--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a…" description: "\"Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid in academic studies, but you can't think your way out of emotional difficulties. That takes s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/etty-hillesum-9002_academic_thinking-gets-you-nowhere-it-may-be-a-fi_2598887.jpg" --- # Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid… ![“Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid in academic studies, but you can't think your way out of emotional difficulties. That takes something altogether different. You have to make yourself passive then, and just listen. Re-establish contact with a slice of eternity.” quote by Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/etty-hillesum-9002_academic_thinking-gets-you-nowhere-it-may-be-a-fi_2598887.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/etty-hillesum-9002_academic_thinking-gets-you-nowhere-it-may-be-a-fi_2598887.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ae/etty-hillesum-9002_academic_thinking-gets-you-nowhere-it-may-be-a-fi_2598887.jpg) > “Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid in academic studies, but you can't think your way out of emotional difficulties. That takes something altogether different. You have to make yourself passive then, and just listen. Re-establish contact with a slice of eternity.” [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intellectual effort cannot resolve emotional pain; passive listening and timeless perspective are needed. **In simple terms:** Thinking alone won't heal emotions; listen and connect to eternity. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness and surrender to feeling. Themes emotion mindfulness spirituality passivity Mood reflective somber Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - grief counseling - spiritual retreats - quiet reflection Key Concepts psychology existentialism meditation Questions to Reflect On - What does “passive” mean to you? - How can eternity be felt today? A Different Perspective Purely rational analysis may ignore deep affect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noble/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It's the thinking that gets you killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/it-s-the-thinking-that-gets-you-killed/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Thinking ... is what gets you caught from behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/o-j-simpson/thinking-is-what-gets-you-caught-from-behind/) [O. J. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/o-j-simpson/) > [Psychiatric services - that is, the attempt to help a person overcome his emotional difficulties in living - are priceless if successful or worthless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frieda-fromm-reichmann/psychiatric-services-that-is-the-attempt-to-help-a-person-overcome/) Frieda Fromm-Reichmann > [Every day has its emotional difficulties. I miss my mother whether I'm singing her music or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/every-day-has-its-emotional-difficulties-i-miss-my-mother-whether-i-m/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Insurance companies, government agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry all push for mental health care that is brief, intermittent, and focused on quick fixes, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-waldinger/insurance-companies-government-agencies-and-the-pharmaceutical/) [Robert J. Waldinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-waldinger/) > [People who have addictive problems usually have some subset of emotional difficulties that causes them to abuse substances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-steinberg/people-who-have-addictive-problems-usually-have-some-subset-of/) [Leigh Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-steinberg/) > [The root of all our personal and emotional difficulties is a lack of togetherness... I therefore believe that the surest route to overcoming problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-crabb/the-root-of-all-our-personal-and-emotional-difficulties-is-a-lack-of/) [Larry Crabb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-crabb/) > [If everything is noted, all your emotional difficulties will disappear. When you feel happy, don't get involved in happiness. When you feel sad, don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dipa-ma/if-everything-is-noted-all-your-emotional-difficulties-will-disappear/) Dipa Ma > [I know that my music is heard a lot in commercial circles. In academia, I think my music is taken in differently but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-higdon/i-know-that-my-music-is-heard-a-lot-in-commercial-circles-in-academia/) [Jennifer Higdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-higdon/) > [The more passive one's life in the field, the greater the need to reverse the situation when one returns home, which is why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/the-more-passive-one-s-life-in-the-field-the-greater-the-need-to/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [What passes for political realism may make for lively academic debates. But it often functions, ironically, as a tool of social control, rendering us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-passes-for-political-realism-may-make-for-lively-academic/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just think that the only way we come to ourselves is through each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/i-just-think-that-the-only-way-we-come-to-ourselves-is-through-each/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [I think the way to become the best is to just have fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-white/i-think-the-way-to-become-the-best-is-to-just-have-fun/) [Shaun White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-white/) > [“You cannot think your way into a new way of acting, but you can act your way into a new way of thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-think-your-way-into-a-new-way-of-acting-but-you-can-act/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Often we find it easier to think our way around things rather than to feel our way through them:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/often-we-find-it-easier-to-think-our-way-around-things-rather-than-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) ## More by Etty Hillesum > [A large group of us were crowded into the Gestapo hall, and at that moment the circumstances of all our lives were the same.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/a-large-group-of-us-were-crowded-into-the-gestapo-hall-and-at-that/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Every word born of an inner necessity - writing must never be anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/every-word-born-of-an-inner-necessity-writing-must-never-be-anything/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [That fear of missing out on things makes you miss out on everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/that-fear-of-missing-out-on-things-makes-you-miss-out-on-everything/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [There are moments when I feel like giving up or giving in, but I soon rally again and do my duty as I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/there-are-moments-when-i-feel-like-giving-up-or-giving-in-but-i-soon/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Here, beside this great black surface that is my desk, I feel as though I am on a desert island.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/here-beside-this-great-black-surface-that-is-my-desk-i-feel-as-though/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [The externals are simply so many props; everything we need is within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/the-externals-are-simply-so-many-props-everything-we-need-is-within-us/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [If one finds the strength to deal with small things, one finds it to deal with the large ones as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/if-one-finds-the-strength-to-deal-with-small-things-one-finds-it-to/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [All disasters stem from us. Why is there a war? Perhaps because now and then I might be inclined to snap at my neighbour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/all-disasters-stem-from-us-why-is-there-a-war-perhaps-because-now-and/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/sometimes-the-most-important-thing-in-a-whole-day-is-the-rest-we-take/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [We human beings cause monstrous conditions, but precisely because we cause them we soon learn to adapt ourselves to them. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/sometimes-my-day-is-crammed-full-of-people-and-talk-and-yet-i-have/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [To live fully, outwardly and inwardly, not to ignore the external reality for the sake of the inner life, or the reverse, that's quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/to-live-fully-outwardly-and-inwardly-not-to-ignore-the-external/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [If one burdens the future with one's worries, it cannot grow organically. I am filled with confidence, not that I shall succeed in worldly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/if-one-burdens-the-future-with-one-s-worries-it-cannot-grow/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) > [We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies. We make mental provisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/we-have-to-fight-them-daily-like-fleas-those-many-small-worries-about/) [Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) [Explore all 62 Etty Hillesum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/) ## More Academic quotes > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. 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Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/) [Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. 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I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) [Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Thinking gets you nowhere. It may be a fine and noble aid in academic studies, but you can't think your way out of emotional difficulties. That takes something altogether different. You have to make yourself passive then, and just listen. 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