--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: reaction isn't action - that is, it isn't…" description: "\"reaction isn't action - that is, it isn't truly creative.\" — Elizabeth Janeway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/elizabeth-janeway-12505_action_reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-t_3177344.jpg" --- # reaction isn't action - that is, it isn't truly creative. ![“reaction isn't action - that is, it isn't truly creative.” quote by Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/elizabeth-janeway-12505_action_reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-t_3177344.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/elizabeth-janeway-12505_action_reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-t_3177344.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/elizabeth-janeway-12505_action_reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-t_3177344.jpg) > “reaction isn't action - that is, it isn't truly creative.” [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thinking without acting is not genuine creativity. **In simple terms:** Ideas alone aren't creative without action. Key Takeaway Turn thoughts into deeds. Themes creativity action productivity Mood inquisitive motivational Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing - art - business projects - personal goals Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to act on ideas? - When does planning become procrastination? A Different Perspective Action alone may not guarantee creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Action Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action-isn-682246/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Isn Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isn-action-3368311/) [Reaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaction/) [Reaction Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reaction-isn-1881455/) [Reactions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reactions/) ## Related quotes > [Many people do not distinguish between something that happens to them and their reaction to it. Yet it isn't the event or situation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-conley/many-people-do-not-distinguish-between-something-that-happens-to-them/) [Chip Conley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-conley/) > [We know the ideal isn't where the action is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/we-know-the-ideal-isn-t-where-the-action-is/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [We're not used to seeing movies, especially with physical action, when it isn't the man who comes in to save the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/we-re-not-used-to-seeing-movies-especially-with-physical-action-when/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [Action isn’t my forte. I’m an expert on contemplation and mild regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sheckley/action-isn-t-my-forte-i-m-an-expert-on-contemplation-and-mild-regret/) [Robert Sheckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sheckley/) > [Love's action. It isn't talk and it never has been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/love-s-action-it-isn-t-talk-and-it-never-has-been/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“Action isn’t just the effect of motivation; it’s also the cause of it. Most”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/action-isn-t-just-the-effect-of-motivation-it-s-also-the-cause-of-it-2/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [“Action isn’t just the effect of motivation; it’s also the cause of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/action-isn-t-just-the-effect-of-motivation-it-s-also-the-cause-of-it/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [Action isn't a burden to be hoisted up and lugged around on our shoulders. It is something we are. The work we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/action-isn-t-a-burden-to-be-hoisted-up-and-lugged-around-on-our/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [Non- reaction is not weakness, But Strength!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/non-reaction-is-not-weakness-but-strength/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Sometimes,doing nothing is the best reaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/sometimes-doing-nothing-is-the-best-reaction/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [I was about 10 when I got into nuclear science. That was when that spark hit me. It took a few years of research,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-wilson/i-was-about-10-when-i-got-into-nuclear-science-that-was-when-that/) [Taylor Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-wilson/) > [When what is is congruent to what is supposed, the reaction is functional and the mental processes competent. When what is and what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/when-what-is-is-congruent-to-what-is-supposed-the-reaction-is/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [History is the action and reaction of these two, nature and thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/history-is-the-action-and-reaction-of-these-two-nature-and-thought/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If people are talking about your movie and they're like, 'Yeah, it was ok' - that's the last reaction I would want! I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caity-lotz/if-people-are-talking-about-your-movie-and-they-re-like-yeah-it-was/) [Caity Lotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caity-lotz/) > [Stop being tomented by everyone else's reaction to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/stop-being-tomented-by-everyone-else-s-reaction-to-you/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) ## More by Elizabeth Janeway > [If every nation gets the government it deserves, every generation writes the history which corresponds with its view of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/if-every-nation-gets-the-government-it-deserves-every-generation/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [television. It has changed the way that we perceive the world out there, and though we know that - have indeed been bombarded with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/television-it-has-changed-the-way-that-we-perceive-the-world-out/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [those who despair of life are not long for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/those-who-despair-of-life-are-not-long-for-it/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Like their personal lives, women's history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/like-their-personal-lives-women-s-history-is-fragmented-interrupted-a/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Mythology is like gravity, inconvenient at times, but necessary for cohesion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/mythology-is-like-gravity-inconvenient-at-times-but-necessary-for/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Creeds and causal systems have argued with each other for millennia, and even so we and our ancestors have managed to live in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/creeds-and-causal-systems-have-argued-with-each-other-for-millennia/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Power is the ability not to have to please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/power-is-the-ability-not-to-have-to-please/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Love between women is seen as a paradigm of love between equals, and that is perhaps its greatest attraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/love-between-women-is-seen-as-a-paradigm-of-love-between-equals-and/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Unless I am what I am and feel what I feel - as hard as I can and as honestly and truly as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/unless-i-am-what-i-am-and-feel-what-i-feel-as-hard-as-i-can-and-as/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [We don't get offered crises, they arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/we-don-t-get-offered-crises-they-arrive/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [We older women who know we aren't heroines can offer our younger sisters, at the very least, an honest report of what we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/we-older-women-who-know-we-aren-t-heroines-can-offer-our-younger/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Individual advances turn into social change when enough of them occur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/individual-advances-turn-into-social-change-when-enough-of-them-occur/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Poets are the leaven in the lump of civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/poets-are-the-leaven-in-the-lump-of-civilization/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Man's world' and 'woman's place' have confronted each other since Scylla first faced Charybdis. ... if women have only a place, clearly the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/man-s-world-and-woman-s-place-have-confronted-each-other-since-scylla/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [Art is a framework, a kind of living trellis, on which public dreaming can shape itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/art-is-a-framework-a-kind-of-living-trellis-on-which-public-dreaming/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) [Explore all 54 Elizabeth Janeway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) [Browse all 14,940 Action quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "reaction isn't action - that is, it isn't truly creative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Janeway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-truly-creative/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Action" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-truly-creative/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/elizabeth-janeway-12505_action_reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-t_3177344.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/elizabeth-janeway-12505_action_reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-t_3177344.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/651/elizabeth-janeway-12505_action_reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-t_3177344.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“reaction isn't action - that is, it isn't truly creative.” — Elizabeth Janeway", "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": "Elizabeth Janeway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "reaction isn't action - that is,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-truly-creative/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/reaction-isn-t-action-that-is-it-isn-t-truly-creative/#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 } } ] } ```