--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is one of the most assertive…" description: "\"Writing is one of the most assertive things a person can do.\" — Jhumpa Lahiri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_assertive_writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-thi_610985.png" --- # Writing is one of the most assertive things a person can do. ![“Writing is one of the most assertive things a person can do.” quote by Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_assertive_writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-thi_610985.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_assertive_writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-thi_610985.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_assertive_writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-thi_610985.png) > “Writing is one of the most assertive things a person can do.” [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is presented as a powerful, assertive act that allows a person to claim agency and voice. **In simple terms:** Writing empowers assertiveness. Key Takeaway Use writing to assert yourself. Themes creativity assertiveness expression Mood inspirational motivational Type creative personal development When to use this quote - journaling - blogging - authoring a novel - public speaking Key Concepts literature self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - How can you be more assertive without writing? - What writing style best reflects your voice? A Different Perspective May not suit non‑writers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assertive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertive/) [Assertive Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertive-things-4647721/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Things Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-person-1268545/) [Willfulness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willfulness/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Assertive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-assertive-4961719/) ## Related quotes > [It was not in my nature to be an assertive person. I was used to looking to others for guidance, for influence, sometimes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/it-was-not-in-my-nature-to-be-an-assertive-person-i-was-used-to/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [Being a writer means taking the leap from listening to saying 'Listen to me'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/being-a-writer-means-taking-the-leap-from-listening-to-saying-listen/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-j-palmer/vocation-does-not-come-from-willfulness-it-comes-from-listening-i/) [Parker J. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-j-palmer/) > [“I just entrust my body to the Creator and don’t intrude my own willfulness while I’m here. This is knowing the general drift of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issai-chozanshi/i-just-entrust-my-body-to-the-creator-and-don-t-intrude-my-own/) [Issai Chozanshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issai-chozanshi/) > [To know the will of God is the greatest knowledge! To do the will of God is the greatest achievement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-truett/to-know-the-will-of-god-is-the-greatest-knowledge-to-do-the-will-of/) [George W Truett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-truett/) > [I think I've inherited a kind ofwillfulness, a kind of quiet willfulness that I'll just hang in there with something until it happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-goldwyn/i-think-i-ve-inherited-a-kind-ofwillfulness-a-kind-of-quiet/) [Tony Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-goldwyn/) > [“William talks about there being two kinds of will. Will A and Will B, I call it. Will A is what we all learn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-slater/william-talks-about-there-being-two-kinds-of-will-will-a-and-will-b-i/) [Lauren Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-slater/) > [“Man does not ask for nightmares, he does not ask to be bad. He does not will his own willfulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/man-does-not-ask-for-nightmares-he-does-not-ask-to-be-bad-he-does-not/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [I've inherited a kind of... willfulness, a kind of quiet willfulness that I'll just hang in there with something until it happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-goldwyn/i-ve-inherited-a-kind-of-willfulness-a-kind-of-quiet-willfulness-that/) [Tony Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-goldwyn/) > [If you want to nourish a bird, you should let it live any way it chooses. Creatures differ because they have different likes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/if-you-want-to-nourish-a-bird-you-should-let-it-live-any-way-it/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“Willfulness, such as yours, is exactly what a girl needs to raise herself up to do something useful with her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-marie-buchanan/willfulness-such-as-yours-is-exactly-what-a-girl-needs-to-raise/) [Cathy Marie Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-marie-buchanan/) > [Willfulness must give way to willingness and surrender. Mastery must yield to mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-may/willfulness-must-give-way-to-willingness-and-surrender-mastery-must/) [Gerald May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-may/) > [“Just as soon as children develop awareness, it is essential to demonstrate to them by word and deed that they must submit,” advised Swiss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anneli-rufus/just-as-soon-as-children-develop-awareness-it-is-essential-to/) [Anneli Rufus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anneli-rufus/) > [No amount of human willfulness can overcome God's determined love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/no-amount-of-human-willfulness-can-overcome-god-s-determined-love/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [“To resist the social pressure now put even on one's leisure time, requires a tougher upbringing and a more obstinate willfulness about going one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-graves/to-resist-the-social-pressure-now-put-even-on-one-s-leisure-time/) [Robert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-graves/) ## More by Jhumpa Lahiri > [“Assured by his grades and his apparent indifference to girls, his parents don't suspect Gogol of being, in his own fumbling way, an American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/assured-by-his-grades-and-his-apparent-indifference-to-girls-his/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [...that in spite of living in a mansion an American is not above wearing a pair of secondhand pants, bought for fifty cents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/that-in-spite-of-living-in-a-mansion-an-american-is-not-above-wearing/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [He owned an expensive camera that required thought before you pressed the shutter, and I quickly became his favorite subject, round-faced, missing teeth, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/he-owned-an-expensive-camera-that-required-thought-before-you-pressed/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [If I stop to think about fans, or best-selling, or not best-selling, or good reviews, or not-good reviews, it just becomes too much. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/if-i-stop-to-think-about-fans-or-best-selling-or-not-best-selling-or/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“This tradition doesn't exist for Bengalis, naming a son after father or grandfather, a daughter after mother or grandmother. This sign of respect in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/this-tradition-doesn-t-exist-for-bengalis-naming-a-son-after-father/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [I wanted to pull away from the things that marked my parents as being different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/i-wanted-to-pull-away-from-the-things-that-marked-my-parents-as-being/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“Ashoke suspects that Mrs. Jones (the secretary at his new job as a professor) ...is about his own mother's age. Mrs. Jones leads a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/ashoke-suspects-that-mrs-jones-the-secretary-at-his-new-job-as-a/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [But she has gathered that Americans, in spite of their public declarations of affection, in spite of their miniskirts and bikinis, in spite of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/but-she-has-gathered-that-americans-in-spite-of-their-public/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [The sky was different, without color, taut and unforgiving. But the water was the most unforgiving thing, nearly black at times, cold enough, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/the-sky-was-different-without-color-taut-and-unforgiving-but-the/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“In those six weeks I regarded her arrival as I would the arrival of a coming month, or season - something inevitable, but meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/in-those-six-weeks-i-regarded-her-arrival-as-i-would-the-arrival-of-a/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [There were times Ruma felt closer to her mother in death than she had in life, an intimacy born simply of thinking of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/there-were-times-ruma-felt-closer-to-her-mother-in-death-than-she-had/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“Writing down call numbers with short pencils, searching up and down aisles that would turn dark when the timers on the lights expired. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/writing-down-call-numbers-with-short-pencils-searching-up-and-down/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [Winning the Pulitzer is wonderful and it's an honor and I feel so humbled and so grateful, but I think that I'll think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/winning-the-pulitzer-is-wonderful-and-it-s-an-honor-and-i-feel-so/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [He tries to peel the image from the sticky yellow backing, to show her the next time he sees her, but it clings stubbornly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/he-tries-to-peel-the-image-from-the-sticky-yellow-backing-to-show-her/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) > [“If I stop to think about fans, or bestselling, or not bestselling, or good reviews, or not-good reviews, it just becomes too much. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/if-i-stop-to-think-about-fans-or-bestselling-or-not-bestselling-or/) [Jhumpa Lahiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) [Explore all 215 Jhumpa Lahiri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/) ## More Assertive quotes > [“Be calm; yet assertive. Be meek; yet courageous. Be gentle; yet bold. Be kind; yet strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-f-glassman-2/be-calm-yet-assertive-be-meek-yet-courageous-be-gentle-yet-bold-be/) [Charles F Glassman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-f-glassman-2/) > [Of course you don't want to make outs on the bases , but there are times you have to be assertive in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-maddon/of-course-you-don-t-want-to-make-outs-on-the-bases-but-there-are/) [Joe Maddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-maddon/) > [Being assertive in the home does not produce any smiling faces, but it does bring out a few tongues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-fesler/being-assertive-in-the-home-does-not-produce-any-smiling-faces-but-it/) [Wes Fesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-fesler/) > [Arrogance is a mixture of impertinence, disobedience, indiscipline, rudeness, harshness, and a self-assertive nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/arrogance-is-a-mixture-of-impertinence-disobedience-indiscipline/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [I think naturally, if you're an actor, there's a high level of assertiveness that you need to have to survive this business. There's boldness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-cranston/i-think-naturally-if-you-re-an-actor-there-s-a-high-level-of/) [Bryan Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-cranston/) > [I was very shy and withdrawn as a child, but people know me as these assertive women. They are not me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bea-arthur/i-was-very-shy-and-withdrawn-as-a-child-but-people-know-me-as-these/) [Bea Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bea-arthur/) > [Let your desire for truth transcend all minor considerations. Ignorance is invariably confident. The man of knowledge learns to realize his own needs. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grenville-kleiser/let-your-desire-for-truth-transcend-all-minor-considerations/) [Grenville Kleiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grenville-kleiser/) > [The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/the-best-defense-against-usurpatory-government-is-an-assertive/) [William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/) > [Out of the closets and into the museums, libraries, architectural monuments, concert halls, bookstores, recording studios and film studios of the world. Everything belongs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-the-closets-and-into-the-museums-libraries-architectural/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The word 'seek' means to go in search of, try to discover, try to acquire. It requires an active, assertive approach to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/the-word-seek-means-to-go-in-search-of-try-to-discover-try-to-acquire/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [The North American intellectual tradition began, I maintain, in the encounter of British Romanticism with assertive, pragmatic North American English - the Protestant plain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/the-north-american-intellectual-tradition-began-i-maintain-in-the/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I'm not a very assertive person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prunella-scales/i-m-not-a-very-assertive-person/) [Prunella Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prunella-scales/) > [I'm as proud and assertive in my Quebec identity as any Quebecer. I believe it's to Quebec's advantage to be part of the Canadian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-couillard/i-m-as-proud-and-assertive-in-my-quebec-identity-as-any-quebecer-i/) [Philippe Couillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-couillard/) > [The person who knows a great deal about things but has never learnt to see, tends to be assertive; those who have once lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-vann/the-person-who-knows-a-great-deal-about-things-but-has-never-learnt/) [Gerald Vann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-vann/) > [Be assertive, but don't forget to look around. I realized there are other opinions that can be more useful to me than just sticking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-robertson/be-assertive-but-don-t-forget-to-look-around-i-realized-there-are/) [Britt Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britt-robertson/) [Browse all 167 Assertive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is one of the most assertive things a person can do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jhumpa Lahiri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-things-a-person-can-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assertive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-things-a-person-can-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_assertive_writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-thi_610985.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_assertive_writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-thi_610985.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f08/jhumpa-lahiri-1596_assertive_writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-thi_610985.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing is one of the most assertive things a person can do.” — Jhumpa Lahiri", "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": "Jhumpa Lahiri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhumpa-lahiri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing is one of the most...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-things-a-person-can-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhumpa-lahiri/writing-is-one-of-the-most-assertive-things-a-person-can-do/#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 } } ] } ```