--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we want things to be okay, we will…" description: "\"If we want things to be okay, we will have to make things okay.\" — Mohsin Hamid" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/mohsin-hamid-798_ifs_if-we-want-things-to-be-okay-we-will-hav_1403669.jpg" --- # If we want things to be okay, we will have to make things… ![“If we want things to be okay, we will have to make things okay.” quote by Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/mohsin-hamid-798_ifs_if-we-want-things-to-be-okay-we-will-hav_1403669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/mohsin-hamid-798_ifs_if-we-want-things-to-be-okay-we-will-hav_1403669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/116/mohsin-hamid-798_ifs_if-we-want-things-to-be-okay-we-will-hav_1403669.jpg) > “If we want things to be okay, we will have to make things okay.” [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We must actively create conditions for well‑being rather than hoping they happen on their own. **In simple terms:** Make things okay by making them okay. Key Takeaway Take responsibility for improving situations. Themes responsibility proactivity well‑being Mood hopeful determined Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - community projects - policy making - personal relationships Key Concepts social change agency collective action Questions to Reflect On - What can you do today to improve a situation? - Who benefits when you take action? A Different Perspective Idealism may overlook systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Make Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-things-332310/) [Okay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/okay/) [Okay Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/okay-make-2991170/) [Things Okay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-okay-1117739/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-things-256643/) ## Related quotes > [My dear, Everything will be okay,If you make it okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/my-dear-everything-will-be-okay-if-you-make-it-okay/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [You can feel a lot of things, and that's okay. Channel that into your passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aloe-blacc/you-can-feel-a-lot-of-things-and-that-s-okay-channel-that-into-your/) [Aloe Blacc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aloe-blacc/) > [“Because…you can't, okay? You can't make someone do something like that, not if they don't want to. It isn't worth shit if you do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kit-rocha/because-you-can-t-okay-you-can-t-make-someone-do-something-like-that/) [Kit Rocha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kit-rocha/) > [I figure it's okay to make certain rules, whether or not people despise you for it at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-oldham/i-figure-it-s-okay-to-make-certain-rules-whether-or-not-people/) [Will Oldham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-oldham/) > [It's okay to make mistakes, as long as you don't make them again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/it-s-okay-to-make-mistakes-as-long-as-you-don-t-make-them-again/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [“Most things will be okay eventually, but not everything will be. Sometimes you’ll put up a good fight and lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/most-things-will-be-okay-eventually-but-not-everything-will-be-2/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [I tried to tell them that things would be okay, but I didn't believe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-tried-to-tell-them-that-things-would-be-okay-but-i-didn-t-believe-it/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Trust that things will be okay - especially if you put in the time and effort to make them be okay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/trust-that-things-will-be-okay-especially-if-you-put-in-the-time-and/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [I love my mom. And this time, I told her I loved her. And she told me she loved me, too. 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Dont be the only one trying to make things okay.. Obviously its not worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/there-s-always-a-time-to-let-go-dont-be-the-only-one-trying-to-make/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) ## More by Mohsin Hamid > [Pakistan now is like a horror film franchise. You know, it's 'Friday the 13th, Episode 63: The Terrorist from Pakistan.' And each time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/pakistan-now-is-like-a-horror-film-franchise-you-know-it-s-friday-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“I met her eyes, and for the first time I perceived that there was something broken behind them, like a tiny crack in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-met-her-eyes-and-for-the-first-time-i-perceived-that-there-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“muscularity, made more pronounced by her gauntness, and the near-inanimate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/muscularity-made-more-pronounced-by-her-gauntness-and-the-near/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“In this group, everyone was foreign, and so, in a sense, no one was.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/in-this-group-everyone-was-foreign-and-so-in-a-sense-no-one-was/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“It seemed to me then - and to be honest, sir, seems to me still - that America was engaged only in posturing. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/it-seemed-to-me-then-and-to-be-honest-sir-seems-to-me-still-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the uncertain future becomes the past, the past in turn becomes uncertain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-uncertain-future-becomes-the-past-the-past-in-turn-becomes/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [When the machine of a human being is turned on, it seems to produce a protagonist, just as a television produces an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/when-the-machine-of-a-human-being-is-turned-on-it-seems-to-produce-a/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“Often, during my stay in your country, such comparisons troubled me. In fact, they did more than trouble me: they made me resentful. Four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/often-during-my-stay-in-your-country-such-comparisons-troubled-me-in/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Americans need to educate themselves, from elementary school onward, about what their country has done abroad. And they need to play a more active…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/americans-need-to-educate-themselves-from-elementary-school-onward/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I'm not a representative of Pakistan; I'm just an example that Pakistanis are different from each other. I believe it in my fiction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-m-not-a-representative-of-pakistan-i-m-just-an-example-that/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“end of a couple is like a death, and the notion of death, of temporariness, can remind us of the value of things,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/end-of-a-couple-is-like-a-death-and-the-notion-of-death-of/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [NYC doesn't have a big sign saying "You must love diversity and the rights of all people." And that's not what makes you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/nyc-doesn-t-have-a-big-sign-saying-you-must-love-diversity-and-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) [Explore all 361 Mohsin Hamid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More Ifs quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [If I don't have pressure, I don't function.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferran-adria/if-i-don-t-have-pressure-i-don-t-function/) [Ferran Adria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferran-adria/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [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/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. 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