--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And that the surest way to bring…" description: "\"“And that the surest way to bring destruction upon the things she wanted was to want them in the first place. Her”\" — Molly O'Keefe" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/molly-o-keefe-38316_first-place_and-that-the-surest-way-to-bring-destruc_2204728.jpg" --- # And that the surest way to bring destruction upon the… ![“And that the surest way to bring destruction upon the things she wanted was to want them in the first place. Her” quote by Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/molly-o-keefe-38316_first-place_and-that-the-surest-way-to-bring-destruc_2204728.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/molly-o-keefe-38316_first-place_and-that-the-surest-way-to-bring-destruc_2204728.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88b/molly-o-keefe-38316_first-place_and-that-the-surest-way-to-bring-destruc_2204728.jpg) > ““And that the surest way to bring destruction upon the things she wanted was to want them in the first place. Her”” [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desire can become a self‑fulfilling path to ruin when we cling to what we wish for without restraint. **In simple terms:** Wanting something too fiercely can cause its downfall. Key Takeaway Beware of obsessive longing. Themes desire self‑sabotage control Mood reflective melancholic Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - career ambitions - personal goals - material pursuits Key Concepts psychology attachment consequences Questions to Reflect On - Do you notice when desire harms you? - How can you love without clinging? A Different Perspective If the object is unattainable, desire may only cause pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bring Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bring-destruction-1384162/) [Destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) [Destruction Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction-things-4857100/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Things Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-wanted-570085/) [Wanted Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted-want-402428/) ## Related quotes > [To bring about destruction by overcrowding, mass starvation, anarchy, the destruction of our most cherished values, there is no need to do anything. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/to-bring-about-destruction-by-overcrowding-mass-starvation-anarchy/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [We must confront this Zionist entity. All ties of all kinds must be severed with this plundering criminal entity, which is supported by America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-morsi/we-must-confront-this-zionist-entity-all-ties-of-all-kinds-must-be/) [Mohammed Morsi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-morsi/) > [“People living in the vanity of their own mind not only destroy themselves, but far too often, they bring destruction to others around them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/people-living-in-the-vanity-of-their-own-mind-not-only-destroy/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [“If you are clever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I shall do as much to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/if-you-are-clever-enough-to-bring-destruction-upon-me-rest-assured/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“When your old enemy came on your land, wont bring anything to you except destruction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamaran-ihsan-salih/when-your-old-enemy-came-on-your-land-wont-bring-anything-to-you/) [Kamaran Ihsan Salih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamaran-ihsan-salih/) > [As if a woman of education bought things because she wanted 'em.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-vanbrugh/as-if-a-woman-of-education-bought-things-because-she-wanted-em/) [John Vanbrugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-vanbrugh/) > [That's the worst of growing up, and I'm beginning to realize it. The things you wanted so much when you were a child don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-s-the-worst-of-growing-up-and-i-m-beginning-to-realize-it-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are things I have wanted so long that I would only consent to have them if I could keep wanting them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-are-things-i-have-wanted-so-long-that-i-would-only-consent-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [“Do the things that you always wanted to, without me there to hold you back, don't think just do, more than anything I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snow-patrol/do-the-things-that-you-always-wanted-to-without-me-there-to-hold-you/) [Snow Patrol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snow-patrol/) > [“lanCe Couldn’t find a store in His sCHool distriCt tHat sold the things he wanted. Which was probably a good thing. A sexual fetish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lance-couldn-t-find-a-store-in-his-school-district-that-sold-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“but it was better not to speak of the things you wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/but-it-was-better-not-to-speak-of-the-things-you-wanted/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Des, who brought me things I wanted (tulips, wine) to make me do the things he wanted (love him). Nick just wanted me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/des-who-brought-me-things-i-wanted-tulips-wine-to-make-me-do-the/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“All that I wanted was to tempt into life things that wanted to come out of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/all-that-i-wanted-was-to-tempt-into-life-things-that-wanted-to-come/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [So with 'Ascent,' one of the things I wanted to do was not make it too remote from the reader, for it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mercurio/so-with-ascent-one-of-the-things-i-wanted-to-do-was-not-make-it-too/) [Jed Mercurio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mercurio/) > [“But sometimes, the things you wanted most were the things that would destroy you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-eden/but-sometimes-the-things-you-wanted-most-were-the-things-that-would/) [Cynthia Eden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-eden/) ## More by Molly O'Keefe > [“His uselessness ached. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/his-uselessness-ached-the/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“I know you want me to leave. I understand that. But I can’t, princess … You’re pregnant. And you’re alone.” “Lots of women have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/i-know-you-want-me-to-leave-i-understand-that-but-i-can-t-princess/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“It was him and it was me and it was nothing else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/it-was-him-and-it-was-me-and-it-was-nothing-else/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“We were two fucking animals eyeing each other up. It shouldn’t be sexy. But it was. Because it was dangerous and wrong and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/we-were-two-fucking-animals-eyeing-each-other-up-it-shouldn-t-be-sexy/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“Her dreams had not survived her dreaming them; they’d been broken and repaired, only to be smashed again and again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/her-dreams-had-not-survived-her-dreaming-them-they-d-been-broken-and/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“From the pocket of her robe she pulled out the ring he’d given her, she put it over her finger, sliding it back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/from-the-pocket-of-her-robe-she-pulled-out-the-ring-he-d-given-her/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“There are worse things than love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/there-are-worse-things-than-love/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“I walked toward the bar where The Reader sat turning pages, a cup of coffee at his elbow. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/i-walked-toward-the-bar-where-the-reader-sat-turning-pages-a-cup-of/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“A rage so sharp it turned to grief. A grief so big it turned to rage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/a-rage-so-sharp-it-turned-to-grief-a-grief-so-big-it-turned-to-rage/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“The world issued an open invitation to humanity to fail itself. To be selfish and small. Mean, even evil at times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/the-world-issued-an-open-invitation-to-humanity-to-fail-itself-to-be/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) > [“Love. Forgiveness. Commitment. Faith. Hope. They are simple things with yes or no answers. You love or you don’t. You believe or you don’t.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-o-keefe/love-forgiveness-commitment-faith-hope-they-are-simple-things-with/) [Molly O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) [Explore all 12 Molly O'Keefe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-o-keefe/) ## More Destruction quotes > [For not only every democracy, but certainly every republic, bears within itself the seeds of its own destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-not-only-every-democracy-but-certainly-every-republic-bears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Death is but an aspect of life, and the destruction of one material form is but a prelude to building up of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-is-but-an-aspect-of-life-and-the-destruction-of-one-material/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hundreds of millions of human beings on our planet increasingly suffer from unemployment, poverty, hunger, and the destruction of their families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-kung/hundreds-of-millions-of-human-beings-on-our-planet-increasingly/) [Hans Kung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-kung/) > [Away with you, water, destruction of wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catullus/away-with-you-water-destruction-of-wine/) [Catullus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catullus/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ No visiting angel, or explorer from another planet, could have guessed that this bland orb \[Earth\] teemed with vermin, with world-mastering, self-torturing, incipiently angelic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/no-visiting-angel-or-explorer-from-another-planet-could-have-guessed/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? I think what it means is that central to living a life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“We're on the eve of destruction. Men have lost all sense of honor. Power has become their faith instead of faith being their power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atiq-rahimi/we-re-on-the-eve-of-destruction-men-have-lost-all-sense-of-honor/) [Atiq Rahimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atiq-rahimi/) [Browse all 3,161 Destruction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destruction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And that the surest way to bring destruction upon the things she wanted was to want them in the first place. 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