--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A man who is perpetually thinking of…" description: "\"“A man who is perpetually thinking of whether this race or that race is strong, of whether this cause or that cause is promising, is the man who will n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/g-k-chesterton-224_racism_a-man-who-is-perpetually-thinking-of-whe_1708879.jpg" --- # A man who is perpetually thinking of whether this race or… ![“A man who is perpetually thinking of whether this race or that race is strong, of whether this cause or that cause is promising, is the man who will never believe in anything long enough to make it succeed.” quote by G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/g-k-chesterton-224_racism_a-man-who-is-perpetually-thinking-of-whe_1708879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/g-k-chesterton-224_racism_a-man-who-is-perpetually-thinking-of-whe_1708879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/g-k-chesterton-224_racism_a-man-who-is-perpetually-thinking-of-whe_1708879.jpg) > ““A man who is perpetually thinking of whether this race or that race is strong, of whether this cause or that cause is promising, is the man who will never believe in anything long enough to make it succeed.”” [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Constantly comparing causes leads to indecision, preventing deep commitment to any single purpose. **In simple terms:** Too many comparisons stall commitment. Key Takeaway Focus on one cause deeply. Themes commitment focus comparative analysis Mood critical inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - activism - career choice - investment - education - personal development Key Concepts philosophy political theory Questions to Reflect On - Which cause resonates most? - How to stay committed despite doubts? A Different Perspective Choosing a cause can be politically risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [“It is no longer enough to be competent and promising; a man wants now to be recognized and respected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/it-is-no-longer-enough-to-be-competent-and-promising-a-man-wants-now/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [“Why indeed should we perpetually be thinking whether things are good for us, as if we were patients lying in a hospital?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/why-indeed-should-we-perpetually-be-thinking-whether-things-are-good/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“But for some people, the invasive can kind of take over, crowding out all the other thoughts until it's the only one you're able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-for-some-people-the-invasive-can-kind-of-take-over-crowding-out/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“In the American colonies, the first laborers were European indentured servants. When African laborers were forcibly brought to Virginia beginning in 1619, status was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-h-goodman/in-the-american-colonies-the-first-laborers-were-european-indentured/) Alan H. Goodman > [There is a perfect ant, a perfect bee, but man is perpetually unfinished...Moreover, the incurable unfinishedness keeps man perpetually immature, perpetually capable of learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-is-a-perfect-ant-a-perfect-bee-but-man-is-perpetually/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [No wonder, Sir, that he is vain; a man who is perpetually flattered in every mode that can be conceived. So many bellows have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-wonder-sir-that-he-is-vain-a-man-who-is-perpetually-flattered-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Man is a perpetually wanting animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/man-is-a-perpetually-wanting-animal/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [We are not post-racial. And in many ways we don't even know how to have a conversation about being post-racial. Until we get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/we-are-not-post-racial-and-in-many-ways-we-don-t-even-know-how-to/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [When I'm racing, I'm thinking about my own race. I'm not thinking about anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caster-semenya/when-i-m-racing-i-m-thinking-about-my-own-race-i-m-not-thinking-about/) [Caster Semenya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caster-semenya/) > [You have got to act on instinct; you've got to ride from your heart and let that performer come out. You can't over-think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-buchanan/you-have-got-to-act-on-instinct-you-ve-got-to-ride-from-your-heart/) [Caroline Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-buchanan/) > [I enjoy thinking about how race plays out over the centuries, how technology evolves, how cities transform themselves. These subjects are present in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-enjoy-thinking-about-how-race-plays-out-over-the-centuries-how/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [I've learned over the years that if you start thinking about the race, it stresses you out a little bit. I just try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usain-bolt/i-ve-learned-over-the-years-that-if-you-start-thinking-about-the-race/) [Usain Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usain-bolt/) > [People say, 'I'm tired of thinking about race, it's a drag.' Yeah, well, welcome to my life! I don't care who you are. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-giddens/people-say-i-m-tired-of-thinking-about-race-it-s-a-drag-yeah-well/) [Rhiannon Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhiannon-giddens/) > [Mentally, my key is just focusing on the little things I need to do in a race, whether that's tempo, turn entry, start speed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shani-davis/mentally-my-key-is-just-focusing-on-the-little-things-i-need-to-do-in/) [Shani Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shani-davis/) > [Some ways of using our thinking are really inspiring. There are people who use their thinking to race cars. People use their thinking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nesmith/some-ways-of-using-our-thinking-are-really-inspiring-there-are-people/) [Michael Nesmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nesmith/) ## More by G.K. Chesterton > [“I never use paradox. The statements I make are wearisome and obvious common sense. I have even been driven to the tedium of reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/i-never-use-paradox-the-statements-i-make-are-wearisome-and-obvious/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Nothing, again, could be more prosaic and impenetrable than the domestic energies of Miss Diana Duke. But Innocent had somehow blundered on the discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/nothing-again-could-be-more-prosaic-and-impenetrable-than-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“The mass of men have been forced to be gay about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless (I offer my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-mass-of-men-have-been-forced-to-be-gay-about-the-little-things/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/ask-yourself-how-many-people-you-have-met-who-grumbled-at-a-thing-as/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“The human race, to which so many of my readers belong, has been playing at children's games from the beginning, and will probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-human-race-to-which-so-many-of-my-readers-belong-has-been-playing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Internationalism is in any case hostile to democracy….The only purely popular government is local, and founded on local knowledge. The citizens can rule the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/internationalism-is-in-any-case-hostile-to-democracy-the-only-purely/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“There was a short railway official travelling up to the terminus, three fairly short market-gardeners picked up two stations afterwards, one very short widow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-was-a-short-railway-official-travelling-up-to-the-terminus/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Humility is the mother of giants. One sees great things from the valley; only small things from the peak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/humility-is-the-mother-of-giants-one-sees-great-things-from-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-doing-badly/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/there-exists-in-such-a-case-a-certain-institution-or-law-let-us-say/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Man, by a blind instinct, knew that if once things were wildly questioned, reason could be questioned first. The authority of priests to absolve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-by-a-blind-instinct-knew-that-if-once-things-were-wildly/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/it-is-idle-to-talk-always-of-the-alternative-of-reason-and-faith/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“But in order that life should be a story or romance to us, it is necessary that a great part of it, at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/but-in-order-that-life-should-be-a-story-or-romance-to-us-it-is/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Buddhism seeks after God with the largest conception it can find, the all-producing and all-absorbing One; Christianity seeks after God with the most elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/buddhism-seeks-after-god-with-the-largest-conception-it-can-find-the/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [“Man is more himself, more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing and grief superficial.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/man-is-more-himself-more-manlike-when-joy-is-the-fundamental-thing/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) [Explore all 853 G.K. Chesterton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) ## More Perpetually quotes > [We are like amoebae - perpetually changing partners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-dangoor/we-are-like-amoebae-perpetually-changing-partners/) [Robert D Dangoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-dangoor/) > [Everything is perpetually becoming new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/everything-is-perpetually-becoming-new/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Shopify has been a perpetually underestimated company at every point of its history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-lutke/shopify-has-been-a-perpetually-underestimated-company-at-every-point/) [Tobias Lutke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-lutke/) > [“If every day is first day of your life, maybe you are being perpetually infantile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trixie-koontz/if-every-day-is-first-day-of-your-life-maybe-you-are-being/) Trixie Koontz > [The future is neither ahead nor behind, on one side or another. Nor is it dark or light. It is contained within ourselves; its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-future-is-neither-ahead-nor-behind-on-one-side-or-another-nor-is/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [I harp always on the 'idea' of life as I dwell perpetually on the existence of the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/i-harp-always-on-the-idea-of-life-as-i-dwell-perpetually-on-the/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [The very first essential for success is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-very-first-essential-for-success-is-a-perpetually-constant-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [A nation is not conquered which is perpetually to be conquered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/a-nation-is-not-conquered-which-is-perpetually-to-be-conquered/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [“Remember, the masterpiece of your life is perpetually in progress—each date a fresh stroke on your canvas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-on-rocheblance/remember-the-masterpiece-of-your-life-is-perpetually-in-progress-each/) Léon RocheBlance > [I loved the study of psychology. I didn't love seeing patient after patient. I was perpetually overstimulated, busy decoding everything I took in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/i-loved-the-study-of-psychology-i-didn-t-love-seeing-patient-after/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [If we don't build a company as influential as Google or Facebook, then we failed. I'm, like, perpetually stressed, honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arash-ferdowsi/if-we-don-t-build-a-company-as-influential-as-google-or-facebook-then/) [Arash Ferdowsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arash-ferdowsi/) > [You can get used to anything if you have to, even feeling perpetually guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/you-can-get-used-to-anything-if-you-have-to-even-feeling-perpetually/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) > [Ambition, and Covetousnesse are Passions that are perpetually incumbent, and pressing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/ambition-and-covetousnesse-are-passions-that-are-perpetually/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [All that is best for us comes of itself into our hands-but if we strive to overtake it, it perpetually eludes us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/all-that-is-best-for-us-comes-of-itself-into-our-hands-but-if-we/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [My husband perpetually makes fun of me about my creams and my jars and potions and lotions, but its simpler than anyone makes it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-shields/my-husband-perpetually-makes-fun-of-me-about-my-creams-and-my-jars/) [Brooke Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-shields/) Browse all 75 Perpetually quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A man who is perpetually thinking of whether this race or that race is strong, of whether this cause or that cause is promising, is the man who will never believe in anything long enough to make it succeed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "G.K. 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