---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being physically close to extreme power…"
description: "\"Being physically close to extreme power causes one to experience a giddiness, an intoxication.\" — Maya Angelou"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/maya-angelou-104_causes_being-physically-close-to-extreme-power_2074853.png"
---

#  Being physically close to extreme power causes one to…

![“Being physically close to extreme power causes one to experience a giddiness, an intoxication.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/maya-angelou-104_causes_being-physically-close-to-extreme-power_2074853.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/maya-angelou-104_causes_being-physically-close-to-extreme-power_2074853.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/maya-angelou-104_causes_being-physically-close-to-extreme-power_2074853.png)

> “Being physically close to extreme power causes one to experience a giddiness, an intoxication.”

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Close proximity to great power induces excitement and a sense of intoxication, highlighting the emotional impact of influence.

**In simple terms:** Power can be intoxicating.

Key Takeaway

Stay aware of how power affects emotions.

Themes

power emotion intoxication

Mood

cautionary reflective

Type

psychological social

When to use this quote

- leadership
- political activism
- personal ambition

Key Concepts

psychology social dynamics

Questions to Reflect On

- How does proximity to power change behavior?
- What safeguards prevent intoxication by power?

A Different Perspective

Power can also corrupt or overwhelm.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Experience Giddiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience-giddiness-4023435/) [Extreme Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extreme-power-4023434/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Giddiness Intoxication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giddiness-intoxication-4023433/) [Intoxication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intoxication/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Power Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-causes-2343332/)

## Related quotes

> [Electricity is the power that causes all natural phenomena not known to be caused by something else](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/electricity-is-the-power-that-causes-all-natural-phenomena-not-known/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [When contemplated in its extreme, almost any power looks dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/when-contemplated-in-its-extreme-almost-any-power-looks-dangerous/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [The states in which we infuse a transfiguration and a fullness into things and poetize about them until they reflect back our fullness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-states-in-which-we-infuse-a-transfiguration-and-a-fullness-into/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Happiness is like the first blissful intoxication of morphine.It doesn't last very long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-kay/happiness-is-like-the-first-blissful-intoxication-of-morphine-it/)

[Susan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-kay/)

> [You are the Essence of the Essence, The intoxication of Love. I long to sing Your Praises but stand mute with the agony of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-are-the-essence-of-the-essence-the-intoxication-of-love-i-long-to/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [“What are reason and sobriety without the knowledge of intoxication?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/what-are-reason-and-sobriety-without-the-knowledge-of-intoxication/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [The intoxication of the faro drinker only shows itself at first by an increase in noise which is only deafening, and finally by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-rard-de-nerval/the-intoxication-of-the-faro-drinker-only-shows-itself-at-first-by-an/)

[Gerard De Nerval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-rard-de-nerval/)

> [“How is intoxication (that “I Know”, “I am something”) recognized? It is when one says, ‘Yours is wrong’.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/how-is-intoxication-that-i-know-i-am-something-recognized-it-is-when/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [Every new generation in its hour of dawn, filled with the dreams of youth, its thirsts, intoxications and enthusiasms, thinks itself called upon to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignacy-jan-paderewski/every-new-generation-in-its-hour-of-dawn-filled-with-the-dreams-of/)

[Ignacy Jan Paderewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignacy-jan-paderewski/)

> [“If you have gotten bored with God, you have gotten disconnected with the most fascinating, intoxicating Person in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-toon/if-you-have-gotten-bored-with-god-you-have-gotten-disconnected-with/)

[Catherine Toon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-toon/)

> [For even the most childish intoxication with progress will soon be forced to recognize that writing and books have a function that is eternal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-even-the-most-childish-intoxication-with-progress-will-soon-be/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [Exultation is the going Of an inland soul to sea Past the houses, past the headlands Into deep eternity! Bred as we, among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/exultation-is-the-going-of-an-inland-soul-to-sea-past-the-houses-past/)

[Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/)

> [The delight in natural things - colors, forms, scents - when there was nothing to restrain or hamper it, has often been a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/the-delight-in-natural-things-colors-forms-scents-when-there-was/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [“Ô, Wanderess, Wanderess When did you feel your most euphoric kiss? Was I the source of your greatest bliss?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/wanderess-wanderess-when-did-you-feel-your-most-euphoric-kiss-was-i/)

[Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/)

> [I have sometimes thought that the laws ought not to punish those actions of evil which are committed when the senses are steeped in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-sometimes-thought-that-the-laws-ought-not-to-punish-those/)

[Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/)

## More by Maya Angelou

> [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

[Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

## More Causes quotes

> [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/)

[David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/)

> [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/)

[Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/)

> [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/)

[Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/)

> [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/)

[Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/)

> [Get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/)

[Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/)

> [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/)

[Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/)

> [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/)

[Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/)

> [I don't wear rubbers cause you can't catch it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/i-don-t-wear-rubbers-cause-you-can-t-catch-it-twice/)

[Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/)

> [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/)

[Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/)

> [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/)

[Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/)

> [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/)

[Eloise Greenfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eloise-greenfield/)

> [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/)

[Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/)

> [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/)

[Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/)

[Browse all 9,070 Causes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Being physically close to extreme power causes one to experience a giddiness, an intoxication.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Maya Angelou"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/being-physically-close-to-extreme-power-causes-one-to-experience-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Causes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/being-physically-close-to-extreme-power-causes-one-to-experience-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/maya-angelou-104_causes_being-physically-close-to-extreme-power_2074853.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/maya-angelou-104_causes_being-physically-close-to-extreme-power_2074853.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/890/maya-angelou-104_causes_being-physically-close-to-extreme-power_2074853.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Being physically close to extreme power causes one to experience a giddiness, an intoxication.” — Maya Angelou",
                "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": "Maya Angelou",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Being physically close to extreme power...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/being-physically-close-to-extreme-power-causes-one-to-experience-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/being-physically-close-to-extreme-power-causes-one-to-experience-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
