--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People wish to learn to swim and at the…" description: "\"People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep one foot on the ground.\" — Marcel Proust" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/marcel-proust-114_people_people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the_255696.jpg" --- # People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep… ![“People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep one foot on the ground.” quote by Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/marcel-proust-114_people_people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the_255696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/marcel-proust-114_people_people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the_255696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/marcel-proust-114_people_people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the_255696.jpg) > “People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep one foot on the ground.” [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. People desire progress while fearing loss of stability, creating a tension between ambition and security. **In simple terms:** Wanting growth but staying safe. Key Takeaway Balance risk with grounding. Themes ambition security balance fear of change Mood reflective motivational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - starting a business - learning new skills - personal development Key Concepts psychological conflict growth mindset risk management Questions to Reflect On - What holds you back from taking a leap? - How can you stay grounded while pursuing new goals? A Different Perspective Excessive caution can prevent necessary growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [In one session, I saw a lady and a man learn to swim for the first time. Within an hour, the man swam front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gethin-jones/in-one-session-i-saw-a-lady-and-a-man-learn-to-swim-for-the-first/) [Gethin Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gethin-jones/) > [I often feel like saying, when I hear the question 'People aren't ready,' that it's like telling a person who is trying to swim,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-often-feel-like-saying-when-i-hear-the-question-people-aren-t-ready/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“You don't really learn how to swim until you're thrown to the sharks. (Lauren)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priscilla-glen/you-don-t-really-learn-how-to-swim-until-you-re-thrown-to-the-sharks/) Priscilla Glen > [I will always take on a new challenge. I believe in jumping off the ship every now and then. If you don't, you won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-broers-alec-broers/i-will-always-take-on-a-new-challenge-i-believe-in-jumping-off-the/) Baron Broers Alec Broers > [Learn to swim. I'll see you down in Arizona Bay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/learn-to-swim-i-ll-see-you-down-in-arizona-bay/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [Challenge yourself, jump off the deep end and learn to swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-kressley/challenge-yourself-jump-off-the-deep-end-and-learn-to-swim/) [Carson Kressley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-kressley/) > [Learn to swim. It is a sport all the peasants can play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/learn-to-swim-it-is-a-sport-all-the-peasants-can-play/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [All Norwegian children learn to swim when they are very young because if you can't swim it is difficult to find a place to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/all-norwegian-children-learn-to-swim-when-they-are-very-young-because/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [First and foremost, it's paramount for young child to learn how to swim, and the best place for that to happen is at primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-pascoe/first-and-foremost-it-s-paramount-for-young-child-to-learn-how-to/) [Sophie Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-pascoe/) > [My parents wanted us to be pool-safe, so I had lessons when I was 18 months old. I would like to share with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-sanders/my-parents-wanted-us-to-be-pool-safe-so-i-had-lessons-when-i-was-18/) [Summer Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-sanders/) > [I didn't learn to swim until I was 21 or something because I grew up in the mountains in Wyoming and all the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-didn-t-learn-to-swim-until-i-was-21-or-something-because-i-grew-up/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I started at a 'learn to swim' scheme when I was about five-years-old. I did it to learn water safety, but it was fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-tancock/i-started-at-a-learn-to-swim-scheme-when-i-was-about-five-years-old-i/) [Liam Tancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-tancock/) > [I had a lot of ear infections when I was younger, so I didn't learn to swim until I was about 14.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-had-a-lot-of-ear-infections-when-i-was-younger-so-i-didn-t-learn-to/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [My mother had been adamant that I learn how to swim properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ketanji-brown-jackson/my-mother-had-been-adamant-that-i-learn-how-to-swim-properly/) [Ketanji Brown Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ketanji-brown-jackson/) > [A child who goes to school but learns nothing is like an anchor that is always in the sea yet doesnt learn to swim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-child-who-goes-to-school-but-learns-nothing-is-like-an-anchor-that/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## 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 People quotes > [If I am going to be phased out by whatever powers, then I want people to know that it is not because I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvathy/if-i-am-going-to-be-phased-out-by-whatever-powers-then-i-want-people/) [Parvathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvathy/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) [Browse all 211,607 People quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep one foot on the ground.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marcel Proust" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the-same-time-to-keep-one-foot-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "People" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the-same-time-to-keep-one-foot-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/marcel-proust-114_people_people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the_255696.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/marcel-proust-114_people_people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the_255696.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/marcel-proust-114_people_people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the_255696.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep one foot on the ground.” — 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": "People wish to learn to swim...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the-same-time-to-keep-one-foot-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/people-wish-to-learn-to-swim-and-at-the-same-time-to-keep-one-foot-on/#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 } } ] } ```