--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't ever get everything you want…" description: "\"You can't ever get everything you want. It is impossible. Luckily, there is another option: You can learn to control your mind, to step outside of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/henepola-gunaratana-10550_aversion_you-can-t-ever-get-everything-you-want-i_634458.png" --- # You can't ever get everything you want. It is impossible… ![“You can't ever get everything you want. It is impossible. Luckily, there is another option: You can learn to control your mind, to step outside of the endless cycle of desire and aversion.” quote by Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/henepola-gunaratana-10550_aversion_you-can-t-ever-get-everything-you-want-i_634458.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/henepola-gunaratana-10550_aversion_you-can-t-ever-get-everything-you-want-i_634458.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cf/henepola-gunaratana-10550_aversion_you-can-t-ever-get-everything-you-want-i_634458.png) > “You can't ever get everything you want. It is impossible. Luckily, there is another option: You can learn to control your mind, to step outside of the endless cycle of desire and aversion.” [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire creates endless dissatisfaction; mastering the mind frees you from its grip. **In simple terms:** Control your mind to escape endless craving. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness to reduce desire. Themes mindfulness desire self‑control Mood calm reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - stress management - personal growth - meditation practice Key Concepts Buddhist psychology attachment theory Questions to Reflect On - How can you notice desire without judgment? - What daily practice helps you step back? A Different Perspective Mindfulness alone may not resolve external constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [As you go into the light, you will gain a more profound happiness. That happiness will free you from the desire-aversion cycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/as-you-go-into-the-light-you-will-gain-a-more-profound-happiness-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You human beings think that yoga is in some way going to make everything you want to happen, work out. You are going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-human-beings-think-that-yoga-is-in-some-way-going-to-make/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Pleasure and distress, fear and courage, desire and aversion, where have these affections and experiences their seat?Clearly, either in the Soul alone, or in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plotinus/pleasure-and-distress-fear-and-courage-desire-and-aversion-where-have/) [Plotinus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plotinus/) > [Spend time cultivating your deepest desires, no matter how impractical or impossible they seem. It's perfectly OK to want the impossible. It's not OK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-pavlina/spend-time-cultivating-your-deepest-desires-no-matter-how-impractical/) [Steve Pavlina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-pavlina/) > [“I don’t want easy. I want the impossible. I want love so thick, I drown in it; it’s the only thing worth having and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eden-butler/i-don-t-want-easy-i-want-the-impossible-i-want-love-so-thick-i-drown/) [Eden Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eden-butler/) > [We are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-are-told-from-childhood-onward-that-everything-we-want-to-do-is/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I only want impossible things," she said roughly. "The others don't interest me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/i-only-want-impossible-things-she-said-roughly-the-others-don-t/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [What is it to you if I don't want others to want for me, if I want to want myself — if I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/what-is-it-to-you-if-i-don-t-want-others-to-want-for-me-if-i-want-to/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“If you want to see the impossible, tell me it can't be done.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-c-price/if-you-want-to-see-the-impossible-tell-me-it-can-t-be-done/) Brook C Price > [I have learned since that sometimes the things we want most are impossible for us. You may long to come home, yet wander forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-have-learned-since-that-sometimes-the-things-we-want-most-are/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [Never give up on something you really want. However impossible things seem, there's always a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/never-give-up-on-something-you-really-want-however-impossible-things/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [For my birthday I want world peace, to end hunger and pain, to end global warming, to end racism, for people not to judge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-my-birthday-i-want-world-peace-to-end-hunger-and-pain-to-end/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never wish for easy. Easy means no effort and if you don't have to try to get it who would want it. Us guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cj/never-wish-for-easy-easy-means-no-effort-and-if-you-don-t-have-to-try/) CJ > [And yet ... But what if ... I want to do something impossible. Something astounding and unheard of. I want to scrub the moss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/and-yet-but-what-if-i-want-to-do-something-impossible-something/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“It cannot be a dog’s purpose to understand what people want because it is impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-bruce-cameron/it-cannot-be-a-dog-s-purpose-to-understand-what-people-want-because/) [W. Bruce Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-bruce-cameron/) ## More by Henepola Gunaratana > [You can only have bliss if you don't chase it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/you-can-only-have-bliss-if-you-don-t-chase-it/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“we try mentally to grab onto it or push it away. That sets the worry response in motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/we-try-mentally-to-grab-onto-it-or-push-it-away-that-sets-the-worry/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [You can learn not to want what you want, to recognize desires but not be controlled by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/you-can-learn-not-to-want-what-you-want-to-recognize-desires-but-not/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [The Buddha's message was simple but profound. Neither a life of self-indulgence nor one of self-mortification can bring happiness. Only a middle path, avoiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/the-buddha-s-message-was-simple-but-profound-neither-a-life-of-self/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [Mindfulness helps us freeze the frame so that we can become aware of our sensations and experiences as they are, without the distorting coloration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/mindfulness-helps-us-freeze-the-frame-so-that-we-can-become-aware-of/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [But look within and watch the stuff coming up-restlessness, anxiety, impatience, pain-just watch it come up and don't get involved. Much to your surprise,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/but-look-within-and-watch-the-stuff-coming-up-restlessness-anxiety/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“You can learn to perceive your life as an ever-flowing movement. You can learn to see the continuous flow of all conditioned”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/you-can-learn-to-perceive-your-life-as-an-ever-flowing-movement-you/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [No problem. You are not crazier than you were yesterday. It has always been this way, and you just never noticed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/no-problem-you-are-not-crazier-than-you-were-yesterday-it-has-always/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“We spend all of our energies trying to make ourselves feel better, trying to bury our fears, endlessly seeking security.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/we-spend-all-of-our-energies-trying-to-make-ourselves-feel-better/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [Peace is not a thought, not a concept; it is a nonverbal experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/peace-is-not-a-thought-not-a-concept-it-is-a-nonverbal-experience/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [Whatever attitudes we habitually use toward ourselves, we will use on others, and whatever attitudes we habitually use toward others, we will use on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/whatever-attitudes-we-habitually-use-toward-ourselves-we-will-use-on/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [When you have learned compassion for yourself, compassion for others is automatic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/when-you-have-learned-compassion-for-yourself-compassion-for-others/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“There is no clinging to the pleasant, no fleeing from the unpleasant. Mindfulness treats all experiences equally, all thoughts equally, all feelings equally. Nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/there-is-no-clinging-to-the-pleasant-no-fleeing-from-the-unpleasant/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [“Place no head above your own.” By this he meant, don’t just accept somebody else’s word. See for yourself. We want you to apply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/place-no-head-above-your-own-by-this-he-meant-don-t-just-accept/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) > [The purpose of meditation is personal transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henepola-gunaratana/the-purpose-of-meditation-is-personal-transformation/) [Henepola Gunaratana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) [Explore all 65 Henepola Gunaratana quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henepola-gunaratana/) ## More Aversion quotes > [And indeed nothing but the most determined scepticism, along with a great degree of indolence, can justify this aversion to metaphysics. For if truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/and-indeed-nothing-but-the-most-determined-scepticism-along-with-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/society-everywhere-is-in-conspiracy-against-the-manhood-of-every-one/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The scorn men express for a male who does housework is exceeded only by their aversion to a woman who doesn't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-kome/the-scorn-men-express-for-a-male-who-does-housework-is-exceeded-only/) Penny Kome > [One of the greatest inhibitions to the development of human potential is the aversion to effective practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-b-reeves/one-of-the-greatest-inhibitions-to-the-development-of-human-potential/) [Douglas B. Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-b-reeves/) > [Value investing is risk aversion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/value-investing-is-risk-aversion/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [In my schoolboy days I had no aversion to slavery. I was not aware there was anything wrong about it. No-one arraigned it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/in-my-schoolboy-days-i-had-no-aversion-to-slavery-i-was-not-aware/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [We must each learn to feel comfortable in our own uniqueness by rising above the fear of being wrong and the aversion to being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/we-must-each-learn-to-feel-comfortable-in-our-own-uniqueness-by/) [Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/) > [The unattractive thing about chauvinism is not so much the aversion to other nations as the love of one's own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/the-unattractive-thing-about-chauvinism-is-not-so-much-the-aversion/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Most people have an aversion to risk, my college economics professor told me. Which means they have to be rewarded to take on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arrington/most-people-have-an-aversion-to-risk-my-college-economics-professor/) [Michael Arrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arrington/) > [Some people have a very strange idea that material success does not coincide harmoniously with self-realization, which is absurd. The aversion to material success,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/some-people-have-a-very-strange-idea-that-material-success-does-not/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Usually I just let my songs do the talking. As a matter of fact I have long had an aversion to celebrities endorsing politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fogerty/usually-i-just-let-my-songs-do-the-talking-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-have/) [John Fogerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fogerty/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. I had left this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-a-happy-thing-that-time-quells-the-longings-of-vengeance-and/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“For a long time now a hint of aversion had lain on everything he did and experienced, a shadow of impotence and loneliness, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-musil/for-a-long-time-now-a-hint-of-aversion-had-lain-on-everything-he-did/) [Robert Musil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-musil/) > [In Tantric Buddhism our feeling is that there is no problem with the sensual world unless you have a tremendous attraction or aversion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-tantric-buddhism-our-feeling-is-that-there-is-no-problem-with-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 266 Aversion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aversion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't ever get everything you want. 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