---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's true for us as individual humans…"
description: "\"What's true for us as individual humans is true for the civilization we create: a sprint culture, seeking ever greater speed and power in all things ca..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/ed-ayres-62313_all-things_what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans_1491094.png"
---

#  What's true for us as individual humans is true for the…

![“What's true for us as individual humans is true for the civilization we create: a sprint culture, seeking ever greater speed and power in all things cannot endure.” quote by Ed Ayres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/ed-ayres-62313_all-things_what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans_1491094.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/ed-ayres-62313_all-things_what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans_1491094.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/ed-ayres-62313_all-things_what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans_1491094.png)

> “What's true for us as individual humans is true for the civilization we create: a sprint culture, seeking ever greater speed and power in all things cannot endure.”

[Ed Ayres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-ayres/)

## About This Quote

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

A civilization obsessed with ever‑increasing speed and power cannot sustain itself; balance is necessary.

**In simple terms:** Speed‑obsessed cultures are unsustainable.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize sustainable pacing over relentless acceleration.

Themes

technology civilization pace

Mood

concerned thoughtful

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

- corporate deadlines
- urban planning
- personal productivity

Key Concepts

economics environment psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies shift from sprint to marathon mindsets?
- What personal habits reflect sprint culture?

A Different Perspective

Rapid growth may cause burnout and ecological harm.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[All things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-create-3958525/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Endure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/endure/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Humans True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans-true-3498947/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Seeking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeking/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Sprint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sprint/) [Sprint Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sprint-culture-5449213/) [True Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-civilization-1035339/)

## Related quotes

> [\*\*\*Thought of the night\*\*\* True fact about humans with true and soft heart...that those who cry while watching someone totaly different in pain...or feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhiess-krieg/thought-of-the-night-true-fact-about-humans-with-true-and-soft-heart-2/)

[Jhiess Krieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhiess-krieg/)

> [Ideas are the factors that lift civilization. They create revolutions. There is more dynamite in an idea than in many bombs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-h-vincent/ideas-are-the-factors-that-lift-civilization-they-create-revolutions/)

[John H. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-h-vincent/)

> [We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-will-never-have-true-civilization-until-we-have-learned-to/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [Theory of the true civilization. It is not to be found in gas or steam or table turning. It consists in the diminution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/theory-of-the-true-civilization-it-is-not-to-be-found-in-gas-or-steam/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

> [Justice has nothing to do with victor nations and vanquished nations, but must be a moral standard that all the world's peoples can agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideki-tojo/justice-has-nothing-to-do-with-victor-nations-and-vanquished-nations/)

[Hideki Tojo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hideki-tojo/)

> [No university in the world has ever risen to greatness without a correspondingly great library... When this is no longer true, then will our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/no-university-in-the-world-has-ever-risen-to-greatness-without-a/)

[Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/)

> [True Civilization does not lie in gas, nor in steam, nor in turn-tables. It lies in the reduction of the traces of original sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/true-civilization-does-not-lie-in-gas-nor-in-steam-nor-in-turn-tables/)

[Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/)

> [“Why should we hate them? Because ours is the only true civilization! Even in science -- consider that we invented the sternpost rudder twelve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/why-should-we-hate-them-because-ours-is-the-only-true-civilization/)

[Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/)

> [Love is the spirit of life unto the adorned body of mankind, the establisher of true civilization in this mortal world, and the shedder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/love-is-the-spirit-of-life-unto-the-adorned-body-of-mankind-the/)

[Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/)

> [“It is not a true civilization, and has nothing in it to satisfy a mature and fully developed human mind. It is attuned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/it-is-not-a-true-civilization-and-has-nothing-in-it-to-satisfy-a/)

[H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/)

> [What is true for book publishing is true for civilization: the books that survive the test of time are humanity's backlist, our collective memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/what-is-true-for-book-publishing-is-true-for-civilization-the-books/)

[Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/)

> [No true civilization can be expected permanently to continue which is not based on the great principles of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/no-true-civilization-can-be-expected-permanently-to-continue-which-is/)

[Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/)

> [Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/hold-fast-to-the-bible-to-the-influence-of-this-book-we-are-indebted/)

[Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/)

> [The true civilization is where every man gives to every other every right that he claims for himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/the-true-civilization-is-where-every-man-gives-to-every-other-every/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Any Scrum without working product at the end of a sprint is a failed Scrum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-sutherland/any-scrum-without-working-product-at-the-end-of-a-sprint-is-a-failed/)

[Jeff Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-sutherland/)

## More by Ed Ayres

> [It's ironic that Olympic spectators will never have seen Yiannis Kouros, the greatest Greek athlete since Pheidippides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/it-s-ironic-that-olympic-spectators-will-never-have-seen-yiannis/)

[Ed Ayres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-ayres/)

> [Its likely that a general pattern of behavior among threatened human societies is to become more blindered, rather than more focused on the crisis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/its-likely-that-a-general-pattern-of-behavior-among-threatened-human/)

[Ed Ayres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-ayres/)

> [We thought it was only in science fiction that things created by humans could actually take over what is inherently our human heritage. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/we-thought-it-was-only-in-science-fiction-that-things-created-by/)

[Ed Ayres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-ayres/)

> [Sport, which mimics the language and emotional intensity of war but eliminates the fatal destruction, may be a form of redemption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/sport-which-mimics-the-language-and-emotional-intensity-of-war-but/)

[Ed Ayres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-ayres/)

[Explore all 5 Ed Ayres quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-ayres/)

## More All things quotes

> [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/)

[Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/)

> [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/)

[Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/)

> [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/)

[Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/)

> [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/)

[Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/)

> [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/)

[Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/)

> [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/)

[James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/)

> [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/)

[Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/)

> [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/)

[Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/)

> [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/)

[Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/)

> [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/)

[Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/)

> [The eternal principle, which never was born, never will die: it is in all things: it is in you now. You are the wave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/the-eternal-principle-which-never-was-born-never-will-die-it-is-in/)

[Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/)

> [The U.S. Army has recently removed the cross from the insignia worn by chaplains. In its place is a sun with its rays, symbolizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-murray/the-u-s-army-has-recently-removed-the-cross-from-the-insignia-worn-by/)

[Chris Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-murray/)

> [...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/)

[Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/)

[Browse all 2,486 All things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What's true for us as individual humans is true for the civilization we create: a sprint culture, seeking ever greater speed and power in all things cannot endure.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ed Ayres"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans-is-true-for-the-civilization/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "All things"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans-is-true-for-the-civilization/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/ed-ayres-62313_all-things_what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans_1491094.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/ed-ayres-62313_all-things_what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans_1491094.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d36/ed-ayres-62313_all-things_what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans_1491094.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What's true for us as individual humans is true for the civilization we create: a sprint culture, seeking…” — Ed Ayres",
                "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": "Ed Ayres",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-ayres/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What's true for us as individual...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans-is-true-for-the-civilization/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-ayres/what-s-true-for-us-as-individual-humans-is-true-for-the-civilization/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
