---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is more powerful than custom or…"
description: "\"Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.\" — Ovid"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/ovid-276_culture_nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or_563050.png"
---

#  Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.

![“Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.” quote by Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/ovid-276_culture_nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or_563050.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/ovid-276_culture_nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or_563050.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/ovid-276_culture_nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or_563050.png)

> “Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.”

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

## About This Quote

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

Customs and habits shape behavior more than any external force.

**In simple terms:** Habits are powerful.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate good habits.

Themes

habit behavior influence

Mood

reflective motivational

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal development
- education
- workplace
- health
- null

Key Concepts

psychology social conditioning

Questions to Reflect On

- What habit would you like to replace?
- How do customs limit freedom?

A Different Perspective

Habits can be hard to change once entrenched.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Custom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/custom/) [Custom Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/custom-habit-4663011/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Powerful Custom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-custom-4663012/)

## Related quotes

> [No particular motive for living, except the custom and habit of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/no-particular-motive-for-living-except-the-custom-and-habit-of-it/)

[William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/)

> [Nothing is stronger than Custom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/nothing-is-stronger-than-custom/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Habit had made the custom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/habit-had-made-the-custom/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [“Nothing is stronger than Custom (Fac tibi consuescat: nil adsuetudine maius)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/nothing-is-stronger-than-custom-fac-tibi-consuescat-nil-adsuetudine/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [“The customs and practices of life in society sweep us along.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-customs-and-practices-of-life-in-society-sweep-us-along/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [These are the evils which result from gossiping habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/these-are-the-evils-which-result-from-gossiping-habits/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Everyone is desirous of his own pursuits, and loves To spend his time in his accustomed art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/everyone-is-desirous-of-his-own-pursuits-and-loves-to-spend-his-time/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Many have original minds who do not think it - they are led away by custom!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/many-have-original-minds-who-do-not-think-it-they-are-led-away-by/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [We read that Adam and Methuselah lived so many centuries; at that time, it was the custom to marry in the family - marry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-heindel/we-read-that-adam-and-methuselah-lived-so-many-centuries-at-that-time/)

[Max Heindel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-heindel/)

> [Custom is custom: it is built of brass, boiler-iron, granite; facts, reasonings, arguments have no more effect upon it than the idle winds have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/custom-is-custom-it-is-built-of-brass-boiler-iron-granite-facts/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Since custom is the principal magistrate of man's life, let men by all means endeavor to obtain good customs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/since-custom-is-the-principal-magistrate-of-man-s-life-let-men-by-all/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [If God Was A Woman… Men would come with software to be custom designed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-god-was-a-woman-men-would-come-with-software-to-be-custom-designed/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [What is philosophy but a continual battle against custom?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/what-is-philosophy-but-a-continual-battle-against-custom/)

[Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/)

> [Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/take-the-course-opposite-to-custom-and-you-will-almost-always-do-well/)

[Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/)

> [My favorite event of the season is the Costume Institute Gala at the Met in May. To that I'll wear custom Vera Wang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-winston-wolkoff/my-favorite-event-of-the-season-is-the-costume-institute-gala-at-the/)

[Stephanie Winston Wolkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-winston-wolkoff/)

## More by Ovid

> [Every woman thinks herself attractive; even the plainest is satisfied with the charms she deems that she possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/every-woman-thinks-herself-attractive-even-the-plainest-is-satisfied/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Time is generally the best doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/time-is-generally-the-best-doctor/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [It is convenient that there be gods, and, as it is convenient, let us believe there are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-convenient-that-there-be-gods-and-as-it-is-convenient-let-us/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [I hate a woman who offers herself because she ought to do so, and cold and dry thinks of her sewing when making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/i-hate-a-woman-who-offers-herself-because-she-ought-to-do-so-and-cold/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [The sea's vast depths lie open to the fish; Wherever the breezes blow the bird may fly; So to the brave man every land's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/the-sea-s-vast-depths-lie-open-to-the-fish-wherever-the-breezes-blow/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Rare is the virtue that's not ruled by Fortune, That stands unshaken even when Fortune flees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/rare-is-the-virtue-that-s-not-ruled-by-fortune-that-stands-unshaken/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Thus all things altered. Nothing dies. And here and there the unbodied spirit flies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/thus-all-things-altered-nothing-dies-and-here-and-there-the-unbodied/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [How little is the promise of the child fulfilled in the man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/how-little-is-the-promise-of-the-child-fulfilled-in-the-man/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Judgement of beauty can err, what with the wine and the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/judgement-of-beauty-can-err-what-with-the-wine-and-the-dark/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Leave war to others; 'tis Protesilaus' part of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/leave-war-to-others-tis-protesilaus-part-of-love/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Remove but the temptations of leisure, and the bow of Cupid will lose its effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/remove-but-the-temptations-of-leisure-and-the-bow-of-cupid-will-lose/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

[Explore all 771 Ovid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

## More Culture quotes

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/)

[Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/)

> [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/)

[Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/)

> [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/)

[Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/)

> [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/)

[Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/)

> [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/)

[Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/)

> [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/)

[Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/)

[Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/)

> [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/)

[Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/)

> [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/)

[Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/)

> [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/)

[Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/)

> [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/)

[David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/)

> [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/)

[Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/)

[Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ovid"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or-habit/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Culture"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or-habit/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/ovid-276_culture_nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or_563050.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/ovid-276_culture_nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or_563050.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b6/ovid-276_culture_nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or_563050.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Nothing is more powerful than custom or habit.” — Ovid",
                "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": "Ovid",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Nothing is more powerful than custom...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or-habit/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/nothing-is-more-powerful-than-custom-or-habit/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
