--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you form the habit of taking what…" description: "\"If you form the habit of taking what someone else says about a thing without checking it out for yourself, you'll find that other people will have you ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/malcolm-x-213_enemies_if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-som_2283691.jpg" --- # If you form the habit of taking what someone else says… ![“If you form the habit of taking what someone else says about a thing without checking it out for yourself, you'll find that other people will have you hating your friends and loving your enemies.” quote by Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/malcolm-x-213_enemies_if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-som_2283691.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/malcolm-x-213_enemies_if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-som_2283691.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/malcolm-x-213_enemies_if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-som_2283691.jpg) > “If you form the habit of taking what someone else says about a thing without checking it out for yourself, you'll find that other people will have you hating your friends and loving your enemies.” [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uncritically accepting others' statements leads to hatred of friends and love of enemies; verify information yourself. **In simple terms:** Verify info, avoid bias. Key Takeaway Think critically before believing. Themes critical thinking trust information social dynamics Mood cautionary analytical thoughtful Type educational psychological When to use this quote - political debates - social media - personal relationships Key Concepts media literacy psychology of persuasion Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify claims you hear? - What impact does blind trust have on friendships? A Different Perspective Might cause paranoia or distrust if overapplied. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Loving your enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-your-enemies/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Hating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-hating/) ## Related quotes > [Loving Your Enemies... Far from being the pious injunction of a utopian dreamer, this demand is an absolute necessity for the survival of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/loving-your-enemies-far-from-being-the-pious-injunction-of-a-utopian/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Instead of loving your enemies, have no enemies to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-macdonald/instead-of-loving-your-enemies-have-no-enemies-to-love/) [Norm MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-macdonald/) > [Loving your enemies does not mean you have to agree with or accept what they do. You can still love all of mankind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-jane-andrews-hoey/loving-your-enemies-does-not-mean-you-have-to-agree-with-or-accept/) Bethany Jane Andrews Hoey > [Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, Love your enemies. It is this: that love has within it a redemptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-there-is-a-final-reason-i-think-that-jesus-says-love-your-enemies-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Happiness is loving your enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happiness-is-loving-your-enemies/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Instead of loving your enemies - treat your friends a little better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-loving-your-enemies-treat-your-friends-a-little-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It feels great to think that despite all the people who are hating you and your friends, you still manage to have a strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-feels-great-to-think-that-despite-all-the-people-who-are-hating/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Loving your enemy is a radical concept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavis-smiley/loving-your-enemy-is-a-radical-concept/) [Tavis Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavis-smiley/) > [I agree with your remark about loving your enemy as far as actions are concerned. But for me the cognitive basis is the trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-agree-with-your-remark-about-loving-your-enemy-as-far-as-actions/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [This question, Is loving your enemy a life practice?, I like that question. It is a life practice, certainly, for everyone. It relates to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/this-question-is-loving-your-enemy-a-life-practice-i-like-that/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [When I say I love Eastland, it sounds preposterous a man who brutalizes people. But you love him or you wouldn't be here. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-rustin/when-i-say-i-love-eastland-it-sounds-preposterous-a-man-who/) [Bayard Rustin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-rustin/) > [You take up energy towards someone because you think loving your enemy doesn't just mean caving into your enemy. It means first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-thurman/you-take-up-energy-towards-someone-because-you-think-loving-your/) [Robert Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-thurman/) > [If one takes a public stand against, say, most any sin you can think of, one is considered "courageous" and a "defender of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-l-corey/if-one-takes-a-public-stand-against-say-most-any-sin-you-can-think-of/) [Benjamin L. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-l-corey/) > [I know that you cannot hate other people without hating yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/i-know-that-you-cannot-hate-other-people-without-hating-yourself/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/hate-multiplies-hate-violence-multiplies-violence-and-toughness/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More by Malcolm X > [If Christianity had asserted itself in Germany, six million Jews would have lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-christianity-had-asserted-itself-in-germany-six-million-jews-would/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Be nonviolent only with those who are nonviolent to you. And when you can bring me a nonviolent racist, bring me a nonviolent segregationist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/be-nonviolent-only-with-those-who-are-nonviolent-to-you-and-when-you/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [You can't legislate good will - that comes through education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/you-can-t-legislate-good-will-that-comes-through-education/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Truth is on the side of the oppressed today, it's against the oppressor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/truth-is-on-the-side-of-the-oppressed-today-it-s-against-the-oppressor/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [We Muslims believe that the white race, which is guilty of having oppressed and exploited and enslaved our people here in America, should and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/we-muslims-believe-that-the-white-race-which-is-guilty-of-having/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I mean a real police state just to get a token recognition of a law. It take, it took, I think, 15,000 troops and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-mean-a-real-police-state-just-to-get-a-token-recognition-of-a-law/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Like Samson, I am ready to pull down the white man's temple, knowing full well that I will be destroyed by the falling rubble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/like-samson-i-am-ready-to-pull-down-the-white-man-s-temple-knowing/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Any negro who occupies a position that was given to him by the white man, if you analyze his function, his function never enables…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/any-negro-who-occupies-a-position-that-was-given-to-him-by-the-white/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Stumbling is not falling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/stumbling-is-not-falling/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [God is going to punish the white man for his misdeeds toward black people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/god-is-going-to-punish-the-white-man-for-his-misdeeds-toward-black/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Much of what I say might sound like it's stirring up trouble, but it's the truth!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/much-of-what-i-say-might-sound-like-it-s-stirring-up-trouble-but-it-s/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I believe in the brotherhood of all men, but I don't believe in wasting brotherhood on anyone who doesn't want to practice it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-believe-in-the-brotherhood-of-all-men-but-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) [Explore all 891 Malcolm X quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) ## More Enemies quotes > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) A.K. Hasan > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“If it takes night to make day, pain to know pleasure, black to make white, then doesn't it stand to reason that the depth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-snyder/if-it-takes-night-to-make-day-pain-to-know-pleasure-black-to-make/) Michael Snyder > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) > [Your greatest weapon is your enemies mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddha/your-greatest-weapon-is-your-enemies-mind/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddha/) > [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [Sometimes even paranoids have enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delmore-schwartz/sometimes-even-paranoids-have-enemies/) [Delmore Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/delmore-schwartz/) > [When a husband brings his wife flowers for no reason, there's a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-mcgee/when-a-husband-brings-his-wife-flowers-for-no-reason-there-s-a-reason/) Molly McGee > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [“Anyone who is portraying Israel as a friend is a servant of Israel. I warn some sides against turning enemies into friends and friends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/anyone-who-is-portraying-israel-as-a-friend-is-a-servant-of-israel-i/) [Sayed Hassan Nasrallah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayed-hassan-nasrallah/) > [No accurate thinker will judge another person by that which the other person's enemies say about him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/no-accurate-thinker-will-judge-another-person-by-that-which-the-other/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Whoever will not love his enemies cannot know the Lord and the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silouan-the-athonite/whoever-will-not-love-his-enemies-cannot-know-the-lord-and-the/) [Silouan the Athonite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silouan-the-athonite/) > [I play basketball hard-nosed and if you're not on my team, during that 48 minutes we're enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-barnes/i-play-basketball-hard-nosed-and-if-you-re-not-on-my-team-during-that/) [Matt Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-barnes/) > [“Enemies are people who's story you haven't heard, or who's face you haven't seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irene-butter/enemies-are-people-who-s-story-you-haven-t-heard-or-who-s-face-you/) Irene Butter > [A sweet thing, perspective - a chance to see your enemies so small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/a-sweet-thing-perspective-a-chance-to-see-your-enemies-so-small/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) [Browse all 1,888 Enemies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you form the habit of taking what someone else says about a thing without checking it out for yourself, you'll find that other people will have you hating your friends and loving your enemies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Malcolm X" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-someone-else-says-about-a-thing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemies" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-someone-else-says-about-a-thing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/malcolm-x-213_enemies_if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-som_2283691.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/malcolm-x-213_enemies_if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-som_2283691.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb0/malcolm-x-213_enemies_if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-som_2283691.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you form the habit of taking what someone else says about a thing without checking it out for yourself…” — Malcolm X", "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": "Malcolm X", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you form the habit of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-someone-else-says-about-a-thing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-you-form-the-habit-of-taking-what-someone-else-says-about-a-thing/#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 } } ] } ```