--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Water is important to people who do not…" description: "\"Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true of control.\" — Joan Didion" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/joan-didion-497_important_water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not_2217576.jpg" --- # Water is important to people who do not have it, and the… ![“Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true of control.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/joan-didion-497_important_water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not_2217576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/joan-didion-497_important_water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not_2217576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/joan-didion-497_important_water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not_2217576.jpg) > “Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true of control.” [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. People often overlook the value of something until they lack it, and the same applies to power and autonomy. **In simple terms:** We value things more when we don't have them, including control. Key Takeaway Recognize and respect the importance of control. Themes power control appreciation Mood reflective serious Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - leadership - personal relationships - resource management - political discourse Key Concepts scarcity mindset psychology of desire Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure you use control responsibly? - What happens when control is taken away? A Different Perspective Control can be abused, leading to oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Important people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [The West begins where the average annual rainfall drops below twenty inches. 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And trust me when I sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhiess-krieg/i-see-people-s-true-colours-from-the-beginning-so-trust-me-when-i/) [Jhiess Krieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhiess-krieg/) > [In general, people are true to their signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/in-general-people-are-true-to-their-signs/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [The best way to show people true things is from a direction that they had not imagined the truth coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-best-way-to-show-people-true-things-is-from-a-direction-that-they/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Each Day I Meet Someone New, But Never Find Another YOU, The World Is Full Of People Its True, Yet No one Ever Equals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-bassam/each-day-i-meet-someone-new-but-never-find-another-you-the-world-is/) [Ali Bassam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-bassam/) > [The great thing about letting people be true to themselves is they often do very good things indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hopkins/the-great-thing-about-letting-people-be-true-to-themselves-is-they/) [Katie Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hopkins/) > [Pursue truth and people will be true to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-twining-hadley/pursue-truth-and-people-will-be-true-to-you/) [Arthur Twining Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-twining-hadley/) ## 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 Control quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“You can't control who loves you...you can't let someone love you anymore than you can make someone love you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/you-can-t-control-who-loves-you-you-can-t-let-someone-love-you/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [I thought I fought a really good Orlando Salido. I never let him get into his fight. I knew what I needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-thought-i-fought-a-really-good-orlando-salido-i-never-let-him-get/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) > [Don't think you can...know you can! You human body is the most impressive tool you'll ever own. Even if you can't control everything, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/don-t-think-you-can-know-you-can-you-human-body-is-the-most/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“Without time management, you lose control of your life and do what other people tell you to do. You lose control and become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-miller/without-time-management-you-lose-control-of-your-life-and-do-what/) Thomas Miller > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [Some nights I'm funny with the between-song commentary, some nights I'm not. I have no control over this. I pace the stage a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/some-nights-i-m-funny-with-the-between-song-commentary-some-nights-i/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 6,032 Control quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true of control.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joan Didion" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not-have-it-and-the-same-is-true/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Control" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not-have-it-and-the-same-is-true/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/joan-didion-497_important_water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not_2217576.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/joan-didion-497_important_water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not_2217576.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/624/joan-didion-497_important_water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not_2217576.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Water is important to people who do not have it, and the same is true of control.” — Joan Didion", "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": "Joan Didion", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Water is important to people who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not-have-it-and-the-same-is-true/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/water-is-important-to-people-who-do-not-have-it-and-the-same-is-true/#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 } } ] } ```