---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Looking can make you want. Wanting can…"
description: "\"“Looking can make you want. Wanting can get you thinking. If you want them to stop thinking, just give them what they want.”\" — R.S. Vern"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/r-s-vern-78714_cat_looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-ge_2275245.jpg"
---

#  Looking can make you want. Wanting can get you thinking…

![“Looking can make you want. Wanting can get you thinking. If you want them to stop thinking, just give them what they want.” quote by R.S. Vern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/r-s-vern-78714_cat_looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-ge_2275245.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/r-s-vern-78714_cat_looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-ge_2275245.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/r-s-vern-78714_cat_looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-ge_2275245.jpg)

> ““Looking can make you want. Wanting can get you thinking. If you want them to stop thinking, just give them what they want.””

R.S. Vern

## About This Quote

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

Desire fuels desire; giving people what they want stops their curiosity.

**In simple terms:** Giving wants ends thinking.

Key Takeaway

Balance desire with curiosity.

Themes

psychology desire thought control

Mood

curious cautious

Type

inspirational reflective

When to use this quote

- marketing
- education
- parenting
- policy design

Key Concepts

behavioral economics attention management

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we channel desire productively?
- When is it okay to fulfill wants?

A Different Perspective

Satisfying desire can reinforce dependency.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Middle-grade-fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-grade-fantasy/) [Middling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middling/)

## Related quotes

> [“There will always be road construction in life, and never a point when all the highways are fixed. Keep walking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/there-will-always-be-road-construction-in-life-and-never-a-point-when/)

R.S. Vern

> [“An ordinary man can enjoy breakfasting on juice and rye bread. But when you are underfed, scorned, miserable or just plain bored, you don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/an-ordinary-man-can-enjoy-breakfasting-on-juice-and-rye-bread-but/)

R.S. Vern

> [I've always had a middling kind of a career, not great highs and great lows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blythe-danner/i-ve-always-had-a-middling-kind-of-a-career-not-great-highs-and-great/)

[Blythe Danner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blythe-danner/)

> [“not enough cohesion among your actions and you get middling trivial gains. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-marshall/not-enough-cohesion-among-your-actions-and-you-get-middling-trivial/)

[Sebastian Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-marshall/)

> [In 1983 I was still playing small to middling parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-allam/in-1983-i-was-still-playing-small-to-middling-parts/)

[Roger Allam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-allam/)

> [Back in the Clinton White House, I was a middling staffer on the Domestic Policy Council, working on issues ranging from the adoption tax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neera-tanden/back-in-the-clinton-white-house-i-was-a-middling-staffer-on-the/)

[Neera Tanden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neera-tanden/)

> [Some things are good, some middling, more bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/some-things-are-good-some-middling-more-bad/)

[Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/)

> [Some are good, some are middling, the most are bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martial/some-are-good-some-are-middling-the-most-are-bad/)

[Martial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martial/)

> [I'm not one of those fellows that is just going to have a psuedo-middling relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-crowe/i-m-not-one-of-those-fellows-that-is-just-going-to-have-a-psuedo/)

[Russell Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-crowe/)

> [Two people can have a middling day, but one rounds up and the other rounds down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/two-people-can-have-a-middling-day-but-one-rounds-up-and-the-other/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Barack Obama will go down alongside George W. Bush in that realm as middling presidents because both made too many mistakes to be categorized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/barack-obama-will-go-down-alongside-george-w-bush-in-that-realm-as/)

[Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/)

> [“To travel beyond our world is to change this present one forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-j-carroll/to-travel-beyond-our-world-is-to-change-this-present-one-forever/)

[Steven J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-j-carroll/)

> [“And it is a strange thing about love... it is that it can take a strength that would seem otherwise insignificant and transform it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-j-carroll/and-it-is-a-strange-thing-about-love-it-is-that-it-can-take-a/)

[Steven J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-j-carroll/)

> [“Does the troll know he's got his head on back to front?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-french/does-the-troll-know-he-s-got-his-head-on-back-to-front/)

[Vivian French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-french/)

> [“And, to be true, an enemy's lair is an enemy's lair, no matter how comfortable or fancy it might appear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-j-carroll/and-to-be-true-an-enemy-s-lair-is-an-enemy-s-lair-no-matter-how/)

[Steven J. Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-j-carroll/)

## More by R.S. Vern

> [“There will always be road construction in life, and never a point when all the highways are fixed. Keep walking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/there-will-always-be-road-construction-in-life-and-never-a-point-when/)

R.S. Vern

> [“An ordinary man can enjoy breakfasting on juice and rye bread. But when you are underfed, scorned, miserable or just plain bored, you don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/an-ordinary-man-can-enjoy-breakfasting-on-juice-and-rye-bread-but/)

R.S. Vern

Explore all 3 R.S. Vern quotes

## More Cat quotes

> [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/)

[Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/)

> [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/)

[Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/)

> [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/)

[Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/)

> [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/)

[Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/)

> [If you ask me to tell you anything about the nature of what lies beyond the phaneron… my answer is “How should I know?”……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-gardner/if-you-ask-me-to-tell-you-anything-about-the-nature-of-what-lies/)

[Martin Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-gardner/)

> [Is man no more than this? Consider him well. Thou ow'st the worm no silk, the beast no hide, the sheep no wool, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/is-man-no-more-than-this-consider-him-well-thou-ow-st-the-worm-no/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/)

[Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/)

> [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/)

[Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/)

> [Kittens can happen to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gallico/kittens-can-happen-to-anyone/)

[Paul Gallico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gallico/)

> [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“All right, you deadly little ghostlings,” I muttered. “Mama says go back to bed! - Cat”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/all-right-you-deadly-little-ghostlings-i-muttered-mama-says-go-back/)

[Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/)

> [Man wishes woman to be peaceable, but in fact she is essentially warlike, like the cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-wishes-woman-to-be-peaceable-but-in-fact-she-is-essentially/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [There are videos I used to take at home, pretending to be a newscaster, interviewing the teapot or my house cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-wagner/there-are-videos-i-used-to-take-at-home-pretending-to-be-a-newscaster/)

[Alex Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-wagner/)

[Browse all 2,996 Cat quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Looking can make you want. Wanting can get you thinking. If you want them to stop thinking, just give them what they want.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "R.S. Vern"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-get-you-thinking-if-you-want/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cat"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-get-you-thinking-if-you-want/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/r-s-vern-78714_cat_looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-ge_2275245.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/r-s-vern-78714_cat_looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-ge_2275245.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/r-s-vern-78714_cat_looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-ge_2275245.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Looking can make you want. Wanting can get you thinking. If you want them to stop thinking, just give them…” — R.S. Vern",
                "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": "R.S. Vern",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-s-vern/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Looking can make you want. Wanting...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-get-you-thinking-if-you-want/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-s-vern/looking-can-make-you-want-wanting-can-get-you-thinking-if-you-want/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
