--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hierarchy was like breathing: the only…" description: "\"“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.”\" — Jennifer Lynn Barnes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/jennifer-lynn-barnes-2448_hierarchy_hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-ti_51274.jpg" --- # Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought… ![“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.” quote by Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/jennifer-lynn-barnes-2448_hierarchy_hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-ti_51274.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/jennifer-lynn-barnes-2448_hierarchy_hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-ti_51274.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/jennifer-lynn-barnes-2448_hierarchy_hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-ti_51274.jpg) > ““Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.”” [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights how hierarchical structures become invisible until they cause problems, emphasizing their tacit influence on daily life. **In simple terms:** Hierarchy is unnoticed until it fails. Key Takeaway Invisible systems surface when broken. Themes Power dynamics Organizational behavior Awareness Systemic fragility Mood Reflective Analytical Type Observational Cautionary When to use this quote - Corporate restructuring - Team conflict resolution - Policy implementation - Crisis management Key Concepts Implicit authority Feedback loops Practical Applications - Designing transparent governance - Training leaders to anticipate hidden hierarchies Questions to Reflect On - How can we make hidden hierarchies visible before they cause harm? - What practices help maintain healthy power balances? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hierarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) [Hierarchy Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy-like-728967/) [Thought Went](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-went-728968/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-thought/) [Went Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/went-wrong/) ## Related quotes > [I thought of rap I thought of Grand Master Flash and I thought of about what they went through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kool-keith/i-thought-of-rap-i-thought-of-grand-master-flash-and-i-thought-of/) [Kool Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kool-keith/) > [“Her brain, which had up until then still been in the shower, toweled off and joined her on the beach. 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An hour later he'd already forgotten the matter completely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-d-love-her-until-the-end-of-time-he-thought-an-hour-later-he-d/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“But at the time I thought that if I could just get the world to see me the way I saw myself then my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabourey-sidibe/but-at-the-time-i-thought-that-if-i-could-just-get-the-world-to-see/) [Gabourey Sidibe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabourey-sidibe/) > [There was a time I thought I'd never see the sun again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ray-hinton/there-was-a-time-i-thought-i-d-never-see-the-sun-again/) [Anthony Ray Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ray-hinton/) > [Mankind might be divided between multitude who hate to be kept waiting because they get bored and the happy few who rather like it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-dimnet/mankind-might-be-divided-between-multitude-who-hate-to-be-kept/) [Ernest Dimnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-dimnet/) > [One has so much time for thought in the country! However occupied one may be, 'tis with nothing that engrosses the mind, which works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugenie-de-guerin/one-has-so-much-time-for-thought-in-the-country-however-occupied-one/) [Eugenie de Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugenie-de-guerin/) > [There was a period of time when I thought I had to be Alice Cooper all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/there-was-a-period-of-time-when-i-thought-i-had-to-be-alice-cooper/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) ## More by Jennifer Lynn Barnes > [“Consider me an open book" dev said. "Mi casa es su casa." Dev crinkled his nose and smelled the air. "Err, mi nose es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/consider-me-an-open-book-dev-said-mi-casa-es-su-casa-dev-crinkled-his/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“Casey was in the bed with Ali. And that was where I drew the line. Because eww.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/casey-was-in-the-bed-with-ali-and-that-was-where-i-drew-the-line/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“There's an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I've been thinking about a lot while writing this essay. In it, Buffy sacrifices her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/there-s-an-episode-of-buffy-the-vampire-slayer-that-i-ve-been/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“Nothing. You know what that feels like. Reach for it. Grab it. Make it yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/nothing-you-know-what-that-feels-like-reach-for-it-grab-it-make-it/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“Someone tried to kill me, and I’m going swimming. I’m going swimming, because it doesn’t matter. I’m going swimming, because I don’t matter. 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The routine was familiar, one I paced my way through every other morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/i-did-a-quick-injury-check-on-my-organs-and-bones-the-routine-was/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“I wondered and I prayed and I Googled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/i-wondered-and-i-prayed-and-i-googled/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“I had to protect him. And me. So I took everything I felt for the pack. I saw the bond, and instead of closing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/i-had-to-protect-him-and-me-so-i-took-everything-i-felt-for-the-pack/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“You look like someone who's about to do something highly inadvisable. And God knows, if there's something inadvisable going on, I want in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/you-look-like-someone-who-s-about-to-do-something-highly-inadvisable/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“Nobody liked my plan. "You want us to split up?" Chase asked, his brow wrinkling in obvious bewilderment. Lake echoed the sentiment, her voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/nobody-liked-my-plan-you-want-us-to-split-up-chase-asked-his-brow/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“Lake, could you please stop sweet-talking the weapons? It's kind of freaking me out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/lake-could-you-please-stop-sweet-talking-the-weapons-it-s-kind-of/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“I sunk into velvety nothingness. It caressed my skin, lapped at my temples, the nape of my neck. It circled me like smoke, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/i-sunk-into-velvety-nothingness-it-caressed-my-skin-lapped-at-my/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“For a moment, there was silnece, and then at Brooke's nod, the rest of the Squad, minus me, chimed in. "Yes, sir." I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/for-a-moment-there-was-silnece-and-then-at-brooke-s-nod-the-rest-of/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) > [“I had my knife in hand before I realized I'd reached for it and had kicked open the...front door before it ever occurred to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/i-had-my-knife-in-hand-before-i-realized-i-d-reached-for-it-and-had/) [Jennifer Lynn Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) [Explore all 166 Jennifer Lynn Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/) ## More Hierarchy quotes > [We became Homo sapiens not that long ago, from the scientific perspective, and we've retained a lot of our beast nature. We've done all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/we-became-homo-sapiens-not-that-long-ago-from-the-scientific/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [Love is the supreme form of communication. In the hierarchy of needs, love stands as the supreme developing agent of the humanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-montagu/love-is-the-supreme-form-of-communication-in-the-hierarchy-of-needs/) [Ashley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-montagu/) > [In the hierarchy of the family, I'm just above the dog. But I like it that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-voigt/in-the-hierarchy-of-the-family-i-m-just-above-the-dog-but-i-like-it/) [Jens Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-voigt/) > [The entire hierarchy of angels can best be described as an endlessly vast sphere of beings, who surround an unknowable centre-point, which is called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-godwin/the-entire-hierarchy-of-angels-can-best-be-described-as-an-endlessly/) [Malcolm Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-godwin/) > [If you want to hire great people and have them stay, you have to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. The best ideas have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/if-you-want-to-hire-great-people-and-have-them-stay-you-have-to-be/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [Once you have hierarchy you need rules to protect and administer it, and then you need law and the enforcement of the rules, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/once-you-have-hierarchy-you-need-rules-to-protect-and-administer-it/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [“The lowly have small ambitions, and are satisfied with small indulgences. They need not get fair treatment. They need only think that they do... ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/the-lowly-have-small-ambitions-and-are-satisfied-with-small/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [“One way or another, we spend our whole lives being conditioned into accepting some line or order, some position of domination or subjection. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-james/one-way-or-another-we-spend-our-whole-lives-being-conditioned-into/) [Cliff James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-james/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [The flatter the corporate hierarchy, the more likely it is that employees will communicate bad news and act upon it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-flatter-the-corporate-hierarchy-the-more-likely-it-is-that/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [patriarchal academic hierarchies in science and technology are now overspecialized and abstract, perhaps because they have systematically excluded women, as well as minorities, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-henderson/patriarchal-academic-hierarchies-in-science-and-technology-are-now/) [Hazel Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-henderson/) > [“Daimonology has no hierarchy, but only the spell of universal anarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-william-brown/daimonology-has-no-hierarchy-but-only-the-spell-of-universal-anarchy/) [Carl William Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-william-brown/) > [I was telling somebody just the other day, there's technically such a hierarchy in this business. You have film, that's the ideal; then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hale/i-was-telling-somebody-just-the-other-day-there-s-technically-such-a/) [Tony Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hale/) > [Every education system on Earth has the same hierarchy of subjects: at the top are mathematics and languages, then the humanities, and the bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/every-education-system-on-earth-has-the-same-hierarchy-of-subjects-at/) [Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/) > [In its purest sense, nicknaming is an elitist ritual practiced by those who cherish hierarchy. For preppies it's a smoke signal that allows Bunny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-king/in-its-purest-sense-nicknaming-is-an-elitist-ritual-practiced-by/) [Florence King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-king/) [Browse all 508 Hierarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hierarchy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jennifer Lynn Barnes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-time-you-thought-about-it-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hierarchy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-time-you-thought-about-it-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/jennifer-lynn-barnes-2448_hierarchy_hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-ti_51274.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/jennifer-lynn-barnes-2448_hierarchy_hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-ti_51274.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/jennifer-lynn-barnes-2448_hierarchy_hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-ti_51274.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only time you thought about it was when something went wrong.” — Jennifer Lynn Barnes", "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": "Jennifer Lynn Barnes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lynn-barnes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Hierarchy was like breathing: the only...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-time-you-thought-about-it-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lynn-barnes/hierarchy-was-like-breathing-the-only-time-you-thought-about-it-was/#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 } } ] } ```