--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People don't get to change things. Things…" description: "\"People don't get to change things. Things change people once in a while, but people don't change things.\" — Lawrence Block" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/lawrence-block-6776_change_people-don-t-get-to-change-things-things_1621259.jpg" --- # People don't get to change things. Things change people… ![“People don't get to change things. Things change people once in a while, but people don't change things.” quote by Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/lawrence-block-6776_change_people-don-t-get-to-change-things-things_1621259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/lawrence-block-6776_change_people-don-t-get-to-change-things-things_1621259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1c/lawrence-block-6776_change_people-don-t-get-to-change-things-things_1621259.jpg) > “People don't get to change things. Things change people once in a while, but people don't change things.” [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are often shaped by circumstances rather than actively shaping them. **In simple terms:** Circumstances shape people more than people shape circumstances. Key Takeaway Accept influence of external forces. Themes fate agency adaptation Mood reflective neutral Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - health choices - political views Key Concepts determinism personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to forces beyond your control? - Can you influence your environment? A Different Perspective Change can be intentional with effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Don't change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-change/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People don't change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-don-t-change/) [Things change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-change/) ## Related quotes > [People don't change under governments. Governments change. People remain the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/people-don-t-change-under-governments-governments-change-people/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [People don't change when they don't acknowledge their actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-dickinson/people-don-t-change-when-they-don-t-acknowledge-their-actions/) [Amy Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-dickinson/) > [People don't change. People are who they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-keith/people-don-t-change-people-are-who-they-are/) [Tamara Keith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-keith/) > [I don't change. The things around me change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/i-don-t-change-the-things-around-me-change/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [People don't change at their core. If you're a good person, you are a good person. What changes is our behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karrine-steffans/people-don-t-change-at-their-core-if-you-re-a-good-person-you-are-a/) [Karrine Steffans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karrine-steffans/) > [If you don't change direction, you end up where you are headed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gibbons/if-you-don-t-change-direction-you-end-up-where-you-are-headed/) John Gibbons > [People don't change just because you know more about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/people-don-t-change-just-because-you-know-more-about-them/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Let's embrace more of life, not less. Balanced people don't change the world, and I'd rather spend my time feeling worn out from meaningful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-guillebeau/let-s-embrace-more-of-life-not-less-balanced-people-don-t-change-the/) [Chris Guillebeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-guillebeau/) > [So, on the whole, I'd have to say that no, people don't change, but they CAN learn to behave differently. I want to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/so-on-the-whole-i-d-have-to-say-that-no-people-don-t-change-but-they/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [Only stupid people don't change their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boutros-boutros-ghali/only-stupid-people-don-t-change-their-minds/) [Boutros Boutros-Ghali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boutros-boutros-ghali/) > [The bottom line in both cases is that people don't change; that no matter how charming you are and how fiercely you love, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-bottom-line-in-both-cases-is-that-people-don-t-change-that-no/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Times have changed, but people don't change. That's why ON THE ROAD has never been irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-stewart/times-have-changed-but-people-don-t-change-that-s-why-on-the-road-has/) [Kristen Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-stewart/) > [People don't change. There are two kinds of people in the world: winners and losers. Black and white. I don't know where gray fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-anne-peters/people-don-t-change-there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world/) [Julie Anne Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-anne-peters/) > [People don't change. If anything, you get more set in your ways as you get older, not less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/people-don-t-change-if-anything-you-get-more-set-in-your-ways-as-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Life isn’t like the movies. People don’t change overnight. people don’t go from arrogant and self-righteous to ashamed and remorseful. They don’t suddenly give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/life-isn-t-like-the-movies-people-don-t-change-overnight-people-don-t/) [Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/) ## More by Lawrence Block > [If fate sends you a lemon, use it to make lemonade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/if-fate-sends-you-a-lemon-use-it-to-make-lemonade/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“She made love with the freshness of an impatient virgin and the ingenuity of a sex-scarred whore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/she-made-love-with-the-freshness-of-an-impatient-virgin-and-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“that would have hidden the decades of filth that had left their stamp upon the wooden floor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/that-would-have-hidden-the-decades-of-filth-that-had-left-their-stamp/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/serendipity-look-for-something-find-something-else-and-realize-that/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [And, as long as you can make yourself go on choosing the pain over the relief, you can keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-as-long-as-you-can-make-yourself-go-on-choosing-the-pain-over-the/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I don't plan an awful lot in life just as I don't plan an awful lot in my fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot-in-life-just-as-i-don-t-plan-an-awful-lot/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“Your unconscious mind takes the things you can’t handle and plays with them while you sleep until some of the sharp corners are worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/your-unconscious-mind-takes-the-things-you-can-t-handle-and-plays/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Dangerous thing, giving humanity the knowledge of good and evil. And the capacity to make the wrong choice more often than not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/dangerous-thing-giving-humanity-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil-and/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Back then, before it became clear that democracy was best served by a drunken electorate, the bars in New York City were required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/back-then-before-it-became-clear-that-democracy-was-best-served-by-a/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I’ve tried writing and the sentences come out fine, but I write a few pages and I don’t want to go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-ve-tried-writing-and-the-sentences-come-out-fine-but-i-write-a-few/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [As a friend of mine, herself a writer, says, 'People who spend the most meaningful hours of their lives in the exclusive company of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/as-a-friend-of-mine-herself-a-writer-says-people-who-spend-the-most/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“My crime seemed destined to remain a secret forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/my-crime-seemed-destined-to-remain-a-secret-forever/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [“you have a better chance to get pregnant if you keep your knees way up and stay that way as long as you can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/you-have-a-better-chance-to-get-pregnant-if-you-keep-your-knees-way/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [I can’t persuade myself that one of the problems facing the planet today might be a shortage of books by me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/i-can-t-persuade-myself-that-one-of-the-problems-facing-the-planet/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [Man, I so sick of dinosaurs. They wasn't extinct, I'd go out an' kill 'em myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/man-i-so-sick-of-dinosaurs-they-wasn-t-extinct-i-d-go-out-an-kill-em/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) [Explore all 96 Lawrence Block quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People don't get to change things. 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