--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many are obstinate with regard to the…" description: "\"Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they have set upon it, few with regard to the goal.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/friedrich-nietzsche-15_goal_many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pa_49264.jpg" --- # Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they… ![“Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they have set upon it, few with regard to the goal.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/friedrich-nietzsche-15_goal_many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pa_49264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/friedrich-nietzsche-15_goal_many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pa_49264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/friedrich-nietzsche-15_goal_many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pa_49264.jpg) > “Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they have set upon it, few with regard to the goal.” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People cling stubbornly to their chosen methods, but are more flexible about the ultimate objectives they pursue. **In simple terms:** Method rigidity vs. goal flexibility Key Takeaway Adapt methods, not just goals Themes rigidity flexibility goal orientation methodology psychology Mood determined reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - project management - personal development - team leadership Key Concepts cognitive bias goal setting behavioral inertia Practical Applications - reassessing strategies - coaching Questions to Reflect On - What methods are you holding onto unnecessarily? - How could changing your approach improve outcomes? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Obstinacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstinacy/) [Pathways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pathways/) ## Related quotes > [The shortest route is not the most direct one, but rather the one where the most favorable winds swell our sails:Mthat is the lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-shortest-route-is-not-the-most-direct-one-but-rather-the-one/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Lies can be verbal or nonverbal, kindhearted or self-serving, devious or bald-faced; they can be lies of omission or lies of commission; they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-marantz-henig/lies-can-be-verbal-or-nonverbal-kindhearted-or-self-serving-devious/) [Robin Marantz Henig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-marantz-henig/) > [Now, let me say this about education. I've said it till I'm blue-green. Not everybody is cut out for the traditional pathway of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/now-let-me-say-this-about-education-i-ve-said-it-till-i-m-blue-green/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [MY PATHWAY IS WELL LIT... MY WAY HAS BEEN CHOSEN... MY JOURNEY HAS JUST BEGUN.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-taylor/my-pathway-is-well-lit-my-way-has-been-chosen-my-journey-has-just/) George a Taylor > [“The pathways of hell are hardly foreign; we shall end up there one day if we tarry too long. From a passageway to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/the-pathways-of-hell-are-hardly-foreign-we-shall-end-up-there-one-day/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [When you start to care and think more about someone than yourself. That needs to be changed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalyn/when-you-start-to-care-and-think-more-about-someone-than-yourself/) [Magdalyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalyn/) > [“The pathway to freedom begins when we face the problem without making excuses for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/the-pathway-to-freedom-begins-when-we-face-the-problem-without-making/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [It is clear to me that creating a pathway for decryption only for good guys is technologically stupid. You just can't do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/it-is-clear-to-me-that-creating-a-pathway-for-decryption-only-for/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [I don't want stuff that's compromising to me as a person, but as long as it has a pathway to redemption and has meaning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-harney/i-don-t-want-stuff-that-s-compromising-to-me-as-a-person-but-as-long/) Michael Harney > [Content is not the pathway to great deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/content-is-not-the-pathway-to-great-deeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [The wonderful thing about maths is it's a totally logical subject, and a pathway has been marked out. 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You can say, 'Oh, I want a cure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-arnold/instead-of-studying-what-biology-has-already-made-we-have-to-imagine/) [Frances Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-arnold/) > [The pathway to enlightenment is happiness. It doesn't really matter if you're successful, if you're in prison, if you're dying - if you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-pathway-to-enlightenment-is-happiness-it-doesn-t-really-matter-if/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Goal 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/) > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The goal of spiritual practice is full recovery, and the only thing you need to recover from is a fractured sense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-goal-of-spiritual-practice-is-full-recovery-and-the-only-thing/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [According to the best research, less than 3% of Americans have written goals, and less than 1% review and rewrite their goals on a daily basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/according-to-the-best-research-less-than-3-of-americans-have-written/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [When you have accomplished your goal simply walk away. This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“my role my goal my dream my life not yours -all mine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emi-sisk/my-role-my-goal-my-dream-my-life-not-yours-all-mine/) Emi Sisk > [Eugenic goals are most likely to be attained under another name than eugenics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-osborn/eugenic-goals-are-most-likely-to-be-attained-under-another-name-than/) [Frederick Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-osborn/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Everybody tries to score a great goal, and I am lucky I have netted a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatan-ibrahimovic/everybody-tries-to-score-a-great-goal-and-i-am-lucky-i-have-netted-a/) [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlatan-ibrahimovic/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/if-your-only-goal-is-to-become-rich-you-will-never-achieve-it/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [When you look around the room during meetings and practice, you see that everyone has the same goal. It's obvious by the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kendricks/when-you-look-around-the-room-during-meetings-and-practice-you-see/) Eric Kendricks > [I like to wake up and just feel gratitude. Gratitude for waking up, for my health, for my kids, for my family. A lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/i-like-to-wake-up-and-just-feel-gratitude-gratitude-for-waking-up-for/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [“Dreams will come true as long as you give some effort towards your goal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayana/dreams-will-come-true-as-long-as-you-give-some-effort-towards-your/) Dayana > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) [Browse all 9,890 Goal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they have set upon it, few with regard to the goal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pathway-once-they-have-set-upon/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Goal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pathway-once-they-have-set-upon/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/friedrich-nietzsche-15_goal_many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pa_49264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/friedrich-nietzsche-15_goal_many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pa_49264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/friedrich-nietzsche-15_goal_many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pa_49264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they have set upon it, few with regard to the goal.” — Friedrich Nietzsche", "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Many are obstinate with regard to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pathway-once-they-have-set-upon/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pathway-once-they-have-set-upon/#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 } } ] } ```