---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that the most necessary quality…"
description: "\"I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people's places. It make..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/jean-webster-7791_able_i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality_473787.jpg"
---

#  I think that the most necessary quality for any person to…

![“I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people's places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.” quote by Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/jean-webster-7791_able_i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality_473787.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/jean-webster-7791_able_i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality_473787.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/jean-webster-7791_able_i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality_473787.jpg)

> “I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people's places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.”

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

## About This Quote

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

Imagination enables empathy, allowing us to understand and care for others.

**In simple terms:** Imagination builds empathy.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate imagination to be kinder.

Themes

empathy imagination kindness

Mood

thoughtful encouraging

Type

literary educational

When to use this quote

- education
- conflict resolution
- leadership

Key Concepts

psychology creative thinking

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you practice seeing others' perspectives?
- What role does imagination play in compassion?

A Different Perspective

Imagination may be limited by personal bias.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-makes-627039/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Necessary Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-quality-2289152/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Person Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-imagination-469751/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Quality Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality-person-255977/) [Sympathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathetic/) [Think Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-necessary-374565/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/)

## Related quotes

> [“You know, Daddy, I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/you-know-daddy-i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality-for-any-person/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request. It is by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/patience-is-the-most-necessary-quality-for-business-many-a-man-would/)

[William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/)

> [Patience is the most necessary quality for business, many a man would rather you heard his story than grant his request.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/patience-is-the-most-necessary-quality-for-business-many-a-man-would-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Any person with any imagination is bound to be afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/any-person-with-any-imagination-is-bound-to-be-afraid/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [“On the other hand, I had to remind myself that, unlike you, I'm the sort of person whose imagination gets overstimulated from very little.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-olshan/on-the-other-hand-i-had-to-remind-myself-that-unlike-you-i-m-the-sort/)

[Joseph Olshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-olshan/)

> [“Books allow one to jump into another person's imagination while also exploring their own!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-selinsky/books-allow-one-to-jump-into-another-person-s-imagination-while-also/)

[Jen Selinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-selinsky/)

> [In our exterior life, we can be only one person. But in our imagination, we can be anyone, anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/in-our-exterior-life-we-can-be-only-one-person-but-in-our-imagination/)

[Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/)

> [“The reason why it is easy to kill another person must be that one's imagination is too sluggish to conceive what his life means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-reason-why-it-is-easy-to-kill-another-person-must-be-that-one-s/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [I think life is about having the mixture of the curiosity of an older person and the imagination of a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-guinness/i-think-life-is-about-having-the-mixture-of-the-curiosity-of-an-older/)

[Daphne Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-guinness/)

> [“The quality of a person’s leadership will be in part measured by time: its use and its passage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders-2/the-quality-of-a-person-s-leadership-will-be-in-part-measured-by-time/)

[J Oswald Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-oswald-sanders-2/)

> [The greatest quality that a person can possess is the quality of self-belief. If you believe you can, you can. If you believe you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-greatest-quality-that-a-person-can-possess-is-the-quality-of-self/)

[Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/)

> [For someone to give from ones heart without any forth coming notice or expectations from them and possibly make many peoples day an unforgettable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-santagato/for-someone-to-give-from-ones-heart-without-any-forth-coming-notice/)

[Danny Santagato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-santagato/)

> [Self confidence is the most attractive quality a person can have. how can anyone see how awesome you are if you cant see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/self-confidence-is-the-most-attractive-quality-a-person-can-have-how/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The certified quality of the person actual education reflects in the degree of genuine respect he employs in his words while talking with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/the-certified-quality-of-the-person-actual-education-reflects-in-the/)

[Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/)

> [Leadership is not a basket of tricks or strategies or skills that you pull out. Leadership begins with the quality of the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hesselbein/leadership-is-not-a-basket-of-tricks-or-strategies-or-skills-that-you/)

[Frances Hesselbein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hesselbein/)

## More by Jean Webster

> [“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-require-character-anybody-can/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“Please be thinking about me. I'm quite lonely and I want to be thought about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/please-be-thinking-about-me-i-m-quite-lonely-and-i-want-to-be-thought/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [Half of the time I don't know what they're talking about; their jokes seem to relate to a past that everyone but me has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/half-of-the-time-i-don-t-know-what-they-re-talking-about-their-jokes/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [... in spite of being happier than I ever dreamed I could be, I'm also soberer. The fear that something may happen to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/in-spite-of-being-happier-than-i-ever-dreamed-i-could-be-i-m-also/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“Do you want to know something? I have three pairs of kid gloves. I've had kid mittens before from the Christmas tree, but never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/do-you-want-to-know-something-i-have-three-pairs-of-kid-gloves-i-ve/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“I don't believe it pays to be a great author.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-don-t-believe-it-pays-to-be-a-great-author/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“Examinations are even entertaining, if you know the right answers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/examinations-are-even-entertaining-if-you-know-the-right-answers/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“Her eyes wandered back to the campus again, and she suddenly grew sober as the thought swept over her that in a few weeks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/her-eyes-wandered-back-to-the-campus-again-and-she-suddenly-grew/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [I went to bed last night utterly dejected; I thought I was never going to amount to anything, and that you had thrown away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-went-to-bed-last-night-utterly-dejected-i-thought-i-was-never-going/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“One does not miss what one has never had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/one-does-not-miss-what-one-has-never-had/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“You remember that illuminated text over the dining-room door--"The Lord Will Provide." We've painted it out, and covered the spot with rabbits. It's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/you-remember-that-illuminated-text-over-the-dining-room-door-the-lord/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“The bitterness of wearing your enemies' cast-off clothes eats into your soul. If I wore silk stockings for the rest of my life, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/the-bitterness-of-wearing-your-enemies-cast-off-clothes-eats-into/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [The world is full of happiness, and plenty to go round, if you are only willing to take the kind that comes your way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/the-world-is-full-of-happiness-and-plenty-to-go-round-if-you-are-only/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [This is your heart.Keep it locked until the chap turns up who has the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/this-is-your-heart-keep-it-locked-until-the-chap-turns-up-who-has-the/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

> [“I'm getting old... Soon I'll be thirty, and then forty, and then fifty; and do you think any one will love me then if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-m-getting-old-soon-i-ll-be-thirty-and-then-forty-and-then-fifty-and/)

[Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

[Explore all 79 Jean Webster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

[Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/)

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

[Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people's places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jean Webster"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality-for-any-person-to-have-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality-for-any-person-to-have-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/jean-webster-7791_able_i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality_473787.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/jean-webster-7791_able_i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality_473787.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f4/jean-webster-7791_able_i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality_473787.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put…” — Jean Webster",
                "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": "Jean Webster",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think that the most necessary...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality-for-any-person-to-have-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/i-think-that-the-most-necessary-quality-for-any-person-to-have-is/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
