--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only losers make decisions when things…" description: "\"Only losers make decisions when things are bad. The time to rejig your life is the time when it's seemingly smooth.\" — Douglas Coupland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/douglas-coupland-305_bad-time_only-losers-make-decisions-when-things-a_529422.jpg" --- # Only losers make decisions when things are bad. The time… ![“Only losers make decisions when things are bad. The time to rejig your life is the time when it's seemingly smooth.” quote by Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/douglas-coupland-305_bad-time_only-losers-make-decisions-when-things-a_529422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/douglas-coupland-305_bad-time_only-losers-make-decisions-when-things-a_529422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/444/douglas-coupland-305_bad-time_only-losers-make-decisions-when-things-a_529422.jpg) > “Only losers make decisions when things are bad. The time to rejig your life is the time when it's seemingly smooth.” [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People wait for crises to act, but real change comes when things are stable and complacent, allowing thoughtful restructuring. **In simple terms:** Act during calm, not crisis. Key Takeaway Plan improvements before problems arise. Themes proactivity change stability Mood motivational pragmatic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - health habits - financial budgeting Key Concepts strategic planning personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What can you improve now? - How do you avoid waiting for a crisis? A Different Perspective Smooth periods can breed complacency, hindering action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Decision making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-making/) [Loser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loser/) [Losers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losers/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Winners make commitments, losers make excuses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-schuerholz/winners-make-commitments-losers-make-excuses/) [John Schuerholz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-schuerholz/) > [Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/losers-make-promises-they-often-break-winners-make-commitments-they/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [Losers make it happen,Winners make it happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pelumi-bello/losers-make-it-happen-winners-make-it-happen/) [Pelumi Bello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pelumi-bello/) > [“Winners win losers make excuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-lee-johnson/winners-win-losers-make-excuses/) Keith Lee Johnson > [Success is not as easy as winners make it look nor as hard as losers make it sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-woodward/success-is-not-as-easy-as-winners-make-it-look-nor-as-hard-as-losers/) [Orrin Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-woodward/) > [Champion make decisions that create the beautiful future They desire,losers make decisions that create the present They desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sweetner/champion-make-decisions-that-create-the-beautiful-future-they-desire/) [Sweetner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sweetner/) > [“Winners make the effort while losers make excuses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/winners-make-the-effort-while-losers-make-excuses/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [Life has good and bad times. And to get through them you have to battle. Life is not all smooth. I've had my bumps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-vitale/life-has-good-and-bad-times-and-to-get-through-them-you-have-to/) [Dick Vitale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-vitale/) > [Wilcox Fate is for losers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/wilcox-fate-is-for-losers/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [You've got Washington picking winners and losers. And so, all of a sudden, decisions are being made on what helps politicians, not what helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-hensarling/you-ve-got-washington-picking-winners-and-losers-and-so-all-of-a/) [Jeb Hensarling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-hensarling/) > [Those Aussie rugby fans are a bunch of sore losers. I hate 'em all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-wilkinson/those-aussie-rugby-fans-are-a-bunch-of-sore-losers-i-hate-em-all/) [Jonny Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-wilkinson/) > [Always leave a sinking ship. There's no virtue in hanging on to losers. And stocks don't have feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-dunnan/always-leave-a-sinking-ship-there-s-no-virtue-in-hanging-on-to-losers/) [Nancy Dunnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-dunnan/) > [Winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/winners-are-losers-who-got-up-and-gave-it-one-more-try/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Non Losers are Losers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/non-losers-are-losers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Douglas Coupland > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [A man in a bookstore buys a book on loneliness and every woman in the store hits on him. A woman buys a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/a-man-in-a-bookstore-buys-a-book-on-loneliness-and-every-woman-in-the/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [The future and eternity are two entirely different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/the-future-and-eternity-are-two-entirely-different-things/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Do you remember how you felt at seventeen? I do and I don't (...) Imagine you came from outer space and someone showed you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/do-you-remember-how-you-felt-at-seventeen-i-do-and-i-don-t-imagine/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [You can't fake competence, creativity, or sexual arousal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-can-t-fake-competence-creativity-or-sexual-arousal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“But Dag, for all of his efforts, might as well have been talking to a cat. Our parents’ generation seems neither able nor interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/but-dag-for-all-of-his-efforts-might-as-well-have-been-talking-to-a/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Negative? Moi? I think realistic might be a better word. You mean to tell me we can drive all the way here from L.A.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/negative-moi-i-think-realistic-might-be-a-better-word-you-mean-to/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [It was pivotal in making you but you don't remember it. Or do you? Do we understand the events that make us who we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/it-was-pivotal-in-making-you-but-you-don-t-remember-it-or-do-you-do/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Your ability to rationalize your own bad deeds makes you believe that the whole world is as amoral as you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/your-ability-to-rationalize-your-own-bad-deeds-makes-you-believe-that/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“I like to go beach-combing, and I like to find interestingly shaped rocks. When I really get into the groove I start finding beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-like-to-go-beach-combing-and-i-like-to-find-interestingly-shaped/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“You know, Dag and Claire smile a lot, as do many people I know. But I always wondered if there is something either mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/you-know-dag-and-claire-smile-a-lot-as-do-many-people-i-know-but-i/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [Brain research tells us that only twenty percent of human beings have a sense of irony, which means that eighty percent of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/brain-research-tells-us-that-only-twenty-percent-of-human-beings-have/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [I keep vampire hours, going to bed at 2 A.M. and waking up at about 10:30-11 A.M.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-keep-vampire-hours-going-to-bed-at-2-a-m-and-waking-up-at-about-10/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Anna-Louise leans over and whispers in my ear. "This is so surreal," she says, "I think I'm turning into a melting clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/anna-louise-leans-over-and-whispers-in-my-ear-this-is-so-surreal-she/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [When you grow up these days, you're told you're going to have four or five different careers during your lifetime. But what they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/when-you-grow-up-these-days-you-re-told-you-re-going-to-have-four-or/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) [Explore all 704 Douglas Coupland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## More Bad time quotes > [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My friends and family are my support system. They tell me what I need to hear, not what I want to hear and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-clarkson/my-friends-and-family-are-my-support-system-they-tell-me-what-i-need/) [Kelly Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-clarkson/) > [Always respect, honour And Pray for those who helped you in your bad time. Also be thankful to bad time, For showing you those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/always-respect-honour-and-pray-for-those-who-helped-you-in-your-bad/) Pacifiersucker > [It's certainly been very important to have my own family with me. They came with me to Italy, left what they had in Brazil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/it-s-certainly-been-very-important-to-have-my-own-family-with-me-they/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [The passing of John Bonham... Let's just put it... Before we say, 'the passing of John Bonham,' the introduction of John Bonham on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/the-passing-of-john-bonham-let-s-just-put-it-before-we-say-the/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [The good time become good memories. The bad time become good lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glemar/the-good-time-become-good-memories-the-bad-time-become-good-lesson/) Glemar > [Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/writing-is-for-men-who-can-think-and-feel-not-mindless-sensation/) [Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/) > [“Don’t let the bad times get you down, You have some of those moments where life tells you, it’s time to cry. Without those,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-mcdaniel-on-the-savage-side/don-t-let-the-bad-times-get-you-down-you-have-some-of-those-moments/) Tiffany McDaniel, On the Savage Side > [The comments I most appreciate come from ordinary readers who've happened on one of my books at some time of stress in their lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-comments-i-most-appreciate-come-from-ordinary-readers-who-ve/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Everybody need a partner to stand right by their side. Not only down for the good times. But also down through the bad times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/everybody-need-a-partner-to-stand-right-by-their-side-not-only-down/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [I don't know if it's fair to say that it's a bad time for movies. It seems to me that throughout the entire history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/i-don-t-know-if-it-s-fair-to-say-that-it-s-a-bad-time-for-movies-it/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [Love is . . . Being happy for the other person when they are happy, Being sad for the person when they are sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/love-is-being-happy-for-the-other-person-when-they-are-happy-being/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Don't give up on yourself. Fight for yourself and what you stand for. In life, you've got to go through some bad times to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-give-up-on-yourself-fight-for-yourself-and-what-you-stand-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My dad? He died when I was 19, which is a bad time for your dad to die, because there's an awful lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-dad-he-died-when-i-was-19-which-is-a-bad-time-for-your-dad-to-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “My dear friend, clear your mind of cant \[excessive thought\]. You may talk as other people do: you may say to a man, "Sir,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/my-dear-friend-clear-your-mind-of-cant-excessive-thought-you-may-talk/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) Browse all 638 Bad time quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only losers make decisions when things are bad. 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