--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is only when you are pursued that you…" description: "\"It is only when you are pursued that you become swift.\" — Khalil Gibran" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/khalil-gibran-286_pursued_it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you_1289498.jpg" --- # It is only when you are pursued that you become swift. ![“It is only when you are pursued that you become swift.” quote by Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/khalil-gibran-286_pursued_it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you_1289498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/khalil-gibran-286_pursued_it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you_1289498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/khalil-gibran-286_pursued_it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you_1289498.jpg) > “It is only when you are pursued that you become swift.” [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuit forces you to act quickly, sharpening your abilities and responsiveness. **In simple terms:** Being chased makes you faster. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges to improve speed. Themes motivation growth challenge adaptability resilience Mood determined urgent Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - sports competition - career deadlines - personal goals - creative projects Key Concepts Psychology self‑improvement performance dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What pressures have accelerated your growth? - How do you maintain balance under pursuit? A Different Perspective Constant pressure can cause burnout if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pursued](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursued/) [Pursued Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursued-swift-4196004/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swift/) ## Related quotes > [Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/verily-all-things-move-within-your-being-in-constant-half-embrace-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“You're lucky. You're getting this over with now. You only fall in love for the first time once." "That's very Taylor Swift of you,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-salvato-doktorski/you-re-lucky-you-re-getting-this-over-with-now-you-only-fall-in-love/) [Jennifer Salvato Doktorski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-salvato-doktorski/) > [I associate Taylor Swift with some pretty kinky stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-associate-taylor-swift-with-some-pretty-kinky-stuff/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Democracy is rarely easy, nor swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharan-burrow/democracy-is-rarely-easy-nor-swift/) [Sharan Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharan-burrow/) > [“Beautiful," Grillo said. "Would Swift approve?" "Fuck Swift." "Somebody should have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/beautiful-grillo-said-would-swift-approve-fuck-swift-somebody-should/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [I'm a big Taylor Swift fan. I really like her song 'Mean.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-kershaw/i-m-a-big-taylor-swift-fan-i-really-like-her-song-mean/) [Clayton Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-kershaw/) > [Since the age of 14, I have littered - excuse me, adorned - the Internet with Taylor Swift analyses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/since-the-age-of-14-i-have-littered-excuse-me-adorned-the-internet/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm like the male Taylor Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-simpson/i-m-like-the-male-taylor-swift/) [Cody Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-simpson/) > [Every musician writes about past relationships. And other than that, I can promise you, I have very little in common with Taylor Swift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-odell/every-musician-writes-about-past-relationships-and-other-than-that-i/) [Tom Odell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-odell/) > [My godchildren went to see Taylor Swift in concert and got to meet her. They literally ran toward her and hugged her, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dockery/my-godchildren-went-to-see-taylor-swift-in-concert-and-got-to-meet/) [Michelle Dockery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dockery/) > [The bone marrow transplant procedure itself can be dangerous, but it is swift, which makes it feel strangely anti-climactic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/the-bone-marrow-transplant-procedure-itself-can-be-dangerous-but-it/) [Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/) > [As the First World War made painfully clear, when politicians and generals lead nations into war, they almost invariably assume swift victory, and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hochschild/as-the-first-world-war-made-painfully-clear-when-politicians-and/) [Adam Hochschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hochschild/) > [“One too like thee: tameles, and Swift, and proud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/one-too-like-thee-tameles-and-swift-and-proud/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [“Those swift to think are not always secure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-swift-to-think-are-not-always-secure/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [Pop is everything from Kanye West to Taylor Swift, it's all pop to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/pop-is-everything-from-kanye-west-to-taylor-swift-it-s-all-pop-to-me/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) ## More by Khalil Gibran > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [If you are poor, shun association with him who measures men with the yardstick of riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/if-you-are-poor-shun-association-with-him-who-measures-men-with-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Hate is a dead thing. Who of you would be a tomb?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/hate-is-a-dead-thing-who-of-you-would-be-a-tomb/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Only once have I been made mute. It was when a man asked me, 'Who are you?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/only-once-have-i-been-made-mute-it-was-when-a-man-asked-me-who-are-you/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The truly just is he who feels half guilty of your misdeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-truly-just-is-he-who-feels-half-guilty-of-your-misdeeds/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“follow the steps trust them and yourself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/follow-the-steps-trust-them-and-yourself/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, But rather a heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/beauty-is-not-a-need-but-an-ecstasy-it-is-not-a-mouth-thirsting-nor/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“That which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/that-which-sings-and-contemplates-in-you-is-still-dwelling-within-the/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might also pray in the fullness of your joy and in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/you-pray-in-your-distress-and-in-your-need-would-that-you-might-also/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it, And the clay that fills your ears shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/the-veil-that-clouds-your-eyes-shall-be-lifted-by-the-hands-that-wove/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/work-is-love-made-visible-and-if-you-cannot-work-with-love-but-only/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [joy and sorrow are inseparable. . . together they come and when one sits alone with you . . remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/joy-and-sorrow-are-inseparable-together-they-come-and-when-one-sits/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/like-the-ocean-is-your-god-self-it-remains-for-ever-undefiled-and/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) [Explore all 688 Khalil Gibran quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) ## More Pursued quotes > ["Spirituality" wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/spirituality-wrongly-understood-or-pursued-is-a-major-source-of-human/) [Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/) > [Only by being suspended aloft, by dangling my mind in the heavens and mingling my rare thought with the ethereal air, could I ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristophanes/only-by-being-suspended-aloft-by-dangling-my-mind-in-the-heavens-and/) [Aristophanes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristophanes/) > [“All my life I have been pursued by the black dogs of unaccountable gloom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-pyper/all-my-life-i-have-been-pursued-by-the-black-dogs-of-unaccountable/) [Andrew Pyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-pyper/) > [And all of these together, as much as any campaign the Marine Corps has ever pursued, have brought an unrelenting, never-ceasing pride to all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/and-all-of-these-together-as-much-as-any-campaign-the-marine-corps/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/but-happiness-cannot-be-pursued-it-must-ensue/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [For my first gig, I got $75. I could make money being funny, so I pursued it as a career and have turned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-morgan/for-my-first-gig-i-got-75-i-could-make-money-being-funny-so-i-pursued/) [Tracy Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-morgan/) > [“A phrase began to beat in my ears with a sort of heady excitement: "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/a-phrase-began-to-beat-in-my-ears-with-a-sort-of-heady-excitement/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Salvation is not some felicitous state to which we can lift ourselves by our own bootstraps after the contemplation of sufficiently good examples. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/salvation-is-not-some-felicitous-state-to-which-we-can-lift-ourselves/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [Hollywood hasn't aggressively pursued me. Neither have I aggressively pursued Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/hollywood-hasn-t-aggressively-pursued-me-neither-have-i-aggressively/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [There are three kinds of men: those who are preceded by their shadow, those who are pursued by it, and those who have never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerd-de-ley/there-are-three-kinds-of-men-those-who-are-preceded-by-their-shadow/) [Gerd De Ley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerd-de-ley/) > [“Believe in yourself. Determine to pursue your goals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/believe-in-yourself-determine-to-pursue-your-goals/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The religious is any activity pursued in behalf of an ideal end against obstacles and in spite of threats of personal loss because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-religious-is-any-activity-pursued-in-behalf-of-an-ideal-end/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [The inquiry into Nature having thus been pursued nearly two thousand years theologically, we find by the middle of the sixteenth century some promising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-inquiry-into-nature-having-thus-been-pursued-nearly-two-thousand/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [We have pursued public policies that kind of hold the recovery back, but the private economy is really starting to roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-dionne/we-have-pursued-public-policies-that-kind-of-hold-the-recovery-back/) [E. J. Dionne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-dionne/) > [The principle of asceticism never was, nor ever can be, consistently pursued by any living creature. Let but one tenth part of the inhabitants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-principle-of-asceticism-never-was-nor-ever-can-be-consistently/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) [Browse all 424 Pursued quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursued/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is only when you are pursued that you become swift.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Khalil Gibran" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you-become-swift/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pursued" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you-become-swift/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/khalil-gibran-286_pursued_it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you_1289498.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/khalil-gibran-286_pursued_it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you_1289498.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/390/khalil-gibran-286_pursued_it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you_1289498.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is only when you are pursued that you become swift.” — Khalil Gibran", "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": "Khalil Gibran", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is only when you are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you-become-swift/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/it-is-only-when-you-are-pursued-that-you-become-swift/#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 } } ] } ```