--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I'm primarily saying,' he says, 'is…" description: "\"What I'm primarily saying,' he says, 'is that this is a time for knowledge assimilation, not backstabbing. We learned a lesson, you and I. We personall..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/george-saunders-317_assimilation_what-i-m-primarily-saying-he-says-is-tha_991147.jpg" --- # What I'm primarily saying,' he says, 'is that this is a… ![“What I'm primarily saying,' he says, 'is that this is a time for knowledge assimilation, not backstabbing. We learned a lesson, you and I. We personally grew. Gratitude for this growth is an appropriate response. Gratitude, and being careful never to make the same mistake twice.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/george-saunders-317_assimilation_what-i-m-primarily-saying-he-says-is-tha_991147.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/george-saunders-317_assimilation_what-i-m-primarily-saying-he-says-is-tha_991147.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bba/george-saunders-317_assimilation_what-i-m-primarily-saying-he-says-is-tha_991147.jpg) > “What I'm primarily saying,' he says, 'is that this is a time for knowledge assimilation, not backstabbing. We learned a lesson, you and I. We personally grew. Gratitude for this growth is an appropriate response. Gratitude, and being careful never to make the same mistake twice.” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes learning from experience and responding with gratitude rather than retaliation. **In simple terms:** Learn and be grateful, not vengeful. Key Takeaway Cultivate gratitude and avoid repeating mistakes. Themes growth gratitude learning ethics Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - teamwork - conflict resolution - personal development Key Concepts reflection emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How can gratitude be balanced with accountability? - What steps prevent repeat mistakes? A Different Perspective Gratitude alone may not address systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assimilation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation/) [Backstabbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backstabbing/) [Careful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careful/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Gratitude Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude-growth-2030462/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Grew Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-gratitude-2030465/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Growth Appropriate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-appropriate-2030463/) [Learned A Lesson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-a-lesson/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Narcissism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcissism/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Response Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response-gratitude-2030464/) [Same mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same-mistakes/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I learned a lesson that I don't ever want to be a CEO.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-wilcox/i-learned-a-lesson-that-i-don-t-ever-want-to-be-a-ceo/) [Larry Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-wilcox/) > [MEMORIES OF YOU Ive learned a lesson tonight, You can delete, throw away, or even burn pictures, But you cant erase memories You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristy-wertz/memories-of-you-ive-learned-a-lesson-tonight-you-can-delete-throw/) [Kristy Wertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristy-wertz/) > [You learned a lesson. 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You never see it coming you just get to see it go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/all-in-all-i-learned-a-lesson-from-it-though-you-never-see-it-coming/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [“Rule #4: If you don't learn the easy lessons, they get harder. (Pain is one way the universe gets your attention.) Rule #5: You'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/rule-4-if-you-don-t-learn-the-easy-lessons-they-get-harder-pain-is/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I definitely learned a lesson this time. I know that I can be broken. I am not as tough as I thought. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-definitely-learned-a-lesson-this-time-i-know-that-i-can-be-broken-i/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [It was more of me rushing my shots than anything. Thats the biggest thing for me. I was making good moves, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-howard/it-was-more-of-me-rushing-my-shots-than-anything-thats-the-biggest/) [Dwight Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-howard/) > [I took Laura on a trip once where we followed the Immigrant Trail for about six hundred miles. She really learned a lesson. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dern/i-took-laura-on-a-trip-once-where-we-followed-the-immigrant-trail-for/) [Bruce Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dern/) > [Dont ever be ashamed of the scars life has left you with. A scar means the hurt is over and the wound is closed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/dont-ever-be-ashamed-of-the-scars-life-has-left-you-with-a-scar-means/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) > [I think we learned a lesson and paid a bitter price when we put troops on the ground on a long-term basis in Iraq…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-durbin/i-think-we-learned-a-lesson-and-paid-a-bitter-price-when-we-put/) [Dick Durbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-durbin/) > [Back when I had a little, I thought that I needed a lot. A little was overrated, but a lot was a little too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie-2/back-when-i-had-a-little-i-thought-that-i-needed-a-lot-a-little-was/) [India.Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie-2/) > [“The American Works Progress (later Projects) Administration, founded in 1935 to provide jobs for “employable workers” during the Great Depression, established the Mathematical Tables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lynch/the-american-works-progress-later-projects-administration-founded-in/) [Jack Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lynch/) > [“When we first arrived at Auschwitz there were birds. I didn't know what kind, just brown birds, like the finches. They came for about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-thornton/when-we-first-arrived-at-auschwitz-there-were-birds-i-didn-t-know/) [Lawrence Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-thornton/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. 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Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Assimilation quotes > [“The Portland school board's policy equated integration and racial assimilation. This policy, Rist explains, is a "means of socializing nonwhite students to act, speak,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-bell/the-portland-school-board-s-policy-equated-integration-and-racial/) [Derrick Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-bell/) > [“Being an immigrant is not a status but a state of mind. It doesn’t stop when you “assimilate” or “integrate” or when you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/being-an-immigrant-is-not-a-status-but-a-state-of-mind-it-doesn-t/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Great genius takes shape by contact with another great genius, but, less by assimilation than by friction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/great-genius-takes-shape-by-contact-with-another-great-genius-but/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [ “\[I\]nclusion, not assimilation, should be the key concept in seeking, ever seeking, a more perfect national union. Our own history has shown that we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/i-nclusion-not-assimilation-should-be-the-key-concept-in-seeking-ever/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [“It's a fact— everyone is ignorant in some way or another. Ignorance is our deepest secret. And it is one of the scariest things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/it-s-a-fact-everyone-is-ignorant-in-some-way-or-another-ignorance-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [“Fuck I hate fucks Who think they’re so fucking great They know everything about fucking, When they’re just fucking fucks fucking! And no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/initially-no/fuck-i-hate-fucks-who-think-they-re-so-fucking-great-they-know/) [Initially NO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/initially-no/) > [Jewish history turns out not to be an either/or story - as in, either pure Judaism detached from its surroundings or else assimilation -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/jewish-history-turns-out-not-to-be-an-either-or-story-as-in-either/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [“It’s a great honor, m’ijo. We know that. I’m sure everyone in Ysleta is proud of you. But this is who you are," she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-troncoso/it-s-a-great-honor-m-ijo-we-know-that-i-m-sure-everyone-in-ysleta-is/) [Sergio Troncoso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-troncoso/) > [Intellectual life requires for its expansion and manifestation the influences and assimilation of the interests and affections of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/intellectual-life-requires-for-its-expansion-and-manifestation-the/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [“Does assimilation mean that they never came up against naked prejudice? Does it mean that you understood where the limits of your social world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/does-assimilation-mean-that-they-never-came-up-against-naked/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [Knowledge is a free good. The biggest cost in its transmission is not in the production or distribution of knowledge, but in its assimilation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-arrow/knowledge-is-a-free-good-the-biggest-cost-in-its-transmission-is-not/) [Kenneth Arrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-arrow/) > [“If you aren't destroying your enemies, it's because you have been conquered and assimilated, you do not even have an idea of who your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-you-aren-t-destroying-your-enemies-it-s-because-you-have-been/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Finally it should be the earnest wish and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mckinley/finally-it-should-be-the-earnest-wish-and-paramount-aim-of-the/) [William McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mckinley/) > [If you would be a writer, first be a reader. Only through the assimilation of ideas, thoughts and philosophies can one begin to focus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-w-eckert/if-you-would-be-a-writer-first-be-a-reader-only-through-the/) [Allan W. Eckert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-w-eckert/) > [We must have life building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-have-life-building-man-making-character-making-assimilation/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) [Browse all 141 Assimilation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assimilation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I'm primarily saying,' he says, 'is that this is a time for knowledge assimilation, not backstabbing. We learned a lesson, you and I. We personally grew. Gratitude for this growth is an appropriate response. 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