--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you are going to try and change…" description: "\"If you are going to try and change things, you had better have your wits about you.\" — Dorothy Day" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/dorothy-day-1629_change_if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-thing_482907.png" --- # If you are going to try and change things, you had better… ![“If you are going to try and change things, you had better have your wits about you.” quote by Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/dorothy-day-1629_change_if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-thing_482907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/dorothy-day-1629_change_if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-thing_482907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/dorothy-day-1629_change_if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-thing_482907.png) > “If you are going to try and change things, you had better have your wits about you.” [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Warns that attempting societal change requires sharpness and preparedness. **In simple terms:** Think clearly before trying to change things. Key Takeaway Stay alert and plan strategically. Themes social justice activism critical thinking Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - grassroots campaigns Key Concepts ethical responsibility political engagement Questions to Reflect On - What preparation do you need? - How can you stay grounded? A Different Perspective Idealism alone may ignore practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Wit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wit/) [Wits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wits/) ## Related quotes > [“It is better for you to keep your wits about one and gain your end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/it-is-better-for-you-to-keep-your-wits-about-one-and-gain-your-end/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [Alas, sir, how fell you besides your five wits?" Malvolio: "Fool, there was never a man so notoriously abused. I am as well in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/alas-sir-how-fell-you-besides-your-five-wits-malvolio-fool-there-was/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Will you try to change things, use the power that you have, the power of a million new ideas?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chicago-band/will-you-try-to-change-things-use-the-power-that-you-have-the-power/) [Chicago (Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chicago-band/) > [Don't try and change things for other people. Don't try and be persuaded by producers and people to change your vision. If you stick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-ramsay/don-t-try-and-change-things-for-other-people-don-t-try-and-be/) [Lynne Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-ramsay/) > [We're not preachers, but we say, 'Let's try and change things.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-rossington/we-re-not-preachers-but-we-say-let-s-try-and-change-things/) [Gary Rossington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-rossington/) > [I'd like to think that, if I'm unhappy, that I would try and change things so I am happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angourie-rice/i-d-like-to-think-that-if-i-m-unhappy-that-i-would-try-and-change/) [Angourie Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angourie-rice/) > [Evidently, quality of wits is more important than quantity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudius/evidently-quality-of-wits-is-more-important-than-quantity/) [Claudius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudius/) > [What are wits for unless a man uses them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellis-peters/what-are-wits-for-unless-a-man-uses-them/) [Ellis Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellis-peters/) > [City wits, country humorists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/city-wits-country-humorists/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [I assure you, you will never survive on your wits alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/i-assure-you-you-will-never-survive-on-your-wits-alone/) [LeBron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) > [Two negatives don't make a positive, any more than two half-wits make a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-kinnock/two-negatives-don-t-make-a-positive-any-more-than-two-half-wits-make/) [Neil Kinnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-kinnock/) > [Watch your step. Keep your wits about you; you will need them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-faber/watch-your-step-keep-your-wits-about-you-you-will-need-them/) [Michel Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-faber/) > [If we did not know all His retorts by heart, if we had not taken the sting out of them by incessant repetition in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/if-we-did-not-know-all-his-retorts-by-heart-if-we-had-not-taken-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The finest wits have their sediment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-finest-wits-have-their-sediment/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [That's what cricket's all about: two batsmen pitting their wits against one another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-trueman/that-s-what-cricket-s-all-about-two-batsmen-pitting-their-wits/) [Fred Trueman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-trueman/) ## More by Dorothy Day > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [We must recognize the fact that many Nazis, Marxists and Fascists believe passionately in their fundamental rightness, and allow nothing to hinder them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-recognize-the-fact-that-many-nazis-marxists-and-fascists/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [“Now don't think I've lost my mind - but I'll tell you, I'll look at some of the cards I have, some of Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/now-don-t-think-i-ve-lost-my-mind-but-i-ll-tell-you-i-ll-look-at-some/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The Sexual Revolution is a complete rebellion against authority, natural and supernatural, even against the body and its needs, its natural functions of child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-sexual-revolution-is-a-complete-rebellion-against-authority/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Idealism in the young, I guess I'm saying, is curiosity as well as goodness trying to express itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/idealism-in-the-young-i-guess-i-m-saying-is-curiosity-as-well-as/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Voluntary poverty isn't going around with some burlap bag around you and imitating the poor. It means being indifferent to the material, doing as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/voluntary-poverty-isn-t-going-around-with-some-burlap-bag-around-you/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Women think with their whole bodies and they see things as a whole more than men do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/women-think-with-their-whole-bodies-and-they-see-things-as-a-whole/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [My whole life so far, my whole experience has been that our failure has been not to love enough. This conviction brought me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/my-whole-life-so-far-my-whole-experience-has-been-that-our-failure/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I think one of the things we must constantly keep in mind is, 'If anybody hits you on one cheek, turn the other.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/i-think-one-of-the-things-we-must-constantly-keep-in-mind-is-if/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [It is only through religion that communism can be achieved, and has been achieved over and over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/it-is-only-through-religion-that-communism-can-be-achieved-and-has/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The Communists in Cuba didn't assist Castro in his revolution. They weren't on the side of the students. They didn't do anything to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-communists-in-cuba-didn-t-assist-castro-in-his-revolution-they/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [Dear God, please enlarge our hearts to love each other, to love our neighbor, to love our enemy as well as our friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/dear-god-please-enlarge-our-hearts-to-love-each-other-to-love-our/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [A conversion is a lonely experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/a-conversion-is-a-lonely-experience/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [The sense is always that community is natural to people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/the-sense-is-always-that-community-is-natural-to-people/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [“We must practice the presence of God. He said that when two or three are gathered together, there he is in the midst of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/we-must-practice-the-presence-of-god-he-said-that-when-two-or-three/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) [Explore all 220 Dorothy Day quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you are going to try and change things, you had better have your wits about you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy Day" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-things-you-had-better-have-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-things-you-had-better-have-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/dorothy-day-1629_change_if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-thing_482907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/dorothy-day-1629_change_if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-thing_482907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61f/dorothy-day-1629_change_if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-thing_482907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you are going to try and change things, you had better have your wits about you.” — Dorothy Day", "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": "Dorothy Day", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you are going to try...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-things-you-had-better-have-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/if-you-are-going-to-try-and-change-things-you-had-better-have-your/#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 } } ] } ```