--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The whole world can't lick us but we can…" description: "\"The whole world can't lick us but we can lick ourselves by longing too hard for things we haven't got any more - and by remembering too much.\" — Margar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/margaret-mitchell-692_longing_the-whole-world-can-t-lick-us-but-we-can_592165.jpg" --- # The whole world can't lick us but we can lick ourselves by… ![“The whole world can't lick us but we can lick ourselves by longing too hard for things we haven't got any more - and by remembering too much.” quote by Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/margaret-mitchell-692_longing_the-whole-world-can-t-lick-us-but-we-can_592165.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/margaret-mitchell-692_longing_the-whole-world-can-t-lick-us-but-we-can_592165.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/margaret-mitchell-692_longing_the-whole-world-can-t-lick-us-but-we-can_592165.jpg) > “The whole world can't lick us but we can lick ourselves by longing too hard for things we haven't got any more - and by remembering too much.” [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often suffer from yearning for unattainable desires and dwelling on past memories, which prevents us from appreciating the present. **In simple terms:** Longing for what we lack blinds us to now. Key Takeaway Release attachment to unmet wishes. Themes desire memory contentment Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationship relationships - personal growth - mental health - self‑care Key Concepts attachment nostalgia mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What can you let go of today? - How does longing affect your happiness? A Different Perspective Focusing on the past can hinder present joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Whole world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/three-passions-simple-but-overwhelmingly-strong-have-governed-my-life/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Remembering you is easy, I do it every day. 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I’ll do today, glancing up and remembering a race is completed the same way this book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-allen/even-though-every-piece-of-today-feels-small-i-ll-do-today-glancing/) [Jennie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-allen/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) ## More by Margaret Mitchell > [I won't think of it now. I can't stand it now. I'll think of it later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-won-t-think-of-it-now-i-can-t-stand-it-now-i-ll-think-of-it-later/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“I don't want any money for it," he said. "It's a gift." Scarlett's mouth dropped open. 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We all don't think alike or act alike and it's wrong to-to judge others by ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/people-must-do-what-they-must-do-we-all-don-t-think-alike-or-act/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [All you have done is to be different from other women and you have made a little success of it. This is unforgivable sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/all-you-have-done-is-to-be-different-from-other-women-and-you-have/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“She felt puzzled and ashamed, as always when people attributed to her emotions and motives they possessed and thought she shared.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/she-felt-puzzled-and-ashamed-as-always-when-people-attributed-to-her/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“I do not want to marry you or anyone else. I am not a marrying man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/i-do-not-want-to-marry-you-or-anyone-else-i-am-not-a-marrying-man/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) [Explore all 391 Margaret Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) ## More Longing quotes > [At the centre of the human heart is the longing for an absolute good, a longing which is always there and is never appeased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/at-the-centre-of-the-human-heart-is-the-longing-for-an-absolute-good/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“Haunted by the longing to feel something real, deep and magical; I searched for a shared ecstasy... that's when you came along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/haunted-by-the-longing-to-feel-something-real-deep-and-magical-i/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [Sometimes it has to do with other longings that are much more existential. 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