--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Would a bird build its nest if it did not…" description: "\"“Would a bird build its nest if it did not have its instinct for confidence in the world?”\" — Gaston Bachelard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gaston-bachelard-2318_bird_would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-no_652746.png" --- # Would a bird build its nest if it did not have its… ![“Would a bird build its nest if it did not have its instinct for confidence in the world?” quote by Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gaston-bachelard-2318_bird_would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-no_652746.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gaston-bachelard-2318_bird_would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-no_652746.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gaston-bachelard-2318_bird_would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-no_652746.png) > ““Would a bird build its nest if it did not have its instinct for confidence in the world?”” [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A bird’s instinct for confidence mirrors human need for security to act. **In simple terms:** Confidence drives both birds and people to create homes. Key Takeaway Cultivate confidence to build your own foundations. Themes confidence instinct creation Mood inspirational thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal development - creative projects - risk taking - self‑reliance Key Concepts psychology nature metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What instincts give you confidence? - When does confidence become hubris? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can lead to reckless decisions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Bird Build](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird-build-2040422/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Did Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-instinct-5216889/) [Establishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/establishing/) [Foundations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foundations/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Instinct Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct-confidence-5216888/) [Nest Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nest-did-5216890/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [He who is not a bird should not build his nest over abysses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-who-is-not-a-bird-should-not-build-his-nest-over-abysses/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [For me, it's about becoming a mogul, owning my own projects, and establishing myself as a funding producer. That's what's big to me. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/for-me-it-s-about-becoming-a-mogul-owning-my-own-projects-and/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [All the states are required, either by constitution or by statute, to have balanced budgets - they're not able to print money. So they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-locke/all-the-states-are-required-either-by-constitution-or-by-statute-to/) [Gary Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-locke/) > [We do not mind establishing a long-term truce between us and you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osama-bin-laden/we-do-not-mind-establishing-a-long-term-truce-between-us-and-you/) [Osama bin Laden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osama-bin-laden/) > [Things that we need to learn are the importance of establishing brand, establishing market presence. Technology-wise, it's things like ease of use, user interfaces;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-giancarlo/things-that-we-need-to-learn-are-the-importance-of-establishing-brand/) [Charles Giancarlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-giancarlo/) > [Every single director stops at the moment he thinks he has the shot. Sometimes, directors shoot an establishing shot where everything is in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-camara/every-single-director-stops-at-the-moment-he-thinks-he-has-the-shot/) [Javier Camara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-camara/) > [In establishing democracy, we have to be sensitive to the regional and national context. Democracy also means to guarantee the rights of the minorities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamad-bin-isa-al-khalifa/in-establishing-democracy-we-have-to-be-sensitive-to-the-regional-and/) [Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamad-bin-isa-al-khalifa/) > [I always encourage people to pay themselves first, so I really advocate setting up direct deposit for your paycheck and establishing an automatic transfer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-von-tobel/i-always-encourage-people-to-pay-themselves-first-so-i-really/) [Alexa Von Tobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexa-von-tobel/) > [You might not like that Facebook shares your political opinions with Politico, but are you really going to delete all the photos, all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-franken/you-might-not-like-that-facebook-shares-your-political-opinions-with/) [Al Franken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-franken/) > [“Establishing trustworthiness as a lifestyle and work principle is crucial for attracting the right people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-suulola/establishing-trustworthiness-as-a-lifestyle-and-work-principle-is/) [Benjamin Suulola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-suulola/) > [Spiritual formation in a Christian tradition answers a specific human question: 'What kind of person am I going to be?' It is the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spiritual-formation-in-a-christian-tradition-answers-a-specific-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Media play a powerful role in establishing and perpetuating social norms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-katz/media-play-a-powerful-role-in-establishing-and-perpetuating-social/) [Jackson Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-katz/) > [I believe that of all the things I have done, exciting though many of them have been, there's no doubt in my mind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/i-believe-that-of-all-the-things-i-have-done-exciting-though-many-of/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [I think everybody has their own way of looking at their lives as some kind of pilgrimage. Some people will see their role as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-clapton/i-think-everybody-has-their-own-way-of-looking-at-their-lives-as-some/) [Eric Clapton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-clapton/) > [History creates comprehensibility primarily by arranging facts meaningfully and only in a very limited sense by establishing strict causal connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/history-creates-comprehensibility-primarily-by-arranging-facts/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) ## More by Gaston Bachelard > [Dreaming by the river, I dedicated my imagination to water, to clear, green water, the water that makes the meadows green.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/dreaming-by-the-river-i-dedicated-my-imagination-to-water-to-clear/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If we did not have a feminine being within us, how would we rest ourselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-we-did-not-have-a-feminine-being-within-us-how-would-we-rest/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The image can only be studied through the image, by dreaming images as they gather in reverie. It is a non-sense to claim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-image-can-only-be-studied-through-the-image-by-dreaming-images-as/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [If there is any realm where distinction is especially difficult, it is the realm of childhood memories, the realm of beloved images harbored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/if-there-is-any-realm-where-distinction-is-especially-difficult-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In scientific thought, the concept functions all the better for being cut off from all background images. In its full exercise, the scientific concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-scientific-thought-the-concept-functions-all-the-better-for-being/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [It is through the intentionality of poetic imagination that the poet's soul discovers the opening of consciousness common to all true poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/it-is-through-the-intentionality-of-poetic-imagination-that-the-poet/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In writing, you discover interior sonorities in words. Dipthongs sound differently beneath the pen. One hears them with their sounds divorced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-writing-you-discover-interior-sonorities-in-words-dipthongs-sound/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Here we are at the very core of the thesis we wish to defend in the present essay: reverie is under the sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/here-we-are-at-the-very-core-of-the-thesis-we-wish-to-defend-in-the/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [There are children who will leave a game to go and be bored in a corner of the garret. How often have I wished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/there-are-children-who-will-leave-a-game-to-go-and-be-bored-in-a/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Ideas are refined and multiplied in the commerce of minds. In their splendor, images effect a very simple communion of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/ideas-are-refined-and-multiplied-in-the-commerce-of-minds-in-their/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [The poetic image is a sudden salience on the surface of the psyche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/the-poetic-image-is-a-sudden-salience-on-the-surface-of-the-psyche/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [In our view any awareness is an increment to consciousness, an added light, a reinforcement of psychic coherence. Its swiftness or instantaneity can hide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/in-our-view-any-awareness-is-an-increment-to-consciousness-an-added/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Imagination is a tree. It has the integrative virtues of a tree. It is root and boughs. It lives between earth and sky. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/imagination-is-a-tree-it-has-the-integrative-virtues-of-a-tree-it-is/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Two half philosophers will probably never a whole metaphysician make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/two-half-philosophers-will-probably-never-a-whole-metaphysician-make/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [Irony gives us, at little expense, the impression that we are experienced psychologists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/irony-gives-us-at-little-expense-the-impression-that-we-are/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) [Explore all 166 Gaston Bachelard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) [Nina Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-schuyler/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Would a bird build its nest if it did not have its instinct for confidence in the world?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gaston Bachelard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-not-have-its-instinct-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-not-have-its-instinct-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gaston-bachelard-2318_bird_would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-no_652746.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gaston-bachelard-2318_bird_would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-no_652746.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4bb/gaston-bachelard-2318_bird_would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-no_652746.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Would a bird build its nest if it did not have its instinct for confidence in the world?” — Gaston Bachelard", "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": "Gaston Bachelard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Would a bird build its nest...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-not-have-its-instinct-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/would-a-bird-build-its-nest-if-it-did-not-have-its-instinct-for/#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 } } ] } ```