--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you grow up in a home where actions…" description: "\"If you grow up in a home where actions don't lead to predictable consequences, you don't develop strategies to control your impulses.\" — David Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/david-brooks-644_action_if-you-grow-up-in-a-home-where-actions-d_2049875.png" --- # If you grow up in a home where actions don't lead to… ![“If you grow up in a home where actions don't lead to predictable consequences, you don't develop strategies to control your impulses.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/david-brooks-644_action_if-you-grow-up-in-a-home-where-actions-d_2049875.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/david-brooks-644_action_if-you-grow-up-in-a-home-where-actions-d_2049875.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/653/david-brooks-644_action_if-you-grow-up-in-a-home-where-actions-d_2049875.png) > “If you grow up in a home where actions don't lead to predictable consequences, you don't develop strategies to control your impulses.” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Growing up without consistent cause‑and‑effect teaching hampers impulse control development. **In simple terms:** Unpredictable homes hinder self‑control. Key Takeaway Seek stable feedback to build self‑discipline. Themes psychology development self‑control Mood reflective serious Type advice psychological When to use this quote - parenting - education - personal development - mental health Key Concepts behavioral conditioning executive function Questions to Reflect On - How can you create personal accountability when external feedback is unreliable? - What habits can replace external predictability? A Different Perspective Consistent consequences are not always feasible in real life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Impulses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulses/) [Strategy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strategy/) ## Related quotes > [“The basic idea here is that for most people will power is a limited resource: if we spend lots of energy controlling our impulses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/the-basic-idea-here-is-that-for-most-people-will-power-is-a-limited/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [You are responsible for the predictable consequences of your actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/you-are-responsible-for-the-predictable-consequences-of-your-actions/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Love begins at home,and it is not how much we do...but how much we put in actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-begins-at-home-and-it-is-not-how-much-we-do-but-how-much-we-put/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A typical outcome of too much stress is an inability to control your impulses to check e-mails, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and so on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crouch/a-typical-outcome-of-too-much-stress-is-an-inability-to-control-your/) Chris Crouch > [It is a youthful failing to be unable to control one's impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-a-youthful-failing-to-be-unable-to-control-one-s-impulses/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [If I would put my talent on the table, if I would control my impulses, if I would make decisions and plans for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/star-parker/if-i-would-put-my-talent-on-the-table-if-i-would-control-my-impulses/) [Star Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/star-parker/) > [The major lesson Tiggers need to learn is that if they don't control their impulses, their impulses will control them. No matter how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-hoff/the-major-lesson-tiggers-need-to-learn-is-that-if-they-don-t-control/) [Benjamin Hoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-hoff/) > [“But as time goes by you learn that your impulses don’t know any more about what you really want than you do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-clements/but-as-time-goes-by-you-learn-that-your-impulses-don-t-know-any-more/) Brandon Clements > [A family is too frail a vessel to contain the risks of all the warring impulses expressed when such a group meets on common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/a-family-is-too-frail-a-vessel-to-contain-the-risks-of-all-the/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Passion arises from the heart, and your hearts impulse is more likely to be closer to the truth than your minds analysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/passion-arises-from-the-heart-and-your-hearts-impulse-is-more-likely/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you start to engage with your creative processes, it shakes up all your impulses, and they all kind of inform one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bridges/when-you-start-to-engage-with-your-creative-processes-it-shakes-up/) [Jeff Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bridges/) > [All the best human impulses can be traced back to adolescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-deutsch/all-the-best-human-impulses-can-be-traced-back-to-adolescence/) [Helene Deutsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-deutsch/) > [impulses sometimes have logical roots and ought to be given in to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-moody/impulses-sometimes-have-logical-roots-and-ought-to-be-given-in-to/) [Susan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-moody/) > [The practice of inhibiting impulses, which is to a great extent necessary to civilized life, makes mistakes easier, by preventing experience of the actions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-practice-of-inhibiting-impulses-which-is-to-a-great-extent/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The creative impulses of man are always at war with the possessive impulses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-wyck-brooks/the-creative-impulses-of-man-are-always-at-war-with-the-possessive/) [Van Wyck Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-wyck-brooks/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. It is probably impossible to look at a map of brain activity and predict or even understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-brain-is-not-the-mind-it-is-probably-impossible-to-look-at-a-map/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [When you're running for president, you're a guest in the living room for four years. 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The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. 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I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! 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