--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Doing nothing is opting for the sweetness…" description: "\"Doing nothing is opting for the sweetness of stillness...Instead of fighting with that which you cannot control, you might as well just see it through...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c8/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_doing-nothing_doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetnes_1077164.png" --- # Doing nothing is opting for the sweetness of… ![“Doing nothing is opting for the sweetness of stillness...Instead of fighting with that which you cannot control, you might as well just see it through...” quote by Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c8/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_doing-nothing_doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetnes_1077164.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c8/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_doing-nothing_doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetnes_1077164.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c8/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_doing-nothing_doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetnes_1077164.png) > “Doing nothing is opting for the sweetness of stillness...Instead of fighting with that which you cannot control, you might as well just see it through...” [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accepting what cannot be changed brings peace; resisting the uncontrollable creates suffering. **In simple terms:** Let go of resistance to find calm. Key Takeaway Embrace stillness, stop fighting. Themes acceptance stillness inner peace Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - stressful work - relationship conflict - health challenges - grief processing Key Concepts Buddhist mindfulness psychological resilience Questions to Reflect On - What can you release control over? - How does stillness change your response to anxiety? A Different Perspective Stillness may become passive avoidance if not balanced with action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doing nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-nothing/) [Serenity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/serenity/) [Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness/) [Sweetness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweetness/) ## Related quotes > [To meet everything and everyone through stillness instead of mental noise is the greatest gift you can offer the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-meet-everything-and-everyone-through-stillness-instead-of-mental/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Instead of fighting to make things better, Matt Bevin has used the governor's office to bully workers and help his cronies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-beshear/instead-of-fighting-to-make-things-better-matt-bevin-has-used-the/) [Andy Beshear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-beshear/) > [“instead of fighting the system, it was often better to say yes and then go off and do whatever you thought was best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-flynn/instead-of-fighting-the-system-it-was-often-better-to-say-yes-and/) [Vince Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-flynn/) > [Instead of fighting for ourselves if we fight with ourselves, we can make a change. \*senora\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/instead-of-fighting-for-ourselves-if-we-fight-with-ourselves-we-can/) Senoraroy > [Instead of fighting n proving urself to ur lovable ones , its better to stay away. till they realise that no one cares for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-fighting-n-proving-urself-to-ur-lovable-ones-its-better-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Perhaps you would be better off finding some way to embrace your new nature, instead of fighting it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-blake/perhaps-you-would-be-better-off-finding-some-way-to-embrace-your-new/) [Deborah Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-blake/) > [Instead of fighting we should have been kissing, instead of screaming we should have been laughing, but its okay the pain will go away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-fighting-we-should-have-been-kissing-instead-of-screaming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Play with life, instead of fighting it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ela-crain/play-with-life-instead-of-fighting-it/) [Ela Crain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ela-crain/) > [“…instead of fighting everything so much, you could just open your heart and see where it leads you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deidre-knight/instead-of-fighting-everything-so-much-you-could-just-open-your-heart/) [Deidre Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deidre-knight/) > [Instead of fighting your problems, picture your way out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-howard/instead-of-fighting-your-problems-picture-your-way-out-of-them/) [Vernon Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-howard/) > [Instead of fighting the darkness, you bring in the light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/instead-of-fighting-the-darkness-you-bring-in-the-light/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Instead of fighting with your girl and being upset, put yourself in their shoes. There might just be more to the story that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-fighting-with-your-girl-and-being-upset-put-yourself-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes, the hardest thing was doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/sometimes-the-hardest-thing-was-doing-nothing/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [You are going to kill me, and that will protect society from me. But out there are many, many more people who are addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-bundy/you-are-going-to-kill-me-and-that-will-protect-society-from-me-but/) [Ted Bundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-bundy/) > [Doing nothing gives me great pleasure. And believe me, I succeed wonderfully in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/doing-nothing-gives-me-great-pleasure-and-believe-me-i-succeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Elizabeth Wurtzel > [Belief is a good thing in principle, but an annoying thing in human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/belief-is-a-good-thing-in-principle-but-an-annoying-thing-in-human/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I myself am hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-myself-am-hell/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“...if you ask anyone in the throes of depression how he got there, to pin down the turning point, he'll never know. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/if-you-ask-anyone-in-the-throes-of-depression-how-he-got-there-to-pin/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I want to explain how exhausted I am. Even in my dreams. How I wake up tired. How I’m being drowned by some kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-want-to-explain-how-exhausted-i-am-even-in-my-dreams-how-i-wake-up/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Its the people you are close to, the ones who love you, the ones who have seen your heart, who have touched your soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/its-the-people-you-are-close-to-the-ones-who-love-you-the-ones-who/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [if only my whole life could be words and music, if only everything else could slip away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/if-only-my-whole-life-could-be-words-and-music-if-only-everything/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [What I would do to be Alice climbing through the looking glass, taking one of those pills that makes you small ... so small.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/what-i-would-do-to-be-alice-climbing-through-the-looking-glass-taking/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Divorce has taught us how to sleep with friends, sleep with enemies, and then act like its all perfectly normal in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/divorce-has-taught-us-how-to-sleep-with-friends-sleep-with-enemies/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Just as our parents quieted us when we were noisy by putting us in front of the television set, maybe we're now learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/just-as-our-parents-quieted-us-when-we-were-noisy-by-putting-us-in/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I am sick of the girl who cries 'wolf' all the time. Even though not one of those cries was ever a false alarm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-am-sick-of-the-girl-who-cries-wolf-all-the-time-even-though-not-one/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I'm lost in a loneliness that feels like forever ... like a solitude that never goes away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-m-lost-in-a-loneliness-that-feels-like-forever-like-a-solitude-that/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [It's the people you are close to, the ones who love you, theo nes who have seen your heart, who have touched your soul-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/it-s-the-people-you-are-close-to-the-ones-who-love-you-theo-nes-who/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [“When you do drugs, you count like a chemist: The numbers are wild, the formulas are easy. Then, when you try to get clean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/when-you-do-drugs-you-count-like-a-chemist-the-numbers-are-wild-the/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Everything's plastic, we're all going to die sooner or later, so what does it matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/everything-s-plastic-we-re-all-going-to-die-sooner-or-later-so-what/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) [Explore all 261 Elizabeth Wurtzel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## More Doing nothing quotes > [Doing nothing gives me great pleasure. And believe me, I succeed wonderfully in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/doing-nothing-gives-me-great-pleasure-and-believe-me-i-succeed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You are going to kill me, and that will protect society from me. But out there are many, many more people who are addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-bundy/you-are-going-to-kill-me-and-that-will-protect-society-from-me-but/) [Ted Bundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-bundy/) > [Sometimes, the hardest thing was doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/sometimes-the-hardest-thing-was-doing-nothing/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [Love women! I hate feminism. "Hate" may be an accurate word, but too strong to use. I strongly oppose feminism because it's nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/love-women-i-hate-feminism-hate-may-be-an-accurate-word-but-too/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Pat Buchanan... was fired by MSNBC for doing nothing more than voicing his rock-solid conservative thoughts on the otherwise failing network... The real message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/pat-buchanan-was-fired-by-msnbc-for-doing-nothing-more-than-voicing/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Retirement is wonderful. It's doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-perret/retirement-is-wonderful-it-s-doing-nothing-without-worrying-about/) [Gene Perret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-perret/) > [Admirals extolled for standing still, or doing nothing with a deal of skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/admirals-extolled-for-standing-still-or-doing-nothing-with-a-deal-of/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [I am not advocating doing nothing. I am advocating for you to energetically, actively and vigilantly monitor how you are BEING.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-strong/i-am-not-advocating-doing-nothing-i-am-advocating-for-you-to/) [Brenda Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-strong/) > [If you can't be remarkable, perhaps you should consider doing nothing until you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-can-t-be-remarkable-perhaps-you-should-consider-doing-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The problem with lethargy is that doing nothing validates the fear that nothing can be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crawford/the-problem-with-lethargy-is-that-doing-nothing-validates-the-fear/) [Bill Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crawford/) > [Talk to the guys that ain't doing nothing, don't talk to me. I just want eight guys out there with me who want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/talk-to-the-guys-that-ain-t-doing-nothing-don-t-talk-to-me-i-just/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [What are you doing?" Nothing. Breaking and entering. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/what-are-you-doing-nothing-breaking-and-entering-pay-no-attention-to/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [Never go into business purely to make money. If that's the motive you're better off doing nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/never-go-into-business-purely-to-make-money-if-that-s-the-motive-you/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Music is my life. I love doing it, so I just do it nonstop all day. And with dancing, I wanted to put on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-mahone/music-is-my-life-i-love-doing-it-so-i-just-do-it-nonstop-all-day-and/) [Austin Mahone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-mahone/) > [The right to a trial is a core principle of the American legal system. Depriving Americans of these essential liberties undermines the Constitution while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-garamendi/the-right-to-a-trial-is-a-core-principle-of-the-american-legal-system/) [John Garamendi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-garamendi/) [Browse all 361 Doing nothing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-nothing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Doing nothing is opting for the sweetness of stillness...Instead of fighting with that which you cannot control, you might as well just see it through...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elizabeth Wurtzel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetness-of-stillness-instead-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doing nothing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetness-of-stillness-instead-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c8/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_doing-nothing_doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetnes_1077164.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c8/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_doing-nothing_doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetnes_1077164.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c8/elizabeth-wurtzel-1275_doing-nothing_doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetnes_1077164.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Doing nothing is opting for the sweetness of stillness...Instead of fighting with that which you cannot…” — Elizabeth Wurtzel", "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 Wurtzel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Doing nothing is opting for the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetness-of-stillness-instead-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/doing-nothing-is-opting-for-the-sweetness-of-stillness-instead-of/#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 } } ] } ```