--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The way to bring about change is to be…" description: "\"The way to bring about change is to be proactive and active.\" — Octavia Spencer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/octavia-spencer-6802_active_the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-p_487026.jpg" --- # The way to bring about change is to be proactive and active. ![“The way to bring about change is to be proactive and active.” quote by Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/octavia-spencer-6802_active_the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-p_487026.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/octavia-spencer-6802_active_the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-p_487026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/octavia-spencer-6802_active_the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-p_487026.jpg) > “The way to bring about change is to be proactive and active.” [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Change requires active, forward‑thinking effort rather than passive waiting. **In simple terms:** Be proactive to create change. Key Takeaway Take initiative and act deliberately. Themes activism personal growth leadership Mood motivational determined Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - community organizing - career development - personal habit formation Key Concepts proactivity agency social impact Questions to Reflect On - What proactive steps can you take today? - How do you sustain momentum? A Different Perspective May underestimate systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) [Bring Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bring-change/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change Proactive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-proactive-2295652/) [Proactive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proactive/) [Proactive Active](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proactive-active-4176257/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [Anytime we think the problem is 'out there,' that thought is the problem. We empower what's out there to control us. The change paradigm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/anytime-we-think-the-problem-is-out-there-that-thought-is-the-problem-3/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Circumstances change and you have to be proactive about changing with those circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-depodesta/circumstances-change-and-you-have-to-be-proactive-about-changing-with/) [Paul DePodesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-depodesta/) > [I don't have one role that I want to play. I guess... I want to be a producer. I want to be an activist.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/i-don-t-have-one-role-that-i-want-to-play-i-guess-i-want-to-be-a/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Too often we forget that social and political movements don't happen overnight. They don't bring change immediately - you have to build a critical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/too-often-we-forget-that-social-and-political-movements-don-t-happen/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [What a liberal really wants is to bring about change that will not in any way endanger his position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stokely-carmichael/what-a-liberal-really-wants-is-to-bring-about-change-that-will-not-in/) [Stokely Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stokely-carmichael/) > [Many of my colleagues and I do films, which push the envelope and try to bring some change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranvir-shorey/many-of-my-colleagues-and-i-do-films-which-push-the-envelope-and-try/) [Ranvir Shorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranvir-shorey/) > [Cursing something wrong won't but taking actions against that wrong will bring a change. \*senora\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/cursing-something-wrong-won-t-but-taking-actions-against-that-wrong/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [“Be the action and bring the change. Leave the rest to the law of causality. Be bold enough to cause something to happen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/be-the-action-and-bring-the-change-leave-the-rest-to-the-law-of/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [If you are sincere to your work, and if you are sincere in your desire to bring about change in society, the audience will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoj-kumar/if-you-are-sincere-to-your-work-and-if-you-are-sincere-in-your-desire/) [Manoj Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manoj-kumar/) > [Ordinary people can bring about change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/ordinary-people-can-bring-about-change/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [“We can only change and bring about change if we can genuinely open our minds to new thoughts and possibilities, for everyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-marie-slaughter/we-can-only-change-and-bring-about-change-if-we-can-genuinely-open/) [Anne-Marie Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-marie-slaughter/) > [“Don’t be the change, bring the change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/don-t-be-the-change-bring-the-change/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [People want change. How is Barack going to do it? I think McCain can bring change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-baldwin/people-want-change-how-is-barack-going-to-do-it-i-think-mccain-can/) [Stephen Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-baldwin/) > [We need to put an end to discrimination against women, and the power to bring about this change lies in our hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shruti-haasan/we-need-to-put-an-end-to-discrimination-against-women-and-the-power/) [Shruti Haasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shruti-haasan/) > [We don't ask you to believe in our ability to bring change, rather, we ask you to believe in yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-don-t-ask-you-to-believe-in-our-ability-to-bring-change-rather-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) ## More by Octavia Spencer > [There are enough negative images of Black women out there and I did not want to portray Dorothy Vaughn in any stereotype. I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/there-are-enough-negative-images-of-black-women-out-there-and-i-did/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Our challenges make us unique, and how we deal with them makes us unique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/our-challenges-make-us-unique-and-how-we-deal-with-them-makes-us/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Because we all come from different circumstances, our life experiences really color how we view things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/because-we-all-come-from-different-circumstances-our-life-experiences/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [The things that scare you only make you better and stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/the-things-that-scare-you-only-make-you-better-and-stronger/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Every character I get to play has some element of who I am, but there's no fun in playing yourself. At least, for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/every-character-i-get-to-play-has-some-element-of-who-i-am-but-there/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [Meeting Oprah Winfrey, I cried like a baby. Meeting Steven Spielberg, I cried like a baby. Meeting Denzel Washington, I gushed like a crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/meeting-oprah-winfrey-i-cried-like-a-baby-meeting-steven-spielberg-i/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [I do believe that everyone has something to contribute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/i-do-believe-that-everyone-has-something-to-contribute/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [I can only be the best version of myself and understand that the only way that we as a people can heal is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/i-can-only-be-the-best-version-of-myself-and-understand-that-the-only/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [The first time I saw E.T., the actual image of an alien, and he was so sweet-looking. I wanted him. I wanted E.T.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/the-first-time-i-saw-e-t-the-actual-image-of-an-alien-and-he-was-so/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [There is one thing about knowing history, and another in recreating it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/there-is-one-thing-about-knowing-history-and-another-in-recreating-it/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [I'm an actor and I am looking for roles where I can continue to evolve, and things that are challenging. I gravitate to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/i-m-an-actor-and-i-am-looking-for-roles-where-i-can-continue-to/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [I look for roles that resonate with me these days. While I love putting out just fabulous entertainment, I think now as artists, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/i-look-for-roles-that-resonate-with-me-these-days-while-i-love/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [At 21, you can live life with reckless abandon, as reckless as your abandon is. Then, at 30, there's something there are the supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/at-21-you-can-live-life-with-reckless-abandon-as-reckless-as-your/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [As an actor, I've learned to become a detective. You have to figure out who that person is. If the character is a thief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/as-an-actor-i-ve-learned-to-become-a-detective-you-have-to-figure-out/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) > [I'm glad that I get to take my final walk as the princess of 2012. ...there's nothing wrong with winning an Oscar!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/i-m-glad-that-i-get-to-take-my-final-walk-as-the-princess-of-2012/) [Octavia Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) [Explore all 97 Octavia Spencer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/) ## More Active quotes > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [we need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. for in the center we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/we-need-not-avoid-our-active-lives-but-simply-bring-to-them-a-new/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [Nothing is worse than active ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/nothing-is-worse-than-active-ignorance/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I eat healthy most of the time. Whole foods are the best for you when you are super active, so I get plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witney-carson/i-eat-healthy-most-of-the-time-whole-foods-are-the-best-for-you-when/) [Witney Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witney-carson/) > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Love, like truth and beauty, is concrete. Love is not fundamentally a sweet feeling; not, at heart, a matter of sentiment, attachment, or being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/love-like-truth-and-beauty-is-concrete-love-is-not-fundamentally-a/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [I stayed in L.A. long enough to get on my feet, and then I moved back to New York. The reason I moved here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-stayed-in-l-a-long-enough-to-get-on-my-feet-and-then-i-moved-back/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [The answer to any challenge you are having has nothing to do with God's willingness to help. It has to do with your acceptance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/the-answer-to-any-challenge-you-are-having-has-nothing-to-do-with-god/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [There is an enemy. There is an intelligent, active, malign force working against us. Step one is to recognize this. This recognition alone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-is-an-enemy-there-is-an-intelligent-active-malign-force-working/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/few-if-any-creatures-are-equally-active-all-night/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [You need to enjoy yourself and just get into the routine of keeping fit and enjoying being active. That's always easier once you've made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-brownlee/you-need-to-enjoy-yourself-and-just-get-into-the-routine-of-keeping/) [Alistair Brownlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-brownlee/) [Browse all 2,212 Active quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/active/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The way to bring about change is to be proactive and active.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Octavia Spencer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-proactive-and-active/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Active" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-proactive-and-active/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/octavia-spencer-6802_active_the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-p_487026.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/octavia-spencer-6802_active_the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-p_487026.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42a/octavia-spencer-6802_active_the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-p_487026.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The way to bring about change is to be proactive and active.” — Octavia Spencer", "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": "Octavia Spencer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-spencer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The way to bring about change...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-proactive-and-active/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-spencer/the-way-to-bring-about-change-is-to-be-proactive-and-active/#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 } } ] } ```