellectual-powers-of-the-two-sexes-is/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Thus, as I believe, natural selection will tend in the long run to reduce any part of the organisation, as soon as it becomes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/thus-as-i-believe-natural-selection-will-tend-in-the-long-run-to/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The survival or preservation of certain favoured words in the struggle for existence is natural selection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-survival-or-preservation-of-certain-favoured-words-in-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The evolution of the music is what allows it to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-church/the-evolution-of-the-music-is-what-allows-it-to-survive/) [Eric Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-church/) > [There have been low moments before, but Christianity is an incredibly adaptable organism, using different parts of its repertoire to mutate into new ecological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/there-have-been-low-moments-before-but-christianity-is-an-incredibly/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) ## More by Charles Darwin > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [So great is the economy of nature, that most flowers which are fertilised by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odour chiefly or exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-great-is-the-economy-of-nature-that-most-flowers-which-are/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reasons-why-the-views-given-in-this-volume-should-shock/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [If worms have the power of acquiring some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and over their burrows, as seems the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-worms-have-the-power-of-acquiring-some-notion-however-rude-of-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We can allow satellites, planets, suns, universe, nay whole systems of universes, to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-can-allow-satellites-planets-suns-universe-nay-whole-systems-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [May we not suspect that the vague but very real fears of children, which are quite independent of experience, are the inherited effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/may-we-not-suspect-that-the-vague-but-very-real-fears-of-children/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Darwin, landing in Brazil in 1832, had a similar reaction, colored by his reading of his predecessor." Humboldt's glorious descriptions are & will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [...all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/all-nature-is-perverse-will-not-do-as-i-wish-it/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Explore all 497 Charles Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## More Adaptable quotes > [There have been low moments before, but Christianity is an incredibly adaptable organism, using different parts of its repertoire to mutate into new ecological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/there-have-been-low-moments-before-but-christianity-is-an-incredibly/) [Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/) > [Individuals, too, who cultivate a variety of skills seem brighter, more energetic and more adaptable than those who know how to do one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-shea/individuals-too-who-cultivate-a-variety-of-skills-seem-brighter-more/) [Robert Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-shea/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We can never be certain about the future and therefore we must continue to be flexible and adaptable so that we can react quickly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talal-abu-ghazaleh/we-can-never-be-certain-about-the-future-and-therefore-we-must/) [Talal Abu-Ghazaleh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talal-abu-ghazaleh/) > [“It is not the strongest animal that survives, nor the fastest, but the one most adaptable to change. —Leon C. Megginson, paraphrasing Charles Darwin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-falk/it-is-not-the-strongest-animal-that-survives-nor-the-fastest-but-the/) [Ben Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-falk/) > [An adaptable company is one that captures more than its fair share of new opportunities. It's always redefining its 'core business' in ways that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-hamel/an-adaptable-company-is-one-that-captures-more-than-its-fair-share-of/) [Gary Hamel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-hamel/) > [I'm very adaptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-beal/i-m-very-adaptable/) [Bradley Beal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-beal/) > [Of course, Minneapolis, we think, 'Oh well, it's cold there, lethally cold.' But the reality is you adapt to weather... Humans are consummately adaptable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/of-course-minneapolis-we-think-oh-well-it-s-cold-there-lethally-cold/) [Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/) > [I'm a third-culture child. It's an interesting concept. Having an American father, a South American mother, born in England, grew up in Hong Kong,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-chantal-claire/i-m-a-third-culture-child-it-s-an-interesting-concept-having-an/) [Marie-Chantal Claire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-chantal-claire/) > [The making of adaptable, curious, open, questioning people has nothing to do with vocational training and everything to do with humanistic and scientific studies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-postman/the-making-of-adaptable-curious-open-questioning-people-has-nothing/) [Neil Postman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-postman/) > [Do you have a kinder, more adaptable friend in the food world than soup? Who soothes you when you are ill? Who refuses to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-martin/do-you-have-a-kinder-more-adaptable-friend-in-the-food-world-than/) [Judith Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-martin/) > [Flow. Be adaptable. Be sensitive like water, feel the other so you can attune and harmonize with your partner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-friend/flow-be-adaptable-be-sensitive-like-water-feel-the-other-so-you-can/) [John Friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-friend/) > [Do you think that you can clear your mind by sitting constantly in silent meditation? This makes your mind narrow, not clear. Integral awareness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/do-you-think-that-you-can-clear-your-mind-by-sitting-constantly-in/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [To survive, to avert what we have termed future shock, the individual must become infinitely more adaptable and capable than ever before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/to-survive-to-avert-what-we-have-termed-future-shock-the-individual/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [The brain is a dynamic system that constantly processes and creates your reality. It works best if you balance all the things that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-brain-is-a-dynamic-system-that-constantly-processes-and-creates/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) [Browse all 112 Adaptable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adaptable/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's not the strongest, but the most adaptable that survive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Darwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adaptable-that-survive/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adaptable" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adaptable-that-survive/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/charles-darwin-507_adaptable_it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adap_590252.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/charles-darwin-507_adaptable_it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adap_590252.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/058/charles-darwin-507_adaptable_it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adap_590252.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's not the strongest, but the most adaptable that survive.” — Charles Darwin", "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": "Charles Darwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's not the strongest, but the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adaptable-that-survive/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-s-not-the-strongest-but-the-most-adaptable-that-survive/#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 } } ] } ```