--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have no time to waste on this planet…" description: "\"I have no time to waste on this planet being told what to do by those who think that God has given them instructions.\" — Christopher Hitchens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/736/christopher-hitchens-117_given_i-have-no-time-to-waste-on-this-planet-b_2657544.jpg" --- # I have no time to waste on this planet being told what to… ![“I have no time to waste on this planet being told what to do by those who think that God has given them instructions.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/736/christopher-hitchens-117_given_i-have-no-time-to-waste-on-this-planet-b_2657544.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/736/christopher-hitchens-117_given_i-have-no-time-to-waste-on-this-planet-b_2657544.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/736/christopher-hitchens-117_given_i-have-no-time-to-waste-on-this-planet-b_2657544.jpg) > “I have no time to waste on this planet being told what to do by those who think that God has given them instructions.” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rejects external moral directives, claiming personal autonomy over life choices. **In simple terms:** Refuses being told what to do. Key Takeaway Embrace personal responsibility. Themes philosophy individualism freedom Mood reflective defiant Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal decisions - ethical debates - self-governance - social norms Key Concepts existentialism authority critique Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance autonomy with communal responsibility? - When is external guidance beneficial? A Different Perspective May overlook societal interdependence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-given/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) ## Related quotes > [A fire lit under my ass? Yeah, that's true. No time to waste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/a-fire-lit-under-my-ass-yeah-that-s-true-no-time-to-waste/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [There's no time to waste. Every day, there needs to be movement on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiree-rogers/there-s-no-time-to-waste-every-day-there-needs-to-be-movement-on/) [Desiree Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiree-rogers/) > [There is no time to waste. We must either unite now or perish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-nyerere/there-is-no-time-to-waste-we-must-either-unite-now-or-perish/) [Julius Nyerere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-nyerere/) > [I met Indira Gandhi in her office in the government palace. The same office that had been her father's - large, cold and plain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/i-met-indira-gandhi-in-her-office-in-the-government-palace-the-same/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [As he that lives longest lives but a little while, every man may be certain that he has no time to waste. The duties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/as-he-that-lives-longest-lives-but-a-little-while-every-man-may-be/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [For men in earnest have no time to waste In patching fig-leaves for the naked truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/for-men-in-earnest-have-no-time-to-waste-in-patching-fig-leaves-for/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [A man with a career can have no time to waste upon his wife and friends; he has to devote it wholly to his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/a-man-with-a-career-can-have-no-time-to-waste-upon-his-wife-and/) [Pearl Mary Teresa Craigie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-mary-teresa-craigie/) > [I do believe in God. 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It is a waste of time. The Doctor; It is difficult to know what will be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-boucher/leela-why-are-we-listening-to-them-it-is-a-waste-of-time-the-doctor/) Chris Boucher > [Perfection takes time, but its a waste of time because nobody's perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perfection-takes-time-but-its-a-waste-of-time-because-nobody-s-perfect/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't waste time, it will only waste you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-waste-time-it-will-only-waste-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If life is a waste of time and time is a waste of life, lets all get wasted and have the time of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/if-life-is-a-waste-of-time-and-time-is-a-waste-of-life-lets-all-get/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Given quotes > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. 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Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [A low-minded person should not be given good advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-low-minded-person-should-not-be-given-good-advice/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [The old charters of Massachusetts, Virginia, and the Carolinas had given title to strips of territory extending from the Atlantic westward to the Pacific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-bushnell-hart/the-old-charters-of-massachusetts-virginia-and-the-carolinas-had/) [Albert Bushnell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-bushnell-hart/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. 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I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [If life were like a competitive race, some people would be given a flying start and others would line up with weights tied to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/if-life-were-like-a-competitive-race-some-people-would-be-given-a/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Music is one of the ways by which you can know everything which is going on in the world. You can feel... through music...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-one-of-the-ways-by-which-you-can-know-everything-which-is/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Today, at Harvard, any student with the currently fashionable color of skin is given rights denied to students of the currently unfashionable color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-capp/today-at-harvard-any-student-with-the-currently-fashionable-color-of/) [Al Capp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-capp/) > [Much like teaching art to young art students age 10 to 15 or so on, you have to break it down into bite-sized pieces,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/much-like-teaching-art-to-young-art-students-age-10-to-15-or-so-on/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. 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