---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your life is going to be a gradual…"
description: "\"“Your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/george-saunders-317_be-kinder_your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-proce_2273299.jpg"
---

#  Your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming…

![“Your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. Find out what makes you kinder, what opens you up and brings out the most loving…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/george-saunders-317_be-kinder_your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-proce_2273299.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/george-saunders-317_be-kinder_your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-proce_2273299.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/george-saunders-317_be-kinder_your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-proce_2273299.jpg)

> ““Your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. Find out what makes you kinder, what opens you up and brings out the most loving, generous, and unafraid version of you—and go after those things as if nothing else matters. Because, actually, nothing else does.””

[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.

Personal growth requires actively cultivating kindness and love, overcoming selfishness by seeking experiences that nurture generosity and fearlessness.

**In simple terms:** Cultivate kindness now to overcome selfishness.

Key Takeaway

Actively pursue kindness and love.

Themes

self‑improvement kindness love overcoming selfishness

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

inspirational self‑help

When to use this quote

- daily meditation
- volunteering
- reading compassionate literature
- mindful listening

Key Concepts

psychology personal development empathy

Questions to Reflect On

- What daily habit can increase your kindness?
- How do you recognize selfish patterns?

A Different Perspective

Progress may be slow; external obstacles can hinder practice.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Growing old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-old/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving/) [Self improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-improvement/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Selflessness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selflessness/)

## Related quotes

> [“If we’re going to become kinder, that process has to include taking ourselves seriously—as doers, as accomplishers, as dreamers. We have to do that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/if-we-re-going-to-become-kinder-that-process-has-to-include-taking/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [According to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving. Hurry up. Speed it along. Start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/according-to-me-your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-process-of/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [Since, according to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/since-according-to-me-your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-process-of/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“Be kind to someone who’s in no position to help you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/be-kind-to-someone-who-s-in-no-position-to-help-you/)

[Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/)

> [“Kindness is universal. Sometimes being kind allows others to see the goodness in humanity through you. Always be kinder than necessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/kindness-is-universal-sometimes-being-kind-allows-others-to-see-the/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [“If someone pays you a compliment, that is nice. If you genuinely find something nice to say back to them, that is kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/if-someone-pays-you-a-compliment-that-is-nice-if-you-genuinely-find/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [“our greatest joy is lived in deep, loving, and generous relationships with others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama-xiv/our-greatest-joy-is-lived-in-deep-loving-and-generous-relationships/)

[Dalai Lama XIV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama-xiv/)

> [I have some tremendous, tremendously loving, generous friends all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/i-have-some-tremendous-tremendously-loving-generous-friends-all-over/)

[Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/)

> [Let your soul expand, let your heart reach out to others in loving and generous warmth, and great and lasting will be your joy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/let-your-soul-expand-let-your-heart-reach-out-to-others-in-loving-and/)

[James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/)

> [If I want to be a loving, generous, giving person, I'm not going to test the waters. I'm simply going to be a loving,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-murray/if-i-want-to-be-a-loving-generous-giving-person-i-m-not-going-to-test/)

[Liz Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-murray/)

> [Love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/love-your-country-not-for-her-power-or-wealth-but-for-her/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [“I didn't want the clothes or the perfect shoes or the expensive anything. I didn't want to be draped in silk. All I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-didn-t-want-the-clothes-or-the-perfect-shoes-or-the-expensive/)

[Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/)

> [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/)

[Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/)

> [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/)

> [“Witnessing a selfless act brings tears to remind us how we should be treating others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/witnessing-a-selfless-act-brings-tears-to-remind-us-how-we-should-be/)

[Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/)

## 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. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/)

[George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/)

> [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. 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 Be-kinder quotes

> [“Kindness is universal. Sometimes being kind allows others to see the goodness in humanity through you. Always be kinder than necessary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/kindness-is-universal-sometimes-being-kind-allows-others-to-see-the/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [“If someone pays you a compliment, that is nice. If you genuinely find something nice to say back to them, that is kindness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/if-someone-pays-you-a-compliment-that-is-nice-if-you-genuinely-find/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [“Be kind to someone who’s in no position to help you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/be-kind-to-someone-who-s-in-no-position-to-help-you/)

[Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/)

Browse all 4 Be-kinder quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. Find out what makes you kinder, what opens you up and brings out the most loving, generous, and unafraid version of you—and go after those things as if nothing else matters. Because, actually, nothing else does.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Saunders"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-process-of-becoming-kinder-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Be-kinder"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-process-of-becoming-kinder-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/george-saunders-317_be-kinder_your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-proce_2273299.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/george-saunders-317_be-kinder_your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-proce_2273299.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/650/george-saunders-317_be-kinder_your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-proce_2273299.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up. Speed it along…” — George Saunders",
                "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": "George Saunders",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Your life is going to be...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-process-of-becoming-kinder-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/your-life-is-going-to-be-a-gradual-process-of-becoming-kinder-and/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
