--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I recalled how much time i had spent…" description: "\"I recalled how much time i had spent fighting for something i didn't even want. maybe because i had been too lazy to think of other avenues to follow. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/paulo-coelho-10_avenues_i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fig_2351783.jpg" --- # I recalled how much time i had spent fighting for… ![“I recalled how much time i had spent fighting for something i didn't even want. maybe because i had been too lazy to think of other avenues to follow. maybe because i had been afraid of what others would think. maybe because it was hard work to be different. perhaps, because a human being is…” quote by Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/paulo-coelho-10_avenues_i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fig_2351783.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/paulo-coelho-10_avenues_i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fig_2351783.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/paulo-coelho-10_avenues_i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fig_2351783.jpg) > “I recalled how much time i had spent fighting for something i didn't even want. maybe because i had been too lazy to think of other avenues to follow. maybe because i had been afraid of what others would think. maybe because it was hard work to be different. perhaps, because a human being is condemned to repeat the steps taken by the previous generation until a certain number of people begin to behave in a different fashion. then the world changes, and we change with it.” [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on wasted effort caused by fear, laziness, and conformity, and how societal change requires individuals to break from past patterns. **In simple terms:** People waste time due to fear and habit, but change comes when enough act differently. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge limiting habits. Themes self‑reflection conformity change generational patterns Mood introspective thoughtful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - creative projects - activism - personal growth Key Concepts psychology social dynamics habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What habits keep you stuck? - How can you create a supportive community for change? A Different Perspective Changing habits is difficult without external support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avenues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avenues/) [Behave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave/) [Behave Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behave-different-1400571/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Fashion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fashion/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Lazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lazy/) [Lazy Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lazy-think-934626/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Maybe Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe-afraid-755180/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Previous generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/previous-generations/) [Repeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repeats/) [Spent Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent-fighting-3324083/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Taken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Every penny from Gossip Girl, my pension, my stocks has been spent fighting for my children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-rutherford/every-penny-from-gossip-girl-my-pension-my-stocks-has-been-spent/) [Kelly Rutherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-rutherford/) > [“It was as if all my life had been spent fighting, killing and running. I wanted peace but I knew it was unattainable. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-nath/it-was-as-if-all-my-life-had-been-spent-fighting-killing-and-running/) [Fredrik Nath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-nath/) > [One of the best ways to change is to act as if you are the person you want to become. When you behave as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-siegel/one-of-the-best-ways-to-change-is-to-act-as-if-you-are-the-person-you/) [Bernie Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-siegel/) > [“Whom do I love? I love someone because I expect something from that person. I expect him to behave in a way that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hart/whom-do-i-love-i-love-someone-because-i-expect-something-from-that/) [William Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hart/) > [There are different groups of people in your life that you behave slightly differently with. You behave one way with your family. You behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-brooker/there-are-different-groups-of-people-in-your-life-that-you-behave/) [Charlie Brooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-brooker/) > [“It seems to me now, if I was to find Father at home to-night, I should behave different; but there’s no knowing — perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/it-seems-to-me-now-if-i-was-to-find-father-at-home-to-night-i-should/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Liking the person's last comment on a post instead of replying to it..because,let's face it,your too dwamn lazy to think of something wittier than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-hill/liking-the-person-s-last-comment-on-a-post-instead-of-replying-to-it/) [Nicole Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-hill/) > [Too many people are too lazy to think. Instead of learning something new, they think the same thought day in day out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/too-many-people-are-too-lazy-to-think-instead-of-learning-something/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Some people read only because they are too lazy to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/some-people-read-only-because-they-are-too-lazy-to-think/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [When I am writing poetry, I try to make my mind go a little lazy, to not think too much, as a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-lundy-martin/when-i-am-writing-poetry-i-try-to-make-my-mind-go-a-little-lazy-to/) [Dawn Lundy Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-lundy-martin/) > [I don't believe in being lazy, but I do think that this "big kid" thing may just be misinterpreting people who are taking advantage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiree-akhavan/i-don-t-believe-in-being-lazy-but-i-do-think-that-this-big-kid-thing/) [Desiree Akhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiree-akhavan/) > [If one is too lazy to think, too vain to do a thing badly, too cowardly to admit it, one will never attain wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/if-one-is-too-lazy-to-think-too-vain-to-do-a-thing-badly-too-cowardly/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [As actors, you have to keep showing variety in performance, as people are lazy to think about you in a different way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-tripathi/as-actors-you-have-to-keep-showing-variety-in-performance-as-people/) [Shweta Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-tripathi/) > [I think you're always gonna have half the generation that's lazy. But I think it makes the other half work that much harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/i-think-you-re-always-gonna-have-half-the-generation-that-s-lazy-but/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [Whenever there is hard work to be done, I assign it to the laziest man as he is sure to find an easy way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/whenever-there-is-hard-work-to-be-done-i-assign-it-to-the-laziest-man/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) ## More by Paulo Coelho > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Love will never separate a man from his personal legend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/love-will-never-separate-a-man-from-his-personal-legend/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The world has a soul and whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-world-has-a-soul-and-whoever-understands-that-soul-can-also/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/to-love-is-to-be-in-communion-with-the-other-and-to-discover-in-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Eat when it is time to eat. And walk when it is time to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/eat-when-it-is-time-to-eat-and-walk-when-it-is-time-to-walk/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-are-reading-more-and-writing-more-because-of-the-internet-so/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Joy is like sex – it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contended, but happiness? I no longer fall into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/joy-is-like-sex-it-begins-and-ends-i-want-pleasure-i-want-to-be/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Trudi se da zivis, sjecanja su za starije ljude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/trudi-se-da-zivis-sjecanja-su-za-starije-ljude/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [When someone leaves, it's because someone else is about to arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/when-someone-leaves-it-s-because-someone-else-is-about-to-arrive/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [She didn't need to understand the meaning of life; it was enough to find someone who did, and then fall asleep in his arms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/she-didn-t-need-to-understand-the-meaning-of-life-it-was-enough-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“The simpler the pose, the better; the more sober, the more beautiful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-simpler-the-pose-the-better-the-more-sober-the-more-beautiful/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) [Explore all 3,665 Paulo Coelho quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More Avenues quotes > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I don't look at money as success. I look at it as an avenue to freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scooter-braun/i-don-t-look-at-money-as-success-i-look-at-it-as-an-avenue-to-freedom/) [Scooter Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scooter-braun/) > [Extemporaneous speaking should be practised and cultivated. It is the lawyer's avenue to the public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/extemporaneous-speaking-should-be-practised-and-cultivated-it-is-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In times of totalitarian or autocratic rule, music (indeed culture in general) is often the only avenue of independent thought. It is the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-barenboim/in-times-of-totalitarian-or-autocratic-rule-music-indeed-culture-in/) [Daniel Barenboim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-barenboim/) > [At length weariness succeeds to labor, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments without any desire of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/at-length-weariness-succeeds-to-labor-and-the-mind-lies-at-ease-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-book-and-just-taking-all-these/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Once upon a time I was riding on the top of a First Avenue bus, when I heard a mythical housewife say to another,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/once-upon-a-time-i-was-riding-on-the-top-of-a-first-avenue-bus-when-i/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Nearly all literature, in one sense, is made up of guide-books. Old ones tell us the ways our fathers went, through the thoroughfares and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/nearly-all-literature-in-one-sense-is-made-up-of-guide-books-old-ones/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [It is best to lay our plans widely in youth, for then land is cheap, and it is but too easy to contract our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-best-to-lay-our-plans-widely-in-youth-for-then-land-is-cheap/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have had a hard time settling on one medium and feel like a dilettante at times, taking up one medium and then wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-johnson/i-have-had-a-hard-time-settling-on-one-medium-and-feel-like-a/) [Nancy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-johnson/) > [The philosophy that I have worked under most of my life is that the serious study of natural history is an activity which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-tory-peterson/the-philosophy-that-i-have-worked-under-most-of-my-life-is-that-the/) [Roger Tory Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-tory-peterson/) > [There are certainly numberless women of fashion who consider it perfectly natural to go miles down Fifth Avenue, or Madison Avenue, yet for whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-romains/there-are-certainly-numberless-women-of-fashion-who-consider-it/) [Jules Romains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-romains/) > [Donald Trump is not stupid. He knows exactly what he's saying. And he's just saying out there - I mean, forget about Muslims. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/donald-trump-is-not-stupid-he-knows-exactly-what-he-s-saying-and-he-s/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [Just as important, we need a new dedication to opening avenues for employee participation and motivation through profit-sharing and innovative programs of job enrichment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-percy/just-as-important-we-need-a-new-dedication-to-opening-avenues-for/) [Charles H. Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-percy/) > [The older I get, the more and more I notice I'm like my father. It's funny, because when I was younger I tried to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apolo-ohno/the-older-i-get-the-more-and-more-i-notice-i-m-like-my-father-it-s/) [Apolo Ohno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apolo-ohno/) [Browse all 335 Avenues quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avenues/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I recalled how much time i had spent fighting for something i didn't even want. maybe because i had been too lazy to think of other avenues to follow. maybe because i had been afraid of what others would think. maybe because it was hard work to be different. perhaps, because a human being is condemned to repeat the steps taken by the previous generation until a certain number of people begin to behave in a different fashion. then the world changes, and we change with it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paulo Coelho" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fighting-for-something-i-didn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avenues" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fighting-for-something-i-didn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/paulo-coelho-10_avenues_i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fig_2351783.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/paulo-coelho-10_avenues_i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fig_2351783.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/paulo-coelho-10_avenues_i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fig_2351783.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I recalled how much time i had spent fighting for something i didn't even want. maybe because i had been too…” — Paulo Coelho", "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": "Paulo Coelho", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I recalled how much time i...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fighting-for-something-i-didn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-recalled-how-much-time-i-had-spent-fighting-for-something-i-didn-t/#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 } } ] } ```