--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Never confuse desire with vision. Desire…" description: "\"Never confuse desire with vision. Desire has to do with what we want. Vision has to do with what we need.\" — Joan D. Chittister" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/joan-d-chittister-2635_desire_never-confuse-desire-with-vision-desire_461521.png" --- # Never confuse desire with vision. Desire has to do with… ![“Never confuse desire with vision. Desire has to do with what we want. Vision has to do with what we need.” quote by Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/joan-d-chittister-2635_desire_never-confuse-desire-with-vision-desire_461521.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/joan-d-chittister-2635_desire_never-confuse-desire-with-vision-desire_461521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce8/joan-d-chittister-2635_desire_never-confuse-desire-with-vision-desire_461521.png) > “Never confuse desire with vision. Desire has to do with what we want. Vision has to do with what we need.” [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire seeks personal wants; vision seeks collective needs and purpose. **In simple terms:** Desire is about wants, vision about needs. Key Takeaway Align personal desire with a higher, purposeful vision. Themes spirituality leadership purpose Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical guidance When to use this quote - nonprofit leadership - personal growth - team building Key Concepts ethical philosophy visionary thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate your desires from your vision? - What steps help align them? A Different Perspective Vision without desire may lack motivation; desire without vision may be shallow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-vision-1902928/) [Desire Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-want-398342/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Vision Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision-desire-1915324/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-vision-2042924/) ## Related quotes > [“Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy. Having desire, vision, and focus will help you turn your bus in the right direction, and positive energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/fuel-your-ride-with-positive-energy-having-desire-vision-and-focus/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [I think that the power of a political vision is deeply engaged with the possibility of how you can live out the liberation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hollibaugh/i-think-that-the-power-of-a-political-vision-is-deeply-engaged-with/) [Amber Hollibaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hollibaugh/) > [“Apply restrictions on people with vision and their desire to make doesn't just endure. It flourishes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriella-bennett/apply-restrictions-on-people-with-vision-and-their-desire-to-make/) [Gabriella Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriella-bennett/) > [When we have a vision of what we can become, our desire and our power to act increase enormously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/when-we-have-a-vision-of-what-we-can-become-our-desire-and-our-power/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [The point of vision and desire are the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/the-point-of-vision-and-desire-are-the-same/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [“Her eyelids lowered, and her irises darkened a shade, flickering with unmistakable desire. “All I want is you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-carlisle/her-eyelids-lowered-and-her-irises-darkened-a-shade-flickering-with/) [Lisa Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-carlisle/) > [You have sole ownership of your vision. And the Universe will give you what you want within your vision. What happens with most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/you-have-sole-ownership-of-your-vision-and-the-universe-will-give-you/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [I have an idea of who I want to be, I have a vision of my own success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/i-have-an-idea-of-who-i-want-to-be-i-have-a-vision-of-my-own-success/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [I think like a lot of people in this country I want to see a vision. And, again, that would be true of candidates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-de-blasio/i-think-like-a-lot-of-people-in-this-country-i-want-to-see-a-vision/) [Bill de Blasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-de-blasio/) > [Champions get what they want because they know what they want. They have a vision that keeps them motivated and efficiently on track. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/champions-get-what-they-want-because-they-know-what-they-want-they/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [I never wanted to do just one thing. There's even other things in comedy that I want to do. For me, it's always been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-robinson/i-never-wanted-to-do-just-one-thing-there-s-even-other-things-in/) [Craig Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-robinson/) > [If you want a vision of the future, imagine Washington-back ed Google Glasses strapped onto vacant human faces - forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/if-you-want-a-vision-of-the-future-imagine-washington-back-ed-google/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Having a vision for what you want is not enough...Vision without execution is hallucination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/having-a-vision-for-what-you-want-is-not-enough-vision-without/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [“Nobody likes being told what to do or where to go, no matter how right it might be. People want to be a part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-kouzes/nobody-likes-being-told-what-to-do-or-where-to-go-no-matter-how-right/) [James M. Kouzes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-kouzes/) > [“If you want a vision of the future, imagine someone watching a boot stamping on a human face - forever...and ‘liking’ it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/if-you-want-a-vision-of-the-future-imagine-someone-watching-a-boot/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) ## More by Joan D. Chittister > [A hard heart makes for hard judgments; a compassionate heart understands the humanity of the one we presume to judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/a-hard-heart-makes-for-hard-judgments-a-compassionate-heart/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [To be enlightened is to know that heaven is not "coming." Heaven is here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/to-be-enlightened-is-to-know-that-heaven-is-not-coming-heaven-is-here/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [We don't change as we get older - we just get to be more of what we've always been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/we-don-t-change-as-we-get-older-we-just-get-to-be-more-of-what-we-ve/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [We may well be the ones Proverbs warns when it reminds us: "Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/we-may-well-be-the-ones-proverbs-warns-when-it-reminds-us-kings-take/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Today we live in a world that judges its achievements by speed and busyness. Â… We are so busy making things happen that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/today-we-live-in-a-world-that-judges-its-achievements-by-speed-and/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [My limitations make space for the gifts of other people. Without the grace of our limitations we would be isolated, dry, and insufferable creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/my-limitations-make-space-for-the-gifts-of-other-people-without-the/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Humility is authenticity. It comes from the Latin word humus, meaning "earth." As the church has taught, we're made of dust, and unto dust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/humility-is-authenticity-it-comes-from-the-latin-word-humus-meaning/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Compassion makes no distinction between friends and enemies, neighbors and outsiders, compatriots and foreigners. Compassion is the gate to human community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/compassion-makes-no-distinction-between-friends-and-enemies-neighbors/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Prophets are so dangerous because they cry in season and out of season, politely and impolitely, loud and long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/prophets-are-so-dangerous-because-they-cry-in-season-and-out-of/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“We don't change as we get older - we just get to be ore of what we've always been.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/we-don-t-change-as-we-get-older-we-just-get-to-be-ore-of-what-we-ve/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“What happens to the spiritual life of a young girl who is made to understand, consciously or subconsciously, that she has no place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/what-happens-to-the-spiritual-life-of-a-young-girl-who-is-made-to/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Old age tells us that we ourselves have failed often, have never really done anything completely right, have never truly been perfect - anad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/old-age-tells-us-that-we-ourselves-have-failed-often-have-never/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [But we are here to depart from this world as finished as we can possibly become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/but-we-are-here-to-depart-from-this-world-as-finished-as-we-can/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [“Whatever happens to the body, what toll age takes on the physical, the spirit does not grow old. In our dreams, in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/whatever-happens-to-the-body-what-toll-age-takes-on-the-physical-the/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) > [Two ideas militate against our consciously contributing to a better world. The idea that we can do everything or the conclusion that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-d-chittister/two-ideas-militate-against-our-consciously-contributing-to-a-better/) [Joan D. Chittister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) [Explore all 156 Joan D. Chittister quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-d-chittister/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [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/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Never confuse desire with vision. Desire has to do with what we want. Vision has to do with what we need.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan D. 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