--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't change old people. Unlike…" description: "\"You can't change old people. Unlike middle-aged people, they do what they want.\" — Kathy Acker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/kathy-acker-4132_can-t-change_you-can-t-change-old-people-unlike-middl_1931201.png" --- # You can't change old people. Unlike middle-aged people… ![“You can't change old people. Unlike middle-aged people, they do what they want.” quote by Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/kathy-acker-4132_can-t-change_you-can-t-change-old-people-unlike-middl_1931201.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/kathy-acker-4132_can-t-change_you-can-t-change-old-people-unlike-middl_1931201.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eed/kathy-acker-4132_can-t-change_you-can-t-change-old-people-unlike-middl_1931201.png) > “You can't change old people. Unlike middle-aged people, they do what they want.” [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Older individuals resist change, acting on personal desires rather than societal expectations. **In simple terms:** People resist change as they age. Key Takeaway Accept that change may be limited with age. Themes aging resistance individualism Mood empathetic realistic Type sociological psychological When to use this quote - family dynamics - workplace management Key Concepts psychology social norms Questions to Reflect On - How can you encourage openness? - What motivates older adults? A Different Perspective Not all older people are inflexible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aged People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aged-people-3022990/) [Can't change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-t-change/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-old-1127631/) [Middle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle/) [Middle aged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-aged/) [Old people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-want/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Country music historically has been sort of middle-aged people's music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelton-reed/country-music-historically-has-been-sort-of-middle-aged-people-s-music/) [John Shelton Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelton-reed/) > [I don't have any children; I have four middle-aged people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-van-dyke/i-don-t-have-any-children-i-have-four-middle-aged-people/) [Dick Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-van-dyke/) > [I suppose middle-aged love is interesting for middle-aged people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-logan/i-suppose-middle-aged-love-is-interesting-for-middle-aged-people/) [Phyllis Logan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-logan/) > [I can't expect people to decide that they will change with me, so I can see why I'm on the old side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/i-can-t-expect-people-to-decide-that-they-will-change-with-me-so-i/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [Now naturally, like many of us, I have a reluctance to change too much of the old ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/now-naturally-like-many-of-us-i-have-a-reluctance-to-change-too-much-2/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [When a grown man reaches forty, we change him for an old one. He has completely disappeared. There's only the most superficial resemblance between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-giraudoux/when-a-grown-man-reaches-forty-we-change-him-for-an-old-one-he-has/) [Jean Giraudoux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-giraudoux/) > [In youth, the greatest success is to see the world from the eyes of the aged people and to feel exactly how they feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-youth-the-greatest-success-is-to-see-the-world-from-the-eyes-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The dining area of the Premier Inn is geared to dispel elderly apprehensions, not to reinforce them. It is noisy and colourful and full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/the-dining-area-of-the-premier-inn-is-geared-to-dispel-elderly/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [People don't want to be sold! People want to buy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-gitomer/people-don-t-want-to-be-sold-people-want-to-buy/) [Jeffrey Gitomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-gitomer/) > [Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-can-choose-how-to-react-and-i/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Congress decides who becomes a citizen and how. To automatically say the 14th Amendment grants birthright citizenship, no, we can't change that. Amending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/congress-decides-who-becomes-a-citizen-and-how-to-automatically-say/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't worry about the things I can't change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/i-don-t-worry-about-the-things-i-can-t-change/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [You can't change a man, no-ways. By the time his mummy turns him loose and he takes up with some innocent woman and marries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/you-can-t-change-a-man-no-ways-by-the-time-his-mummy-turns-him-loose/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [You can't change your life. This mode in literature goes against the more middle-brown mode, which is about shaping your destiny, changing it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-mccarthy/you-can-t-change-your-life-this-mode-in-literature-goes-against-the/) [Tommy McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-mccarthy/) > [Donʹt worry now about what you canʹt change. Rest when you can so youʹll be ready for tomorrowʹs battles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/don-t-worry-now-about-what-you-can-t-change-rest-when-you-can-so-you/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) ## More by Kathy Acker > [I wasn't really into body piercings until I found that about half my female students had them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-wasn-t-really-into-body-piercings-until-i-found-that-about-half-my/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [I'm really fascinated and you know I've been wondering about that usage of language, various breathing techniques and why in these practices language is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-m-really-fascinated-and-you-know-i-ve-been-wondering-about-that/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [“What other knowledge will my solitude and muteness bring? What other worlds?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/what-other-knowledge-will-my-solitude-and-muteness-bring-what-other/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [One of the reasons I think the ultra right-wing has such power in this country is that no one talks out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/one-of-the-reasons-i-think-the-ultra-right-wing-has-such-power-in/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [There's a backlash against womyn that's really bad right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/there-s-a-backlash-against-womyn-that-s-really-bad-right-now/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [i am a limitless series of natural disasters and all of these disasters have been unnaturally repressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/i-am-a-limitless-series-of-natural-disasters-and-all-of-these/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [My nutritionist read my pathology report and said, "There's only one way you can beat your cancer." "What's that?" "You have to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/my-nutritionist-read-my-pathology-report-and-said-there-s-only-one/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [“Every angel is terrifying. Through the darkness, they move silently... I will go down into death with you. I must go where I must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/every-angel-is-terrifying-through-the-darkness-they-move-silently-i/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [There are times when the law jeopardizes those who obey it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/there-are-times-when-the-law-jeopardizes-those-who-obey-it/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [You create identity, you're not given identity per se. What became more and more interesting to me wasn't the I, it was text because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/you-create-identity-you-re-not-given-identity-per-se-what-became-more/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [It's all up to you, girls. You have to be strong. These are the days of post-women's liberation. You have grown up by now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/it-s-all-up-to-you-girls-you-have-to-be-strong-these-are-the-days-of/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [“Since Pussy never had thought, nor would she think, that women shouldn't have abortions, she had to come to terms with the realization that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/since-pussy-never-had-thought-nor-would-she-think-that-women-shouldn/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [We don't have a clue what it is to be male or female, or if there are intermediate genders. Male and female might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/we-don-t-have-a-clue-what-it-is-to-be-male-or-female-or-if-there-are/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [Women need to become literary criminals, break the literary laws and reinvent their own, because the established laws prevent women from presenting the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/women-need-to-become-literary-criminals-break-the-literary-laws-and/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [There must be a secret hidden in this book or else you wouldn't bother to read it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/there-must-be-a-secret-hidden-in-this-book-or-else-you-wouldn-t/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) [Explore all 115 Kathy Acker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) ## More Can't change quotes > [Donʹt worry now about what you canʹt change. Rest when you can so youʹll be ready for tomorrowʹs battles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/don-t-worry-now-about-what-you-can-t-change-rest-when-you-can-so-you/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [You can't change your life. This mode in literature goes against the more middle-brown mode, which is about shaping your destiny, changing it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-mccarthy/you-can-t-change-your-life-this-mode-in-literature-goes-against-the/) [Tommy McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-mccarthy/) > [You can't change a man, no-ways. By the time his mummy turns him loose and he takes up with some innocent woman and marries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/you-can-t-change-a-man-no-ways-by-the-time-his-mummy-turns-him-loose/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [I don't worry about the things I can't change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/i-don-t-worry-about-the-things-i-can-t-change/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [Congress decides who becomes a citizen and how. To automatically say the 14th Amendment grants birthright citizenship, no, we can't change that. Amending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/congress-decides-who-becomes-a-citizen-and-how-to-automatically-say/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-can-choose-how-to-react-and-i/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When a poem is really finished, you can't change anything. You can't move words around. You can't say, 'In other words, you mean.' No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-merwin/when-a-poem-is-really-finished-you-can-t-change-anything-you-can-t/) [W. S. Merwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-merwin/) > [The only thing one can usually change in one's situation is oneself. And yet one can't change that either-only ask Our Lord to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-only-thing-one-can-usually-change-in-one-s-situation-is-oneself/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I can't change my gender, and I refuse to stop making movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-bigelow/i-can-t-change-my-gender-and-i-refuse-to-stop-making-movies/) [Kathryn Bigelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-bigelow/) > [But I think it's more that when you're young, you're invincible, you're immortal - or at least you think you are. The possibilities are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/but-i-think-it-s-more-that-when-you-re-young-you-re-invincible-you-re/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [You can't change t he wor ld f rom t he rear view mir ror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/you-can-t-change-t-he-wor-ld-f-rom-t-he-rear-view-mir-ror/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [You can't change your attitude because you're the champion. I've always kept my feet on the ground and never wanted to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renan-barao/you-can-t-change-your-attitude-because-you-re-the-champion-i-ve/) [Renan Barao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renan-barao/) > [By the time you're 30, you know who you are inside. You learn to laugh at things you can't change; you learn to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kajol/by-the-time-you-re-30-you-know-who-you-are-inside-you-learn-to-laugh/) [Kajol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kajol/) > [Those that can't change even their toothbrush and pyjamas are trying to change the world! Let us be serious!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/those-that-can-t-change-even-their-toothbrush-and-pyjamas-are-trying/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The message I'm sending to myself - I can't change the world until I change myself first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/the-message-i-m-sending-to-myself-i-can-t-change-the-world-until-i/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) [Browse all 311 Can't change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-t-change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't change old people. 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