--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God knows how many things a man misses by…" description: "\"God knows how many things a man misses by becoming smug and assuming that matters will take their own course.\" — Loren Eiseley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/loren-eiseley-3848_assuming_god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-b_1139096.png" --- # God knows how many things a man misses by becoming smug… ![“God knows how many things a man misses by becoming smug and assuming that matters will take their own course.” quote by Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/loren-eiseley-3848_assuming_god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-b_1139096.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/loren-eiseley-3848_assuming_god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-b_1139096.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/loren-eiseley-3848_assuming_god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-b_1139096.png) > “God knows how many things a man misses by becoming smug and assuming that matters will take their own course.” [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assuming fate will handle outcomes leads to missed opportunities and complacency. **In simple terms:** Waiting for fate causes missed chances. Key Takeaway Take proactive steps toward goals. Themes agency humility uncertainty Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - learning new skills - travel planning Key Concepts determinism self-deception personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What areas of your life need active pursuit? - How does humility improve decision-making? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind you to necessary effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [God knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-knows/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Man Misses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-misses-293474/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Misses Smug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misses-smug-3166282/) [Missing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missing/) [Smug](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smug/) [Smug Assuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smug-assuming-3166281/) [Things Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-man/) ## Related quotes > [What a man misses mostly in heaven is company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/what-a-man-misses-mostly-in-heaven-is-company/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I miss you like a white man misses slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-you-like-a-white-man-misses-slavery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The making of money, the accumulation of material power, is not all there is to living...and the man who misses this truth misses the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bok/the-making-of-money-the-accumulation-of-material-power-is-not-all/) [Edward Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bok/) > [I miss you like a married man misses freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-miss-you-like-a-married-man-misses-freedom/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I became frustrated early on as a playwright by a kind of smug smallness in modern drama. There was a lack of what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-mclaughlin/i-became-frustrated-early-on-as-a-playwright-by-a-kind-of-smug/) [Ellen McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-mclaughlin/) > [I never feel like a smug or a smart-alec film director, and there are plenty of those around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-mcdonagh/i-never-feel-like-a-smug-or-a-smart-alec-film-director-and-there-are/) [Martin McDonagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-mcdonagh/) > [“Am I to spend the next twenty years in the high-minded company of a smug Philistine who doesn’t so much as make me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/am-i-to-spend-the-next-twenty-years-in-the-high-minded-company-of-a/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [I'm a very smug show-off at heart. I'm altogether too pleased with myself. The big boost for me is to be able to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-m-a-very-smug-show-off-at-heart-i-m-altogether-too-pleased-with/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! Sometimes, smug times When I’m talking about God When I’m praying about God When I’m working for God, Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-savage/that-s-not-what-i-meant-sometimes-smug-times-when-i-m-talking-about/) [John Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-savage/) > [I know it's considered smug to even mention that you've left a social media platform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-know-it-s-considered-smug-to-even-mention-that-you-ve-left-a-social/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [“Occasionally I am smitten with an acute case of Smug. It can happen to anyone, but it happens most often to people who think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/occasionally-i-am-smitten-with-an-acute-case-of-smug-it-can-happen-to/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [“The look of a smug teacher is priceless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/the-look-of-a-smug-teacher-is-priceless/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [Thinking I'm a moron gives people something to feel smug about," Charles Wallace said. "Why should I disillusion them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/thinking-i-m-a-moron-gives-people-something-to-feel-smug-about/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/you-re-pretty-smug-lord-ares-for-a-guy-who-runs-from-cupid-statues/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“Well, man, you know what they say." No, I don't. I don't know what they say. I don't even know who they are. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/well-man-you-know-what-they-say-no-i-don-t-i-don-t-know-what-they-say/) [Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/) ## More by Loren Eiseley > [“Taking a final pleasure in what the wind can neither proclaim nor destroy, I am a student of nightfall, I claim no other profession.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/taking-a-final-pleasure-in-what-the-wind-can-neither-proclaim-nor/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [We are one of many appearances of the thing called Life; we are not its perfect image, for it has no perfect image except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/we-are-one-of-many-appearances-of-the-thing-called-life-we-are-not/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Perhaps a creature of so much ingenuity and deep memory is almost bound to grow alienated from his world, his fellows, and the objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/perhaps-a-creature-of-so-much-ingenuity-and-deep-memory-is-almost/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“The best way to be resurrected is to be forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-best-way-to-be-resurrected-is-to-be-forgotten/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [To have dragons one must have change; that is the first principle of dragon lore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/to-have-dragons-one-must-have-change-that-is-the-first-principle-of/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [It is frequently the tragedy of the great artist, as it is of the great scientist, that he frightens the ordinary man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/it-is-frequently-the-tragedy-of-the-great-artist-as-it-is-of-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Every time we walk along a beach some ancient urge disturbs us so that we find ourselves shedding shoes and garments or scavenging among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/every-time-we-walk-along-a-beach-some-ancient-urge-disturbs-us-so/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [The future is neither ahead nor behind, on one side or another. Nor is it dark or light. It is contained within ourselves; its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-future-is-neither-ahead-nor-behind-on-one-side-or-another-nor-is/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Out of the choked Devonian waters emerged sight and sound and the music that rolls invisible through the composer's brain. They are there still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/out-of-the-choked-devonian-waters-emerged-sight-and-sound-and-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [One could not pluck a flower without troubling a star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/one-could-not-pluck-a-flower-without-troubling-a-star/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“I once saw, on a flower pot in my own living room, the efforts of a field mouse to build a remembered field. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/i-once-saw-on-a-flower-pot-in-my-own-living-room-the-efforts-of-a/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Lights come and go in the night sky. Men, troubled at last by the things they build, may toss in their sleep and dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/lights-come-and-go-in-the-night-sky-men-troubled-at-last-by-the/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [The secret, if one may paraphrase a savage vocabulary, lies in the egg of night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/the-secret-if-one-may-paraphrase-a-savage-vocabulary-lies-in-the-egg/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [Without the gift of flowers and the infinite diversity of their fruits, man and bird, if they had continued to exist at all, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/without-the-gift-of-flowers-and-the-infinite-diversity-of-their/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“Black magic, the magic of the primeval chaos, blots out or transmogrifies the true form of things. At the stroke of twelve the princess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/black-magic-the-magic-of-the-primeval-chaos-blots-out-or/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) [Explore all 121 Loren Eiseley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) ## More Assuming quotes > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) [James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/) > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing-whatsoever-must-change/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [I think the biggest problem working with me would be that I'm an only child, and so I have an internal dialogue that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-the-biggest-problem-working-with-me-would-be-that-i-m-an-only/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [People just assume that if you're famous, you're in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/people-just-assume-that-if-you-re-famous-you-re-in-hollywood/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. Humans assume that alien life forms should conform to standards that match our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-perry/humans-suffer-from-self-centred-notions-as-to-the-nature-of-life/) [Steve Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-perry/) > [We can use our art to become political, to become something you want to talk about. We make clothes, but we have the chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-rousteing/we-can-use-our-art-to-become-political-to-become-something-you-want/) [Olivier Rousteing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-rousteing/) > [Everyone seems to assume that the unscrupulous parts of journalism will be the frivolous or jocular parts. This is against all ethical experience. Jokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/everyone-seems-to-assume-that-the-unscrupulous-parts-of-journalism/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) [Browse all 2,452 Assuming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God knows how many things a man misses by becoming smug and assuming that matters will take their own course.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Loren Eiseley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-by-becoming-smug-and-assuming/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assuming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-by-becoming-smug-and-assuming/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/loren-eiseley-3848_assuming_god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-b_1139096.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/loren-eiseley-3848_assuming_god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-b_1139096.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a46/loren-eiseley-3848_assuming_god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-b_1139096.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“God knows how many things a man misses by becoming smug and assuming that matters will take their own course.” — Loren Eiseley", "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": "Loren Eiseley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "God knows how many things a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-by-becoming-smug-and-assuming/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/god-knows-how-many-things-a-man-misses-by-becoming-smug-and-assuming/#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 } } ] } ```