--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The longest journey is the journey inward." description: "\"The longest journey is the journey inward.\" — Dag Hammarskjold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_conformity_the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwar_2285636.png" --- # The longest journey is the journey inward. ![“The longest journey is the journey inward.” quote by Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_conformity_the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwar_2285636.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_conformity_the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwar_2285636.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_conformity_the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwar_2285636.png) > “The longest journey is the journey inward.” [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The most profound journey is the one turning inward, discovering inner truth and purpose. **In simple terms:** Self‑exploration is the deepest journey. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner reflection regularly. Themes self‑discovery spirituality inner growth Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - journaling - solitude - therapy Key Concepts mindfulness philosophy contemplation Questions to Reflect On - What inner insights have you uncovered lately? - How do you navigate inner discomfort? A Different Perspective Inner journeys can be unsettling and may confront uncomfortable truths. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Non conformity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-conformity/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [The longest journey is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest for the source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwards-of-him-who-has-chosen-his/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Perhaps the longest journey is the journey within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/perhaps-the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-within/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Agosins poetic language engages the reader in a mesmerizing journey of inward reflection and exile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/agosins-poetic-language-engages-the-reader-in-a-mesmerizing-journey/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [The longest journey Is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, Who has started upon his quest For the source of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwards-of-him-who-has-chosen-his-2/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [There is a light seed grain inside. You fill it with yourself, or it dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/there-is-a-light-seed-grain-inside-you-fill-it-with-yourself-or-it/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [To be original, or different, is felt to be "dangerous."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/to-be-original-or-different-is-felt-to-be-dangerous/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [One must never forbid oneself anything. One must also be able to go back, one must always be able to change...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-hartung/one-must-never-forbid-oneself-anything-one-must-also-be-able-to-go/) Hans Hartung > [All my work keeps going like a pendulum; it seems to swing back to something I was involved with earlier, or it moves between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-krasner/all-my-work-keeps-going-like-a-pendulum-it-seems-to-swing-back-to/) [Lee Krasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-krasner/) > [I like him. I have a weakness for losers. Invalids, foreigners, the fat boy of the class, the ones nobody ever wants to dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-eg/i-like-him-i-have-a-weakness-for-losers-invalids-foreigners-the-fat/) [Peter Høeg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-eg/) > [Had I not created my whole world, I would certainly have died in other people’s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/had-i-not-created-my-whole-world-i-would-certainly-have-died-in-other/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [... I stare into the fridge. Like a mirrored image of myself. Cold and empty, and the lights come on only when you open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallgr-mur-helgason/i-stare-into-the-fridge-like-a-mirrored-image-of-myself-cold-and/) [Hallgrimur Helgason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallgr-mur-helgason/) > [One day you're there and then all of a sudden, there's less of you. And you wonder where that part went. If it's living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-moss/one-day-you-re-there-and-then-all-of-a-sudden-there-s-less-of-you-and/) [Elisabeth Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-moss/) > [Non-conformity is the only real passion worth being ruled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/non-conformity-is-the-only-real-passion-worth-being-ruled-by/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [The American people...have a stake in non-conformity. For they know that the American genius is non-conformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/the-american-people-have-a-stake-in-non-conformity-for-they-know-that/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) ## More by Dag Hammarskjold > [“Didst thou give me this inescapable loneliness so that it would be easier for me to give thee all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/didst-thou-give-me-this-inescapable-loneliness-so-that-it-would-be/) [Dag Hammarskjöld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Beneath the hush a whisper from long ago, promising peace of mind and a burden shared. No peace which is not peace for all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/beneath-the-hush-a-whisper-from-long-ago-promising-peace-of-mind-and/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [For the sacrificed, in the hour of sacrifice, only one thing counts: faith-alone among enemies and skeptics. Faith, in spite of the humiliation which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/for-the-sacrificed-in-the-hour-of-sacrifice-only-one-thing-counts/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Friendship needs no words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/friendship-needs-no-words/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [If even dying is to be made a social function, then, grant me the favor of sneaking out on tiptoe without disturbing the party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/if-even-dying-is-to-be-made-a-social-function-then-grant-me-the-favor/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Your position never gives you the right to command. It only imposes on you the duty of so living your life that others can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/your-position-never-gives-you-the-right-to-command-it-only-imposes-on/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [I have only my own burden to bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/i-have-only-my-own-burden-to-bear/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Life yields only to the conqueror. Never accept whatcan be gained by giving in. You will be living off stolen goods, and your muscles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/life-yields-only-to-the-conqueror-never-accept-whatcan-be-gained-by/) [Dag Hammarskjöld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [I never discuss discussions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/i-never-discuss-discussions/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/we-all-have-within-us-a-center-of-stillness-surrounded-by-silence/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [There is a point at which everything becomes simple and there is no longer any question of choice, because all you have staked will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/there-is-a-point-at-which-everything-becomes-simple-and-there-is-no/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/god-does-not-die-on-the-day-when-we-cease-to-believe-in-a-personal/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [The concept of loyalty is distorted when it is understood to mean blind acceptance. It is correctly interpreted when it is assumed to cover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-concept-of-loyalty-is-distorted-when-it-is-understood-to-mean/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Those who invoke history will certainly be heard by history. And they will have to accept its verdict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/those-who-invoke-history-will-certainly-be-heard-by-history-and-they/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) > [Your body must become familiar with its death - in all its possible forms and degrees - as a self-evident, imminent, and emotionally neutral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/your-body-must-become-familiar-with-its-death-in-all-its-possible/) [Dag Hammarskjold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) [Explore all 155 Dag Hammarskjold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/) ## More Conformity quotes > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The Chains of conformity click in tiresomely monotonous unison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/the-chains-of-conformity-click-in-tiresomely-monotonous-unison/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [A self is a frightening thing to waste, it's the lens through which one's whole life is viewed, and few people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ackerman/a-self-is-a-frightening-thing-to-waste-it-s-the-lens-through-which/) [Diane Ackerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ackerman/) > [Ideation is not a synonym for innovation, conformity is not its simple antonym, and innovation is not the automatic consequence of "creative thinking.".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/ideation-is-not-a-synonym-for-innovation-conformity-is-not-its-simple/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [“I lead with the knowingness that my reality conforms to my wishes and desires instantly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-s-baker/i-lead-with-the-knowingness-that-my-reality-conforms-to-my-wishes-and/) [Robin S. Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-s-baker/) > [Alas, everything that men say to one another is alike; the ideas they exchange are almost always the same, in their conversation. But inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-de-musset/alas-everything-that-men-say-to-one-another-is-alike-the-ideas-they/) [Alfred de Musset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-de-musset/) > [The search for truth is a cooperative, unending endeavor. We can, and should, engage in it to the extent we can and encourage others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-search-for-truth-is-a-cooperative-unending-endeavor-we-can-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Brontë was attempting to depict a character that adheres to the unchanging principles of her faith though she refused conformity to the particular practices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-swallow-prior/bront-was-attempting-to-depict-a-character-that-adheres-to-the/) [Karen Swallow Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-swallow-prior/) > [Officers conditioned to conformity in peacetime cannot be expected to behave boldly and flexibly in combat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-yingling/officers-conditioned-to-conformity-in-peacetime-cannot-be-expected-to/) Paul Yingling > [The more civilized a nation, the more conformed its population, until that civilization's last age arrives, when multiplicity wages war with conformity. The former…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-more-civilized-a-nation-the-more-conformed-its-population-until/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Deaths, births, and marriages, considering how much they are separately dependent on the freedom of the human will, should seem to be subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/deaths-births-and-marriages-considering-how-much-they-are-separately/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) [Browse all 937 Conformity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The longest journey is the journey inward.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dag Hammarskjold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inward/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conformity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inward/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_conformity_the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwar_2285636.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_conformity_the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwar_2285636.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/dag-hammarskj-ld-2606_conformity_the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inwar_2285636.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The longest journey is the journey inward.” — Dag Hammarskjold", "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": "Dag Hammarskjold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dag-hammarskj-ld/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The longest journey is the journey...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inward/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dag-hammarskj-ld/the-longest-journey-is-the-journey-inward/#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 } } ] } ```