---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once you see what you are doing or have…"
description: "\"Once you see what you are doing or have been doing, you also see its futility, and that unconscious pattern then comes to an end by itself. Awareness i..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/eckhart-tolle-81_agents_once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have_1638289.jpg"
---

#  Once you see what you are doing or have been doing, you…

![“Once you see what you are doing or have been doing, you also see its futility, and that unconscious pattern then comes to an end by itself. Awareness is the greatest agent for change.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/eckhart-tolle-81_agents_once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have_1638289.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/eckhart-tolle-81_agents_once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have_1638289.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/eckhart-tolle-81_agents_once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have_1638289.jpg)

> “Once you see what you are doing or have been doing, you also see its futility, and that unconscious pattern then comes to an end by itself. Awareness is the greatest agent for change.”

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Seeing the futility of actions leads to natural cessation; awareness drives change.

**In simple terms:** Awareness ends futile patterns.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate mindful awareness to break unproductive cycles.

Themes

mindfulness change awareness

Mood

calm insightful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- habit formation
- career stagnation
- relationship patterns

Key Concepts

psychology spirituality

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you turn awareness into action?
- What patterns need your attention now?

A Different Perspective

Awareness alone may not guarantee change without action.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Futility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futility/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Self -awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-awareness/)

## Related quotes

> [Awareness is the greatest agent for change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/awareness-is-the-greatest-agent-for-change/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Awareness is the greatest alchemy there is. Just go on becoming more and more aware you will find your life changing for the better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/awareness-is-the-greatest-alchemy-there-is-just-go-on-becoming-more/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [Those with the greatest awareness have the greatest nightmares.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/those-with-the-greatest-awareness-have-the-greatest-nightmares/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [At the highest level of awareness, the greatest gift given and received when you give someone flowers, is the joy of living a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/at-the-highest-level-of-awareness-the-greatest-gift-given-and/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [When you want to arrive at your goal more than you want to be doing what you are doing, you become stressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-want-to-arrive-at-your-goal-more-than-you-want-to-be-doing/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Being willing is not enough. We must do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/being-willing-is-not-enough-we-must-do/)

[Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/)

> [Do what you can, with what you have and do it now!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington-carver/do-what-you-can-with-what-you-have-and-do-it-now/)

[George Washington Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington-carver/)

> [The idea of being in control for the sake of control, is not really important to me. If everyone is sharp and doing, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/the-idea-of-being-in-control-for-the-sake-of-control-is-not-really/)

[Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/)

> [I think, like a lot of other people who have been in the service, you'd been delayed in what you were doing. You wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-evans/i-think-like-a-lot-of-other-people-who-have-been-in-the-service-you-d/)

[Daniel J. Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-evans/)

> [You got to like your work. You have got to like what you are doing, you have got to be doing something worthwhile so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colonel-sanders/you-got-to-like-your-work-you-have-got-to-like-what-you-are-doing-you/)

[Colonel Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colonel-sanders/)

> [If you wanted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you probably would design…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-medina/if-you-wanted-to-create-an-education-environment-that-was-directly/)

[John Medina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-medina/)

> [I think if you're going on thinking oh, I can do this with my eyes shut, then it's probably not the right thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-think-if-you-re-going-on-thinking-oh-i-can-do-this-with-my-eyes/)

[Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/)

> [I think that fame only goes to your head if you are not a real artist. If you are a real artist and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-starlight/i-think-that-fame-only-goes-to-your-head-if-you-are-not-a-real-artist/)

[Lady Starlight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-starlight/)

> [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/)

[Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/)

> [I knew exactly what I was doing. You can't accidentally take a whole bottle of pills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fantasia-barrino/i-knew-exactly-what-i-was-doing-you-can-t-accidentally-take-a-whole/)

[Fantasia Barrino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fantasia-barrino/)

## More by Eckhart Tolle

> [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“A powerful spiritual practice is consciously to allow the diminishment of ego when it happens without attempting to restore it. I recommend that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-powerful-spiritual-practice-is-consciously-to-allow-the/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [To become aware of the subtlety of nature you need to be alert. The moment you become alert you become still... thinking subsides. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-become-aware-of-the-subtlety-of-nature-you-need-to-be-alert-the/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-not-honoring-the-present-moment-by-allowing-it-to-be-you/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is a joyous energy behind what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/on-a-deeper-level-you-are-already-complete-when-you-realize-that/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/life-will-give-you-whatever-experience-is-most-helpful-for-the/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [You may not yet be able to bring your unconscious mind activity into awareness as thoughts, but it will always be reflected in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-may-not-yet-be-able-to-bring-your-unconscious-mind-activity-into/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“War is a mind-set, and all action that comes out of such a mind-set will either strengthen the enemy, the perceived evil, or, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/war-is-a-mind-set-and-all-action-that-comes-out-of-such-a-mind-set/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Get the inside right, and the outside will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/get-the-inside-right-and-the-outside-will-take-care-of-itself/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [It is very hard to tell when I started to be a spiritual teacher. There was a time when occasionally somebody would come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/it-is-very-hard-to-tell-when-i-started-to-be-a-spiritual-teacher/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Most people spend their entire life imprisoned within the confines of their own thoughts. They never go beyond a narrow, mind-made, personalized sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/most-people-spend-their-entire-life-imprisoned-within-the-confines-of/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Let the end of the world be inside you, then you don't need to fear the end of the world out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/let-the-end-of-the-world-be-inside-you-then-you-don-t-need-to-fear/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [“Jeste li zabrinuti? Razmišljate li često: »Što bi bilo da sam...?« To znači da ste se poistovjetili s umom, koji se projicira u neku…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/jeste-li-zabrinuti-razmi-ljate-li-esto-to-bi-bilo-da-sam-to-zna-i-da/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

[Explore all 1,493 Eckhart Tolle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

## More Agents quotes

> [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [ I don't see \[ Trainspotting \] as an albatross, I see it more as a calling card. It's got me out to Hollywood, I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-don-t-see-trainspotting-as-an-albatross-i-see-it-more-as-a-calling/)

[Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/)

> [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/)

[Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/)

> [We are coming to a place where the road ends. From here on out, we will be making the road as we walk it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-atlee/we-are-coming-to-a-place-where-the-road-ends-from-here-on-out-we-will/)

Tom Atlee

> [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/)

[Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/)

> [I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-have-always-believed-that-women-are-not-victims-we-are-agents-of/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [Many American TV actors employ agents, managers, business managers, publicists and stylists, and are now adding digital media manager to the list. Their job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/many-american-tv-actors-employ-agents-managers-business-managers/)

[Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/)

> [The ultimate goal of radical politics is gradually to displace the limit of social exclusions, empowering the excluded agents (sexual and ethnic minorities) by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/the-ultimate-goal-of-radical-politics-is-gradually-to-displace-the/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [My first job was a film called 'Storm Damage' for the BBC. I was 16 and working with really respected British actors. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/my-first-job-was-a-film-called-storm-damage-for-the-bbc-i-was-16-and/)

[Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/)

> [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/)

[Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/)

> [While much of modern behavioral and social science treats individuals as autonomous agents, it is absolutely clear that the way we think and act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-r-nelson/while-much-of-modern-behavioral-and-social-science-treats-individuals/)

Richard R. Nelson

> [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/)

[Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/)

> [The chief beneficiary of life insurance policies for young, single people is the life insurance agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/the-chief-beneficiary-of-life-insurance-policies-for-young-single/)

[Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/)

> [“Honestly,” he says, “I judge writers on how they write queries. If you’re a good writer, you’re a good writer.” And if not, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-gessen/honestly-he-says-i-judge-writers-on-how-they-write-queries-if-you-re/)

[Keith Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-gessen/)

Browse all 1,567 Agents quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Once you see what you are doing or have been doing, you also see its futility, and that unconscious pattern then comes to an end by itself. Awareness is the greatest agent for change.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eckhart Tolle"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have-been-doing-you-also-see-its/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Agents"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have-been-doing-you-also-see-its/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/eckhart-tolle-81_agents_once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have_1638289.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/eckhart-tolle-81_agents_once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have_1638289.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76e/eckhart-tolle-81_agents_once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have_1638289.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Once you see what you are doing or have been doing, you also see its futility, and that unconscious pattern…” — Eckhart Tolle",
                "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": "Eckhart Tolle",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Once you see what you are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have-been-doing-you-also-see-its/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/once-you-see-what-you-are-doing-or-have-been-doing-you-also-see-its/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
