--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the only way never to do the wrong…" description: "\"But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything.\" — Jim Butcher" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/jim-butcher-151_cowardice_but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-t_1702398.png" --- # But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to… ![“But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything.” quote by Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/jim-butcher-151_cowardice_but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-t_1702398.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/jim-butcher-151_cowardice_but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-t_1702398.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/jim-butcher-151_cowardice_but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-t_1702398.png) > “But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything.” [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Avoiding action entirely is presented as a way to avoid wrongdoing, but it also leads to stagnation. **In simple terms:** Doing nothing avoids mistakes but also prevents progress. Key Takeaway Balance action with ethical consideration. Themes ethics inaction risk decision making Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - business decisions - personal growth - creative projects - social activism Key Concepts moral philosophy pragmatism Questions to Reflect On - When is inaction justified? - How can you act responsibly without fear of error? A Different Perspective Inaction can cause missed opportunities and harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cowardice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) [Inaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inaction/) [Wrong thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-thing/) ## Related quotes > [The only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-thing-is-never-to-do-anything/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Ain't no right way to do the wrong thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-armey/ain-t-no-right-way-to-do-the-wrong-thing/) [Dick Armey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-armey/) > [“Doing the right thing the wrong way is still the wrong thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayce-o-neal/doing-the-right-thing-the-wrong-way-is-still-the-wrong-thing/) [Jayce O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayce-o-neal/) > [“There may be a wrong way to do the right thing, but never a right way to do a wrong thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/croft-m-pentz/there-may-be-a-wrong-way-to-do-the-right-thing-but-never-a-right-way/) [Croft M. Pentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/croft-m-pentz/) > [There is no right way to do a wrong thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-s-kushner/there-is-no-right-way-to-do-a-wrong-thing/) [Harold S. Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-s-kushner/) > [I'm fine the way I am. There's nothing wrong with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-fine-the-way-i-am-there-s-nothing-wrong-with-me/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [“Of course, as someone once observed, there is no right way to do something wrong”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-w-abagnale/of-course-as-someone-once-observed-there-is-no-right-way-to-do/) Frank W. Abagnale > [You don't like me, but you love me; either way, you're wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-like-me-but-you-love-me-either-way-you-re-wrong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Lookin' for the right way to do the wrong things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/lookin-for-the-right-way-to-do-the-wrong-things/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Perhaps I won't do it right, but who is to say my way is wrong?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perhaps-i-won-t-do-it-right-but-who-is-to-say-my-way-is-wrong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [First they came for the Jews, but I did nothing because I'm not a Jew. Then they came for the socialists, but I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-niemoller/first-they-came-for-the-jews-but-i-did-nothing-because-i-m-not-a-jew/) [Martin Niemoller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-niemoller/) > [It is better to do the wrong thing that to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/it-is-better-to-do-the-wrong-thing-that-to-do-nothing/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“I've had a lifetime of wrong. You're the only thing thats right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-mcguire/i-ve-had-a-lifetime-of-wrong-you-re-the-only-thing-thats-right/) [Jamie McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-mcguire/) > [I've often unwittingly done the wrong thing; most things you mess up in life you do through nerves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/i-ve-often-unwittingly-done-the-wrong-thing-most-things-you-mess-up/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [You did the wrong thing, to the right girl...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-did-the-wrong-thing-to-the-right-girl/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Jim Butcher > [“I stared at MacFinn for a long moment. I believed that he was telling me the truth. That he didn’t have much control, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-stared-at-macfinn-for-a-long-moment-i-believed-that-he-was-telling/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“So you really could die. Your godmother is right, you know. You are mad as a hatter. Nutty as a fruitcake.” “Crazy like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/so-you-really-could-die-your-godmother-is-right-you-know-you-are-mad/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“I knew I didn't have much of a chance of getting away from that swarm of fae piranha, but it was an infinitely larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-knew-i-didn-t-have-much-of-a-chance-of-getting-away-from-that-swarm/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“I told you," Molly said, never looking toward me. "It's in the past. Leave it there." "You listening to my head, kiddo?" Her mouth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-told-you-molly-said-never-looking-toward-me-it-s-in-the-past-leave/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Punctuality is for people with nothing better to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/punctuality-is-for-people-with-nothing-better-to-do/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Look,” I said. “Me and the island are . . . kind of partners.” “Oh, right,” Thomas said. He looked at Karrin and said, “Harry’s a geosexual.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/look-i-said-me-and-the-island-are-kind-of-partners-oh-right-thomas/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“I swear , this stupid town. Why does every hideous supernatural thing that happens happen here ? I'm gone for a few months and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-swear-this-stupid-town-why-does-every-hideous-supernatural-thing/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Well. We’ll just have to hope that this wasn’t a loup-garou, I guess.” “If it was a louper, you’d know,” Bob said wisely. “In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/well-we-ll-just-have-to-hope-that-this-wasn-t-a-loup-garou-i-guess-if/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“I'm going to use them to track him down and thwart him." "Thwart?" Sarissa asked. "Thwart." I said. "To prevent someone from accomplishing something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/i-m-going-to-use-them-to-track-him-down-and-thwart-him-thwart-sarissa/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“But you can't go around changing your definition of right and wrong (or smart and stupid) just because doing the wrong thing happens to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/but-you-can-t-go-around-changing-your-definition-of-right-and-wrong/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Not everyone can be equally right, Harry.” “But believe you me, everyone can be equally wrong,” I said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/not-everyone-can-be-equally-right-harry-but-believe-you-me-everyone/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [You are a drug dealer. To tiny faeries. Shame." Sanya to Dresden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/you-are-a-drug-dealer-to-tiny-faeries-shame-sanya-to-dresden/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“He fell into step beside me and we both got into the Blue Beetle — he got in the red door. I got in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/he-fell-into-step-beside-me-and-we-both-got-into-the-blue-beetle-he/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Something like this will test you like nothing else," Mac said. "You're going to find out who you are, Harry. You're going to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/something-like-this-will-test-you-like-nothing-else-mac-said-you-re/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Mort looked at the cat and sighed. “Oh, sure. Professional ectomancer with a national reputation as a medium tells you what’s going on, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/mort-looked-at-the-cat-and-sighed-oh-sure-professional-ectomancer/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) [Explore all 1,110 Jim Butcher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) ## More Cowardice quotes > [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [The unpreparedness of the educated classes, the lack of practical links between them and the mass of the people, their laziness, and, let it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/the-unpreparedness-of-the-educated-classes-the-lack-of-practical/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [Heckling is an act of cowardice. If you want to speak, get up in front of the microphone and speak, don't sit in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/heckling-is-an-act-of-cowardice-if-you-want-to-speak-get-up-in-front/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [“To stand at the very moment when all seems lost is the point of insanity for the coward, but it is the home of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-stand-at-the-very-moment-when-all-seems-lost-is-the-point-of/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The biggest obstacles to our progress exist within our own lives in the form of cowardice and the tendency to give up. Breaking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senora-roy/the-biggest-obstacles-to-our-progress-exist-within-our-own-lives-in/) [Senora Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senora-roy/) > [“I once knew a man who was heir to the throne of a great kingdom, he lived as a ranger and fought his destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/i-once-knew-a-man-who-was-heir-to-the-throne-of-a-great-kingdom-he/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Is there cowardice with the acknowledgement of fear?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/is-there-cowardice-with-the-acknowledgement-of-fear/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [Man alone mesures time. And because of this, man alone suffers a paralyzing fear that no other creature endures. A fear of time running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/man-alone-mesures-time-and-because-of-this-man-alone-suffers-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [With how many things are we on the brink of becoming acquainted, if cowardice or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-how-many-things-are-we-on-the-brink-of-becoming-acquainted-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They are not brave, the days when we are twenty-one. They are full of little cowardices, little fears without foundation, and one is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/they-are-not-brave-the-days-when-we-are-twenty-one-they-are-full-of/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) > [Survival, with honor, that outmoded and all-important word, is as difficult as ever and as all-important to a writer. Those who do not last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/survival-with-honor-that-outmoded-and-all-important-word-is-as/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“People run away from the love game because they know they won't win the race.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/people-run-away-from-the-love-game-because-they-know-they-won-t-win/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“Preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/four-from-divergent/preparation-eradicates-cowardice-which-we-define-as-the-failure-to/) Four from Divergent [Browse all 900 Cowardice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cowardice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Butcher" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-thing-is-never-to-do-anything/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cowardice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-thing-is-never-to-do-anything/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/jim-butcher-151_cowardice_but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-t_1702398.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/jim-butcher-151_cowardice_but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-t_1702398.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/jim-butcher-151_cowardice_but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-t_1702398.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything.” — Jim Butcher", "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": "Jim Butcher", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But the only way never to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-thing-is-never-to-do-anything/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/but-the-only-way-never-to-do-the-wrong-thing-is-never-to-do-anything/#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 } } ] } ```