---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People with clenched fists can not shake…"
description: "\"People with clenched fists can not shake hands.\" — Indira Gandhi"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/indira-gandhi-1113_can-not_people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake_2520103.jpg"
---

#  People with clenched fists can not shake hands.

![“People with clenched fists can not shake hands.” quote by Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/indira-gandhi-1113_can-not_people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake_2520103.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/indira-gandhi-1113_can-not_people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake_2520103.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/indira-gandhi-1113_can-not_people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake_2520103.jpg)

> “People with clenched fists can not shake hands.”

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People who are hostile cannot engage in friendly gestures.

**In simple terms:** Hostility blocks cooperation.

Key Takeaway

Avoid aggression to foster connection.

Themes

conflict communication trust

Mood

tense reflective

Type

advice observational

When to use this quote

- negotiations
- team building
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

psychology social dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- What fears cause you to clench your fists?
- How can you signal openness?

A Different Perspective

Aggression may stem from deeper issues not addressed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Empowered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowered/) [Empowered women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowered-women/) [Empowering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowering/) [Empowerment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empowerment/) [Inspirational life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Women empowering women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-empowering-women/) [Women empowerment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-empowerment/)

## Related quotes

> [A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melinda-gates/a-woman-with-a-voice-is-by-definition-a-strong-woman-but-the-search/)

[Melinda Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melinda-gates/)

> [Begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it were the only one we had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/begin-to-live-each-day-to-the-fullest-as-if-it-were-the-only-one-we/)

[Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/)

> [Your own words are the bricks and mortar of the dreams you want to realize. Behind every word flows energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-choquette/your-own-words-are-the-bricks-and-mortar-of-the-dreams-you-want-to/)

[Sonia Choquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-choquette/)

> [Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-fitzgerald/just-don-t-give-up-trying-to-do-what-you-really-want-to-do/)

[Ella Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-fitzgerald/)

> [If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-there-is-truth-or-merit-in-the-criticism-try-to-learn-from-it/)

[Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/)

> [You know I have never met a woman who is not strong. They don't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/you-know-i-have-never-met-a-woman-who-is-not-strong-they-don-t-exist/)

[Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/)

> [I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-ve-come-to-believe-that-each-of-us-has-a-personal-calling-that-s-as/)

[Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/)

> [Knowing what must be done does away with fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-parks/knowing-what-must-be-done-does-away-with-fear/)

[Rosa Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-parks/)

> [Woman must not accept; she must challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/woman-must-not-accept-she-must-challenge/)

[Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/)

> [Your playing small doesn't serve the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/your-playing-small-doesn-t-serve-the-world/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/there-is-nothing-enlightened-about-shrinking-so-that-other-people/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-curie/life-is-not-easy-for-any-of-us-but-what-of-that-we-must-have/)

[Marie Curie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-curie/)

> [As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-we-are-liberated-from-our-own-fear-our-presence-automatically/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/we-need-to-reshape-our-own-perception-of-how-we-view-ourselves-we/)

[Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/)

> [Whatever you do, be different - that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can't think of better advice for an entrepreneur.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/whatever-you-do-be-different-that-was-the-advice-my-mother-gave-me/)

[Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/)

## More by Indira Gandhi

> [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [I'm not ambitious. Not a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-m-not-ambitious-not-a-bit/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [In all societies that have applied a form of socialism, a certain degree of social economic equality has been achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/in-all-societies-that-have-applied-a-form-of-socialism-a-certain/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [I cannot understand how anyone can be an Indian and not be proud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-cannot-understand-how-anyone-can-be-an-indian-and-not-be-proud/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [Even today to be civilised is held to be synonymous with being westernised. Advanced countries devote large resources to formulating and spreading ideas and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/even-today-to-be-civilised-is-held-to-be-synonymous-with-being/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [To me the function of politics is to make possible the desirable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/to-me-the-function-of-politics-is-to-make-possible-the-desirable/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [To become capable, one must have faith in oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/to-become-capable-one-must-have-faith-in-oneself/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [If we offer something to Bangladesh, it's obvious that Bangladesh is offering something to us. And why shouldn't Bangladesh be able to keep its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/if-we-offer-something-to-bangladesh-it-s-obvious-that-bangladesh-is/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [The India I want, I'll never tire of repeating, is a more just and less poor India, one entirely free of foreign influences. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/the-india-i-want-i-ll-never-tire-of-repeating-is-a-more-just-and-less/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [Satisfied is a word I use only in reference to my country, and I'll never be satisfied for my country. For this reasons I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/satisfied-is-a-word-i-use-only-in-reference-to-my-country-and-i-ll/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [I always wanted to have children - if it had been up to me, I would have had eleven. It was my husband who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-always-wanted-to-have-children-if-it-had-been-up-to-me-i-would-have/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [Defeats are always pitiful. Victories are always last resources.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/defeats-are-always-pitiful-victories-are-always-last-resources/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [To be liberated, woman must feel free to be herself, not in rivalry to man but in the context of her own capacity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/to-be-liberated-woman-must-feel-free-to-be-herself-not-in-rivalry-to/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

> [We do not wish to impoverish the environment any further, and yet we cannot for a moment forget the grim poverty of large numbers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/we-do-not-wish-to-impoverish-the-environment-any-further-and-yet-we/)

[Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

[Explore all 290 Indira Gandhi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/)

## More Can not quotes

> [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [… Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists &amp; turns of fate. Time falls away, but these small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thomas/our-lives-are-made-in-these-small-hours-these-little-wonders-these/)

[Rob Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thomas/)

> [ He \[Moliere\] pleases all the world, but cannot please himself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/he-moliere-pleases-all-the-world-but-cannot-please-himself/)

[Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/)

> [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [You can not kill that which is already dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-undertaker/you-can-not-kill-that-which-is-already-dead/)

[The Undertaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-undertaker/)

> [Yes I try to do everything I can not to fail hideously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/yes-i-try-to-do-everything-i-can-not-to-fail-hideously/)

[Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/)

> [You can not have significance in this life if it is all about you. You get your significance, you find your joy in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/you-can-not-have-significance-in-this-life-if-it-is-all-about-you-you/)

[Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/)

> [If we are true to ourselves, we can not be false to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-we-are-true-to-ourselves-we-can-not-be-false-to-anyone/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [If I can not dance, I shall die!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-pavlova/if-i-can-not-dance-i-shall-die/)

[Anna Pavlova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-pavlova/)

> [I have looked at so many photographs, I can not see them anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heizer/i-have-looked-at-so-many-photographs-i-can-not-see-them-anymore/)

[Michael Heizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heizer/)

> [I think that freely available software can not only keep up with the evolution of commercial software, but often exceed what you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-think-that-freely-available-software-can-not-only-keep-up-with-the/)

[Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/)

> [Hinduism is not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that can not be defined but is only to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/hinduism-is-not-just-a-faith-it-is-the-union-of-reason-and-intuition/)

[Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/)

> [Whether or not storms come, we can not choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/whether-or-not-storms-come-we-can-not-choose-but-where-we-stare/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [All earth's full rivers can not fillThe sea that drinking thirsteth still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/all-earth-s-full-rivers-can-not-fillthe-sea-that-drinking-thirsteth/)

[Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/)

> [Nations are beginning to look to some vague organization, some nebulous course of humanity, to pay their bills and tell them what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/nations-are-beginning-to-look-to-some-vague-organization-some/)

[Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/)

Browse all 567 Can not quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "People with clenched fists can not shake hands.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Indira Gandhi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake-hands/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Can not"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake-hands/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/indira-gandhi-1113_can-not_people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake_2520103.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/indira-gandhi-1113_can-not_people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake_2520103.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/940/indira-gandhi-1113_can-not_people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake_2520103.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“People with clenched fists can not shake hands.” — Indira Gandhi",
                "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": "Indira Gandhi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "People with clenched fists can not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake-hands/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/people-with-clenched-fists-can-not-shake-hands/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
