--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was thinking as small children think…" description: "\"“I was thinking as small children think, as if my thoughts or wishes had the power to reverse the narrative, change the outcome.”\" — Joan Didion" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/joan-didion-497_children_i-was-thinking-as-small-children-think-a_767324.jpg" --- # I was thinking as small children think, as if my thoughts… ![“I was thinking as small children think, as if my thoughts or wishes had the power to reverse the narrative, change the outcome.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/joan-didion-497_children_i-was-thinking-as-small-children-think-a_767324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/joan-didion-497_children_i-was-thinking-as-small-children-think-a_767324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e58/joan-didion-497_children_i-was-thinking-as-small-children-think-a_767324.jpg) > ““I was thinking as small children think, as if my thoughts or wishes had the power to reverse the narrative, change the outcome.”” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on childlike belief that thoughts can alter reality, highlighting naive optimism and desire for control. **In simple terms:** Children think thoughts can change outcomes. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of wishful thinking. Themes optimism control naivety Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - creative writing - self‑analysis Key Concepts psychology belief narrative reality Questions to Reflect On - How do your wishes influence your actions? - When have you overestimated your influence? A Different Perspective Such belief can ignore practical constraints and lead to disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-think-769509/) [Narrative Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative-change-743442/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Reverse Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverse-narrative-5939608/) [Think Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-thoughts-267824/) [Thinking Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-small-734605/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Wishful thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishful-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Change the narrative, change the laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/change-the-narrative-change-the-laws/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [“You control whether you are happy. It's all your narrative and you can change it if you choose to." - L. R. W. Lee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-r-w-lee-2/you-control-whether-you-are-happy-it-s-all-your-narrative-and-you-can/) [L. R. W. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-r-w-lee-2/) > [I have no problem with thinking small. Sometimes you have to think small first in order to think big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahki/i-have-no-problem-with-thinking-small-sometimes-you-have-to-think/) [Rahki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahki/) > [“Thinking small is not humility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-verd/thinking-small-is-not-humility/) [Nicky Verd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-verd/) > [“Small shifts in your thinking, and small changes in your energy, can lead to massive alterations of your end result.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-michel/small-shifts-in-your-thinking-and-small-changes-in-your-energy-can/) [Kevin Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-michel/) > [“Is thinking small?" asked Isobel. "Small as air." May tapped my head with her finger. 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Life is too short to think small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/your-greatest-risk-is-in-thinking-too-small-think-big-life-is-too/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Brothers and sisters: Now is not the time for thinking small, now is not the time for the same-old, same-old establishment politics and stale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/brothers-and-sisters-now-is-not-the-time-for-thinking-small-now-is/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [If you're not working to get your business or investing operation to operate without you, you're thinking too small. 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But here's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reid-hoffman/over-the-last-20-years-i-ve-worked-on-or-invested-in-many-companies/) [Reid Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reid-hoffman/) > [Nothing GREAT ever happens from thinking SMALL.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-great-ever-happens-from-thinking-small/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. 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I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More Children 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/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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