--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is not usually what has happened…" description: "\"History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.\" — Idries Shah" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/idries-shah-450_history_history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened_3173252.jpg" --- # History is not usually what has happened. History is what… ![“History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.” quote by Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/idries-shah-450_history_history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened_3173252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/idries-shah-450_history_history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened_3173252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/idries-shah-450_history_history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened_3173252.jpg) > “History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.” [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History reflects the narratives chosen by those in power, not just facts. **In simple terms:** History is shaped by perspective. Key Takeaway Question whose narratives dominate. Themes power perspective narrative truth memory Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political analysis - education - media reporting - family storytelling Key Concepts Historiography social construction bias Questions to Reflect On - Who decides what is significant? - How can we include diverse perspectives? A Different Perspective It can ignore marginalized voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happened History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened-history-1502678/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-people/) [History Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-usually-959525/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Significant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significant/) [Thought Significant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-significant-4264828/) [Usually Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/usually-happened-5785192/) ## Related quotes > [My motivation for all my companies has been to be involved in something that I thought would have a significant impact on the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/my-motivation-for-all-my-companies-has-been-to-be-involved-in/) [Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/) > [Every time we killed a thousand Bugs at a cost of one M.I. it was a net victory for the Bugs. We were learning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/every-time-we-killed-a-thousand-bugs-at-a-cost-of-one-m-i-it-was-a/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I'm interested in the history of the soul: the everyday life of the soul, the things that the big picture of history usually omits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/i-m-interested-in-the-history-of-the-soul-the-everyday-life-of-the/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [In the course of her education she had gone through the history usually put into the hands of young people... now her ripened reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-smith/in-the-course-of-her-education-she-had-gone-through-the-history/) [Charlotte Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-smith/) > [The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of the majority in the middle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-game-of-history-is-usually-played-by-the-best-and-the-worst-over/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“Children should be taught about history not as is usually the case now, that this is the record of long past events, which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/children-should-be-taught-about-history-not-as-is-usually-the-case/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“however the trouble with “lessons from history” is that we usually read them best after falling flat on our chins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/however-the-trouble-with-lessons-from-history-is-that-we-usually-read/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [The good things in history are usually of very short duration, but afterward have a decisive influence on what happens over long periods of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-good-things-in-history-are-usually-of-very-short-duration-but/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [“History is usually a random, messy affair’,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/history-is-usually-a-random-messy-affair/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [When we talk about people or a party being on the wrong side of history, it usually requires some hindsight, a position of informed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-cupp/when-we-talk-about-people-or-a-party-being-on-the-wrong-side-of/) [S.E. Cupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-cupp/) > [That is, we're into a whole new world with the Internet, and whenever we sort of cross another plateau in our development, there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-is-we-re-into-a-whole-new-world-with-the-internet-and-whenever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even if something just happened, it can still be history”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-kate-strohm/even-if-something-just-happened-it-can-still-be-history/) [Stephanie Kate Strohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-kate-strohm/) > [“Like almost every truly horrible thing that has ever happened in the history of our world, the end also began with a kiss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-sharpe/like-almost-every-truly-horrible-thing-that-has-ever-happened-in-the/) [Dennis Sharpe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-sharpe/) > [The time is not yet ripe to say what happened. When history's ready, then we can talk about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/the-time-is-not-yet-ripe-to-say-what-happened-when-history-s-ready/) [Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-saeed-al-sahaf/) > [Somewhere, something incredible happened in history - the wrong guys won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/somewhere-something-incredible-happened-in-history-the-wrong-guys-won/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More by Idries Shah > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Teach honesty by all means - you do know what it is, don't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/teach-honesty-by-all-means-you-do-know-what-it-is-don-t-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Prescribing hard work for the soft, or easy work for the hardy, is generally nonsense. What is always needed in any aim is right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/prescribing-hard-work-for-the-soft-or-easy-work-for-the-hardy-is/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufism is transmitted by means of the human exemplar, the teacher.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufism-is-transmitted-by-means-of-the-human-exemplar-the-teacher/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“No existe práctica en aislamiento.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/no-existe-pr-ctica-en-aislamiento/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [A king who feared wasps once decreed that they were abolished. As it happened, they did him no harm. But he was eventually stung…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/a-king-who-feared-wasps-once-decreed-that-they-were-abolished-as-it/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Do not tell your secrets to everyone in this headquarters, Earth. We have surveyed it well. There was nobody to whom to entrust secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/do-not-tell-your-secrets-to-everyone-in-this-headquarters-earth-we/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Sufis are those who have expunged from their minds the human tendencies of envy and enmity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/sufis-are-those-who-have-expunged-from-their-minds-the-human/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Yes, the world is an illusion. But Truth is always being shown there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/yes-the-world-is-an-illusion-but-truth-is-always-being-shown-there/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [It is the message, not the man, which is important to the Sufis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-is-the-message-not-the-man-which-is-important-to-the-sufis/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [The human being, whether he realises it or not, is trusting someone or something every moment of the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/the-human-being-whether-he-realises-it-or-not-is-trusting-someone-or/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Who is the wrong person to criticise? You”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/who-is-the-wrong-person-to-criticise-you/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“You may be able to get the bone down your throat But if it reaches your stomach it will tear your navel. (Gulistan)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/you-may-be-able-to-get-the-bone-down-your-throat-but-if-it-reaches/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“People are always trying to understand. There is only one way to do that. It is to discover < + i + >why< +…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/people-are-always-trying-to-understand-there-is-only-one-way-to-do/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [We view Sufism not as an ideology that molds people to the right way of belief or action, but as an art or science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/we-view-sufism-not-as-an-ideology-that-molds-people-to-the-right-way/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) [Explore all 365 Idries Shah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [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/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Idries Shah" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened-history-is-what-some-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened-history-is-what-some-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/idries-shah-450_history_history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened_3173252.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/idries-shah-450_history_history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened_3173252.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/idries-shah-450_history_history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened_3173252.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is not usually what has happened. History is what some people have thought to be significant.” — Idries Shah", "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": "Idries Shah", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History is not usually what has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened-history-is-what-some-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/history-is-not-usually-what-has-happened-history-is-what-some-people/#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 } } ] } ```