--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you do things merely because you think…" description: "\"If you do things merely because you think some other fool expects you to do them, and he expects you to do them because he thinks you expect him to exp..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/george-bernard-shaw-68_ends_if-you-do-things-merely-because-you-thin_1648162.png" --- # If you do things merely because you think some other fool… ![“If you do things merely because you think some other fool expects you to do them, and he expects you to do them because he thinks you expect him to expect you to do them, it will end in everybody doing what nobody wants to do, which is in my opinion a silly state of things.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/george-bernard-shaw-68_ends_if-you-do-things-merely-because-you-thin_1648162.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/george-bernard-shaw-68_ends_if-you-do-things-merely-because-you-thin_1648162.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/george-bernard-shaw-68_ends_if-you-do-things-merely-because-you-thin_1648162.png) > “If you do things merely because you think some other fool expects you to do them, and he expects you to do them because he thinks you expect him to expect you to do them, it will end in everybody doing what nobody wants to do, which is in my opinion a silly state of things.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People act based on expectations of expectations, leading to pointless collective actions. **In simple terms:** Everyone follows expectations, ending in absurdity. Key Takeaway Question expectations, act authentically. Themes expectations social dynamics absurdity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - team projects - family decisions - organizational policies Key Concepts recursive expectations social conformity Questions to Reflect On - What expectations are you following? - How can you break the cycle? A Different Perspective May ignore individual desires and stifle innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Expects Expects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expects-expects-627877/) [Expects Thinks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expects-thinks-627875/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Expects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-expects-627874/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Think Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-fool-349904/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinks Expect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinks-expect-627876/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Only a fool expects to be happy all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/only-a-fool-expects-to-be-happy-all-the-time/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [You may be an idiot but I don't think you're a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuki-takaya/you-may-be-an-idiot-but-i-don-t-think-you-re-a-fool/) [Natsuki Takaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuki-takaya/) > [It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-better-to-keep-your-mouth-closed-and-let-people-think-you-are-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Alek said, "Do you think I'm being a fool?" "I think you're trying to do something good. But doing good is rarely easy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/alek-said-do-you-think-i-m-being-a-fool-i-think-you-re-trying-to-do/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [“It is better for some one to think you're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/it-is-better-for-some-one-to-think-you-re-a-fool-than-to-open-your/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [“It is better to let people think you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-l-maier/it-is-better-to-let-people-think-you-are-a-fool-than-to-open-your/) [Paul L. Maier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-l-maier/) > [“Evidently you think I'm a fool who will easily succumb to flattery, or else your standards are quite low.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/evidently-you-think-i-m-a-fool-who-will-easily-succumb-to-flattery-or/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“I used to think every fool was out of his senses, but now I see that lack of sense is a man's normal state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-used-to-think-every-fool-was-out-of-his-senses-but-now-i-see-that/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [“One seems inclined to think sometimes that any fool might do an honest business.  But fraud requires a man to be alive and wide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/one-seems-inclined-to-think-sometimes-that-any-fool-might-do-an/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Well,if you think I am a fool and waste,then let time teach me,as it taught you once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zarnab/well-if-you-think-i-am-a-fool-and-waste-then-let-time-teach-me-as-it/) [Zarnab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zarnab/) > [I don't think you are a fool, but that's my opinion compared to that of thousands of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-think-you-are-a-fool-but-that-s-my-opinion-compared-to-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Better to allow people to think you’re a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-deveraux/better-to-allow-people-to-think-you-re-a-fool-than-to-open-your-mouth/) [Jude Deveraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-deveraux/) > [“A fool is any man who doesn’t think he’s a fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/a-fool-is-any-man-who-doesn-t-think-he-s-a-fool/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [I think you can fool people once but you can't fool the people all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/i-think-you-can-fool-people-once-but-you-can-t-fool-the-people-all/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) > [I don't think you are a fool, but what's my opinion compared to that of thousands of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-think-you-are-a-fool-but-what-s-my-opinion-compared-to-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Ends quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. 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