--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was complicated. I understood it…" description: "\"It was complicated. I understood it, mostly, but I had to think a little sideways to do it.\" — Patricia Briggs" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/patricia-briggs-571_complicated_it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostl_854723.png" --- # It was complicated. I understood it, mostly, but I had to… ![“It was complicated. I understood it, mostly, but I had to think a little sideways to do it.” quote by Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/patricia-briggs-571_complicated_it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostl_854723.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/patricia-briggs-571_complicated_it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostl_854723.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/patricia-briggs-571_complicated_it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostl_854723.png) > “It was complicated. I understood it, mostly, but I had to think a little sideways to do it.” [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding a problem required unconventional thinking, suggesting flexibility in mental approaches. **In simple terms:** Think differently to solve complex issues. Key Takeaway Embrace lateral thinking for challenges. Themes creativity problem solving flexibility Mood curious analytical Type strategic inspirational When to use this quote - brainstorming sessions - strategic planning - creative workshops Key Concepts cognitive flexibility innovation Questions to Reflect On - When is lateral thinking most effective? - How do you balance creativity with practicality? A Different Perspective Unconventional thinking may overlook practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Complicated Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated-understood-786860/) [Little Sideways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-sideways-786862/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Sideways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sideways/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-think-786861/) ## Related quotes > [What is simple is wrong, and what is complicated cannot be understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/what-is-simple-is-wrong-and-what-is-complicated-cannot-be-understood/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [To make yourself understood you have to think plain and write plain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-feather/to-make-yourself-understood-you-have-to-think-plain-and-write-plain/) [William Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-feather/) > [“Yet many times I felt terribly alone and was convinced that no one else understood. And I still think that's true. When our pain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-piper/yet-many-times-i-felt-terribly-alone-and-was-convinced-that-no-one/) [Don Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-piper/) > [I don't know about understood. I think that unless you are forced to understand - unless it is an issue of yours - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-fisher/i-don-t-know-about-understood-i-think-that-unless-you-are-forced-to/) [Carrie Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-fisher/) > [For he loved her and he understood that a woman cannot always live as a man. He understood that she cannot always think as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/for-he-loved-her-and-he-understood-that-a-woman-cannot-always-live-as/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [“Once that is clearly understood, I think that each of us can stay quietly in the state in which nature has placed him. since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/once-that-is-clearly-understood-i-think-that-each-of-us-can-stay/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [A crease found it's way onto Joss's forehead. Because he was certain that Sirus was wrong. Girls were more complicated than boys. Girls communicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brewer/a-crease-found-it-s-way-onto-joss-s-forehead-because-he-was-certain/) [Heather Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brewer/) > [It must be clearly understood that Soviet players do not seek simple systems in the opening, but try to formulate opening systems in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-botvinnik/it-must-be-clearly-understood-that-soviet-players-do-not-seek-simple/) [Mikhail Botvinnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-botvinnik/) > [Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/miracles-are-propitious-accidents-the-natural-causes-of-which-are-too/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Trading is a waiting game. You sit, you wait, and you make a lot of money all at once. Profits come in bunches. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-covel/trading-is-a-waiting-game-you-sit-you-wait-and-you-make-a-lot-of/) [Michael Covel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-covel/) > [The intimate and the infinite are tangled together in this incandescent book, lit by Aristotle’s bright spark of a daughter. Lucid even in nightmare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-endicott/the-intimate-and-the-infinite-are-tangled-together-in-this/) [Marina Endicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-endicott/) > [Strange priests are they who never straightly walk But all aslant through sideways passage stalk Who never seek their goals in forward lines But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-fiske/strange-priests-are-they-who-never-straightly-walk-but-all-aslant/) [Willard Fiske](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-fiske/) > [Witihin seconds the headhunter had lost control of his car and it squealed, sliding sideways right into several other cars. Cool!' said the Gasman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/witihin-seconds-the-headhunter-had-lost-control-of-his-car-and-it/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [When you lose your parents, the sadness doesn't go away. It just changes. It hits you sideways sometimes instead of head-on. Like now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-lose-your-parents-the-sadness-doesn-t-go-away-it-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But what struck me was the book-madness of the place--books lay scattered across the unmade bed and the top of a battered-looking desk, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/but-what-struck-me-was-the-book-madness-of-the-place-books-lay/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) ## More by Patricia Briggs > [“His favorite saying was, 'Interdum feror cupidine partium magnarum europe vincendarum." "'Sometimes I have the urge to conquer large parts of Europe'?" Boyd said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/his-favorite-saying-was-interdum-feror-cupidine-partium-magnarum/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“I break things, a lot of things, but I don’t want one of them to be you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-break-things-a-lot-of-things-but-i-don-t-want-one-of-them-to-be-you/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Stefan: "Indian with a dot, not a feather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/stefan-indian-with-a-dot-not-a-feather/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“want to. Adam wasn’t angry. He wouldn’t hurt me. I let him pull the power of his pack over me like a warm”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/want-to-adam-wasn-t-angry-he-wouldn-t-hurt-me-i-let-him-pull-the/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“I promise I won't spank you," he told me, his voice rough and low as he added, "not unless you ask me to." I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-promise-i-won-t-spank-you-he-told-me-his-voice-rough-and-low-as-he/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Love is not necessary for sex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/love-is-not-necessary-for-sex/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“I paused to pat the truck’s hood gently in apology when someone put his hand on my shoulder. I grabbed the hand and rotated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-paused-to-pat-the-truck-s-hood-gently-in-apology-when-someone-put/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [In this dream, I wasn’t a coyote shapeshifter trying to hold a werewolf, I was Coyote’s almost daughter, and I had all the strength…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/in-this-dream-i-wasn-t-a-coyote-shapeshifter-trying-to-hold-a/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“She hit us,” the woman shrieked. That was the gist of it anyway. There were a lot of unladylike words that began with “F,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/she-hit-us-the-woman-shrieked-that-was-the-gist-of-it-anyway-there/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Charles was most comfortable by himself or, if that wasn't possible, with his pack in the wild. Talking for hours in a crowded auditorium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/charles-was-most-comfortable-by-himself-or-if-that-wasn-t-possible/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Evil must always be fought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/evil-must-always-be-fought/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“Beauclaire, for his part, sank back in the soft material of the couch as if the thought that it would impede him should he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/beauclaire-for-his-part-sank-back-in-the-soft-material-of-the-couch/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [What do you mean?” Leslie’s voice was cool, as if she questioned witches who were flat on their backs being threatened by werewolves every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/what-do-you-mean-leslie-s-voice-was-cool-as-if-she-questioned-witches/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [I am not attempting to preserve culture, or record actual events or stories. Instead I bow my head in gratitude to those storytellers who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-not-attempting-to-preserve-culture-or-record-actual-events-or/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) [Explore all 467 Patricia Briggs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) ## More Complicated quotes > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) [Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin/) > [“Why the hell did he have to be so complicated? One minute he was charming, the next he withdrew behind his internal walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-davis/why-the-hell-did-he-have-to-be-so-complicated-one-minute-he-was/) [Lia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-davis/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ The parts of the \[Civil Right\] Movement we recognize so well now were not born from a single decision, but were a complicated and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/the-parts-of-the-civil-right-movement-we-recognize-so-well-now-were/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Two people could build an outhouse in four hours. They're not complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/two-people-could-build-an-outhouse-in-four-hours-they-re-not/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) [Browse all 3,190 Complicated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was complicated. I understood it, mostly, but I had to think a little sideways to do it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patricia Briggs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostly-but-i-had-to-think-a-little/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complicated" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostly-but-i-had-to-think-a-little/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/patricia-briggs-571_complicated_it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostl_854723.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/patricia-briggs-571_complicated_it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostl_854723.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/patricia-briggs-571_complicated_it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostl_854723.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It was complicated. I understood it, mostly, but I had to think a little sideways to do it.” — Patricia Briggs", "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": "Patricia Briggs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It was complicated. I understood it,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostly-but-i-had-to-think-a-little/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/it-was-complicated-i-understood-it-mostly-but-i-had-to-think-a-little/#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 } } ] } ```