--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One cannot change, that is to say become…" description: "\"One cannot change, that is to say become a different person, while continuing to acquiesce to the feelings of the person one has ceased to be.\" — Marce..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/marcel-proust-114_change_one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become_3151181.jpg" --- # One cannot change, that is to say become a different… ![“One cannot change, that is to say become a different person, while continuing to acquiesce to the feelings of the person one has ceased to be.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/marcel-proust-114_change_one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become_3151181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/marcel-proust-114_change_one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become_3151181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/marcel-proust-114_change_one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become_3151181.jpg) > “One cannot change, that is to say become a different person, while continuing to acquiesce to the feelings of the person one has ceased to be.” [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Changing identity while still obeying old emotional patterns is impossible; true change requires abandoning past selves. **In simple terms:** You cannot become someone new while still following old feelings. Key Takeaway Let go of past emotions to become a new person. Themes identity change self‑acceptance Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - relationship transitions Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What old feelings are you still obeying? - How can you release them? A Different Perspective People often cling to old feelings, hindering genuine transformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acquiesce Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquiesce-feelings-2023011/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-say-392351/) [Continuing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuing/) [Continuing Acquiesce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/continuing-acquiesce-2023010/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-person/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feelings Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-person-369590/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) ## Related quotes > [For one cannot change, that is to say become another person, while continuing to acquiesce to the feelings of the person one no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become-another-person-while/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Say my name, say my name If no one is around you Say, Baby, I love you If you ain't runnin' game Say my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny-s-child/say-my-name-say-my-name-if-no-one-is-around-you-say-baby-i-love-you-2/) [Destiny's Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny-s-child/) > [Say my name, say my name If no one is around you, say, Baby I love you If you ain't runnin' game Say my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny-s-child/say-my-name-say-my-name-if-no-one-is-around-you-say-baby-i-love-you/) [Destiny's Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny-s-child/) > [There's all kind of things going on in the world that I don't like but I can't change. But at least I can say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/there-s-all-kind-of-things-going-on-in-the-world-that-i-don-t-like/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [Before you talk - Listen It may change what you say. Before you react - Think It may change how you react. Before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/before-you-talk-listen-it-may-change-what-you-say-before-you-react/) [Unkown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unkown/) > [It is my duty to say: Something has to change. I say that very directly, in clear words so that nobody can misunderstand me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-macron/it-is-my-duty-to-say-something-has-to-change-i-say-that-very-directly/) [Emmanuel Macron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-macron/) > [If I were to give off-the-cuff advice to anyone trying to institute change, I would say, "How clear is the metaphor?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/if-i-were-to-give-off-the-cuff-advice-to-anyone-trying-to-institute/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [“I'd say..." Petra crossed her legs, tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. "I'd say, I am too fucking fabulous for one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-d-say-petra-crossed-her-legs-tucked-a-wayward-strand-of-hair-behind/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [We need to change what we say and what we allow to be said in front of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-need-to-change-what-we-say-and-what-we-allow-to-be-said-in-front/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [Never change yourself for anyone. If they say you need to change, they're probably the ones who need to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-change-yourself-for-anyone-if-they-say-you-need-to-change-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [His voice was soft and sweet as molasses; but my mother once told me that you had to trust that the first thing out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/his-voice-was-soft-and-sweet-as-molasses-but-my-mother-once-told-me/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Things always change and you can't ever say never, because you don't know what is around the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-pritchard/things-always-change-and-you-can-t-ever-say-never-because-you-don-t/) [A. J. Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-pritchard/) > [I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/i-cannot-say-whether-things-will-get-better-if-we-change-what-i-can/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [People say I change, and I say eff you! you didn't know me to begin with](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-say-i-change-and-i-say-eff-you-you-didn-t-know-me-to-begin-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody who says that money don't change you - they only say that because they don't make enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/anybody-who-says-that-money-don-t-change-you-they-only-say-that/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) ## More by Marcel Proust > [“machinery' of life at Versailles; and was able, too, to persuade herself that her silence, a shade of good humour or of arrogance on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/machinery-of-life-at-versailles-and-was-able-too-to-persuade-herself/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ “For her \[Françoise\], wealth was like a necessary condition without which virtue would lack both merit and charm. She made so little distinction between… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/for-her-fran-oise-wealth-was-like-a-necessary-condition-without-which/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Death is in truth an illness from which we recover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/death-is-in-truth-an-illness-from-which-we-recover/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The bonds that unite another person to our self exist only in our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-bonds-that-unite-another-person-to-our-self-exist-only-in-our-mind/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Art extracted from the most familiar reality does indeed exist and its domain is perhaps the largest of any.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/art-extracted-from-the-most-familiar-reality-does-indeed-exist-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I find very reasonable the Celtic belief that the souls of our dearly departed are trapped in some inferior being, in an animal, aplant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/i-find-very-reasonable-the-celtic-belief-that-the-souls-of-our-dearly/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When you heard anyone in the middle of a talk which was being deliberately kept off the Affair announce furtively some piece of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-you-heard-anyone-in-the-middle-of-a-talk-which-was-being/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“We betroth ourselves by proxy, and then feel obliged to marry the intermediary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/we-betroth-ourselves-by-proxy-and-then-feel-obliged-to-marry-the/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“But the old lady on the contrary, far from justifying her daughter’s fears, felt every time someone of her own age “disappeared” that she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/but-the-old-lady-on-the-contrary-far-from-justifying-her-daughter-s/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Often it is just lack of imagination that keeps a man from suffering very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/often-it-is-just-lack-of-imagination-that-keeps-a-man-from-suffering/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Nobility is often no more than the inner aspect which our egotistical feelings assume when we have not yet named and classified them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/nobility-is-often-no-more-than-the-inner-aspect-which-our-egotistical/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) [Explore all 1,113 Marcel Proust quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "One cannot change, that is to say become a different person, while continuing to acquiesce to the feelings of the person one has ceased to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcel Proust" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become-a-different-person-while/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become-a-different-person-while/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/marcel-proust-114_change_one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become_3151181.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/marcel-proust-114_change_one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become_3151181.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ada/marcel-proust-114_change_one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become_3151181.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One cannot change, that is to say become a different person, while continuing to acquiesce to the feelings…” — Marcel Proust", "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": "Marcel Proust", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One cannot change, that is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become-a-different-person-while/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/one-cannot-change-that-is-to-say-become-a-different-person-while/#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 } } ] } ```