---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everyone wants to change, but change…"
description: "\"Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and discipline before it becomes delightful. There is always the agony of choice before the promise..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/388/larry-lea-95836_agony_everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-dema_1286222.png"
---

#  Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and…

![“Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and discipline before it becomes delightful. There is always the agony of choice before the promise of change.” quote by Larry Lea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/388/larry-lea-95836_agony_everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-dema_1286222.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/388/larry-lea-95836_agony_everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-dema_1286222.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/388/larry-lea-95836_agony_everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-dema_1286222.png)

> “Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and discipline before it becomes delightful. There is always the agony of choice before the promise of change.”

Larry Lea

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Change requires desire and discipline before it becomes pleasant, and choosing change involves initial difficulty.

**In simple terms:** Desire and discipline precede enjoyable change.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate desire and discipline for lasting change.

Themes

personal growth motivation discipline choice delight

Mood

motivational encouraging serious

Type

Agony:1 Change:1 Choice:1 Choices:1 Delightful:1 Demand:1 Desire:1 Discipline:1 Promise:1 Want:1 Change Change:0 Wants Change:0 Change Demands:0 Desire Discipline:0 Demands Desire:0

When to use this quote

- coaching sessions
- self‑help books
- goal setting

Key Concepts

psychology habit formation self‑improvement

Questions to Reflect On

- What motivates initial desire?
- How to maintain discipline?

A Different Perspective

Desire alone may not sustain change.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Agony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Delightful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delightful/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/)

## Related quotes

> [It's the artist's duty to have an artist's life, somehow to obtain time and freedom and then to muster the desire and discipline to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-mills/it-s-the-artist-s-duty-to-have-an-artist-s-life-somehow-to-obtain/)

[Stephanie Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-mills/)

> [“On the other side of the pendulum from desire is discipline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarajoy-marsh/on-the-other-side-of-the-pendulum-from-desire-is-discipline/)

Sarajoy Marsh

> [“Everybody wants a change and change happens in the life of everybody each day, but not all changes are preferable”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/everybody-wants-a-change-and-change-happens-in-the-life-of-everybody/)

[Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/)

> [Change demands new learning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosabeth-moss-kanter/change-demands-new-learning/)

[Rosabeth Moss Kanter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosabeth-moss-kanter/)

> [Climate change demands a collective response. We can't expect other countries to act if we don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lucas/climate-change-demands-a-collective-response-we-can-t-expect-other/)

[Caroline Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lucas/)

> [We have been making changes continuously. You cannot expect everything to be perfect the minute it is made. Things change; they are dynamic as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-gandhi/we-have-been-making-changes-continuously-you-cannot-expect-everything/)

[Rajiv Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-gandhi/)

> [Everyone wants better, no one wants change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-wants-better-no-one-wants-change/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Everybody wants to change the world yet no one wants to change themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamza-yusuf/everybody-wants-to-change-the-world-yet-no-one-wants-to-change/)

[Hamza Yusuf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamza-yusuf/)

> [Statistics vary, but in less than seven years there won't be a single cell left in any of our bodies that's the same as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/statistics-vary-but-in-less-than-seven-years-there-won-t-be-a-single/)

[Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/)

> [Everyone wants change. Donald is the only one that can deliver it. We should not be satisfied with stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melania-trump/everyone-wants-change-donald-is-the-only-one-that-can-deliver-it-we/)

[Melania Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melania-trump/)

> [Change in a person happens not because YOU want it to happen, it happens when the person who needs to change, wants to change.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/change-in-a-person-happens-not-because-you-want-it-to-happen-it/)

[Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/)

> [When people said Africa would change me, I didn't understand what they meant. To see the poverty in the townships, for instance, is overwhelming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hudson/when-people-said-africa-would-change-me-i-didn-t-understand-what-they/)

[Jennifer Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-hudson/)

> [“To generate a big impact, pair someone who wants to change the world with someone who already knows how the world works.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-wiseman/to-generate-a-big-impact-pair-someone-who-wants-to-change-the-world/)

[Liz Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-wiseman/)

> [&gt;&gt; Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change his self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juba-larbes/everybody-wants-to-change-the-world-but-nobody-wants-to-change-his/)

[Juba Larbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juba-larbes/)

> [So, President Obama wants to change America. I understand that. We don't need to change America. We need to change the White House. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-diaz-balart/so-president-obama-wants-to-change-america-i-understand-that-we-don-t/)

[Mario Diaz-Balart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-diaz-balart/)

## More by Larry Lea

> [It is important that we know and hear God's voice, for the words of God reveal the will of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-lea/it-is-important-that-we-know-and-hear-god-s-voice-for-the-words-of/)

Larry Lea

Explore all 2 Larry Lea quotes

## More Agony quotes

> [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/)

[Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/)

> [“aaron would not come out aaron entered into agony.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/aaron-would-not-come-out-aaron-entered-into-agony/)

[William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/)

> [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/)

[George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/)

> [As we look upon that agony and those tearful prayers, let us not only look with thankfulness; but let that kneeling Saviour teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/as-we-look-upon-that-agony-and-those-tearful-prayers-let-us-not-only/)

[Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/)

> [Love masters agony; the soul that seemed Forsaken feels her present God again And in her Father's arms Contented dies away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keble/love-masters-agony-the-soul-that-seemed-forsaken-feels-her-present/)

[John Keble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keble/)

> [I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-have-seen-war-i-have-seen-war-on-land-and-sea-i-have-seen-blood/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [“Anger was a reliable defense, but one that allowed no chance of final victory. Anger was a medicine but never a cure, briefly numbing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/anger-was-a-reliable-defense-but-one-that-allowed-no-chance-of-final/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [The cure is in the house, not brought by other hands from distant places, but by its own, in agony and blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-cure-is-in-the-house-not-brought-by-other-hands-from-distant/)

[Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/)

> [Sometimes, a lie is told in kindness. I don't believe it ever works kindly. The quick pain of truth can pass away, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/sometimes-a-lie-is-told-in-kindness-i-don-t-believe-it-ever-works/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [The young man shivered. He rolled the stock themes of fantasy over in his mind: cars and stockbrokers and commuters, housewives and police, agony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-young-man-shivered-he-rolled-the-stock-themes-of-fantasy-over-in/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/)

[Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/)

> [There’s been a problem, a problem eating away at me from the inside out. I’ve become weak, I’ve shown human compassion, and it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane/there-s-been-a-problem-a-problem-eating-away-at-me-from-the-inside/)

[Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane/)

> [Pay special attention to their agony so I might take some pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/pay-special-attention-to-their-agony-so-i-might-take-some-pleasure/)

[Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/)

> [Die, enemies of Ra!" Sekhemet yelled. "Perish in agony!" "She's almost as annoying as you," I told Horus. "Impossible," Horus said. "No one bests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/die-enemies-of-ra-sekhemet-yelled-perish-in-agony-she-s-almost-as/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

[Browse all 813 Agony quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agony/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and discipline before it becomes delightful. There is always the agony of choice before the promise of change.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Larry Lea"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-lea/everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-demands-desire-and-discipline/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Agony"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-lea/everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-demands-desire-and-discipline/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/388/larry-lea-95836_agony_everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-dema_1286222.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/388/larry-lea-95836_agony_everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-dema_1286222.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/388/larry-lea-95836_agony_everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-dema_1286222.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Everyone wants to change, but change demands desire and discipline before it becomes delightful. There is…” — Larry Lea",
                "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": "Larry Lea",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-lea/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Everyone wants to change, but change...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-lea/everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-demands-desire-and-discipline/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-lea/everyone-wants-to-change-but-change-demands-desire-and-discipline/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
