--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My third maxim was to endeavour always to…" description: "\"“My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/ren-descartes-1376_desires_my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-t_15907.jpg" --- # My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself… ![“My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general, accustom myself to the persuasion that, except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power;” quote by René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/ren-descartes-1376_desires_my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-t_15907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/ren-descartes-1376_desires_my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-t_15907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/ren-descartes-1376_desires_my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-t_15907.jpg) > ““My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general, accustom myself to the persuasion that, except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power;”” [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self-mastery supersedes external control; one should reshape personal desires and thoughts rather than attempt to dominate fate or the world. **In simple terms:** Control inner self, not external circumstances Key Takeaway True power lies in thought Themes self‑control philosophy of mind determinism personal agency stoicism Mood reflective determined calm Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - facing unpredictable markets - dealing with personal loss - navigating political instability Key Concepts autonomy cognitive reframing inner freedom Practical Applications - mindfulness training - leadership coaching Questions to Reflect On - How can you shift focus from external events to internal responses? - What desires might you need to change to feel more empowered? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-desires-381875/) [Conquer Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquer-fortune-381877/) [Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires/) [Persuasion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasion/) [Persuasion Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persuasion-thoughts-381876/) ## Related quotes > [“My third maxim was to endeavor always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavor-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [My third maxim was to try always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and to change my desires rather than the order of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-try-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [The goal...is not to change your desires and wishes but to persuade you to stop demanding that you absolutely must have what you wish-from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/the-goal-is-not-to-change-your-desires-and-wishes-but-to-persuade-you/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [“My third maxim was to try always to master myself rather than fortune and change my desires rather than changing how things stand in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-try-always-to-master-myself-rather-than-fortune/) [Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/descartes/) > [When we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, something wonderful happens: God begins to change our desires, and we want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/when-we-enter-into-a-personal-relationship-with-jesus-christ/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Persuasion has become a kind of force. The more the advertiser knows about what consumers want, and the more desires the product and packaging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/persuasion-has-become-a-kind-of-force-the-more-the-advertiser-knows/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [Whether it's a blessing or a curse, I have always played someone like 10 years younger. When I was 23 or 24, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-harnois/whether-it-s-a-blessing-or-a-curse-i-have-always-played-someone-like/) [Elisabeth Harnois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-harnois/) > [Our Constitution recognises no other power than that of persuasion, for enforcing religious observances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mentor-johnson/our-constitution-recognises-no-other-power-than-that-of-persuasion/) [Richard Mentor Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mentor-johnson/) > [“Therapy requires a collaborative working relationship in which both partners act on the basis of their implicit confidence in the value and efficacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/therapy-requires-a-collaborative-working-relationship-in-which-both/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [ \[T\]here are, at bottom, basically two ways to order social affairs, Coercively, through the mechanisms of the state - what we can call political… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-crane/t-here-are-at-bottom-basically-two-ways-to-order-social-affairs/) [Ed Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-crane/) > [Every man has his price. This is not true. But for every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing. To win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-man-has-his-price-this-is-not-true-but-for-every-man-there/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The secret is to always let the other man have your way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-secret-is-to-always-let-the-other-man-have-your-way/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Yet hold it more humane, more heav'nly, first, By winning words to conquer willing hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/yet-hold-it-more-humane-more-heav-nly-first-by-winning-words-to/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“I am a firm believer in the ‘Power of Persuasion.’ Insomuch as, whatever you believe are your limitations, will become your limitation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tonny-k-brown/i-am-a-firm-believer-in-the-power-of-persuasion-insomuch-as-whatever/) [Tonny K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tonny-k-brown/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) ## More by René Descartes > [Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the self-same well from which your laughter rises was often-times filled with your tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/your-joy-is-your-sorrow-unmasked-and-the-self-same-well-from-which/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [So blind is the curiosity by which mortals are possessed, that they often conduct their minds along unexplored routes, having no reason to hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/so-blind-is-the-curiosity-by-which-mortals-are-possessed-that-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/for-to-be-possessed-of-a-vigorous-mind-is-not-enough-the-prime/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“It is useful to know something of the manners of different nations, that we may be enabled to form a more correct judgment regarding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-useful-to-know-something-of-the-manners-of-different-nations/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [A state is better governed which has few laws, and those laws strictly observed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/a-state-is-better-governed-which-has-few-laws-and-those-laws-strictly/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ \[About Pierre de Fermat\] It cannot be denied that he has had many exceptional ideas, and that he is a highly intelligent man. For… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/about-pierre-de-fermat-it-cannot-be-denied-that-he-has-had-many/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Science is practical philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/science-is-practical-philosophy/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [ “And what more am I? I look for aid to the imagination. \[But how mistakenly!\] I am not that assemblage of limbs we call… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-what-more-am-i-i-look-for-aid-to-the-imagination-but-how/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [“And, in fine, of false sciences I thought I knew the worth sufficiently to escape being deceived by the professions of an alchemist, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/and-in-fine-of-false-sciences-i-thought-i-knew-the-worth-sufficiently/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/nothing-is-more-fairly-distributed-than-common-sense-no-one-thinks-he/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [If I go for the alternative which is false, then obviously I shall be in error; if I take the other side, then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/if-i-go-for-the-alternative-which-is-false-then-obviously-i-shall-be/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Everything is self-evident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/everything-is-self-evident/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Neither the true nor the false roots are always real; sometimes they are imaginary; that is, while we can always imagine as many roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/neither-the-true-nor-the-false-roots-are-always-real-sometimes-they/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [It is only intelligence that is divided equally between people because everybody thinks he/she is enough wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/it-is-only-intelligence-that-is-divided-equally-between-people/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Even the mind depends so much on temperament and the disposition of one's bodily organs that, if it is possible to find a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/even-the-mind-depends-so-much-on-temperament-and-the-disposition-of/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) [Explore all 232 René Descartes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) ## More Desires quotes > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [A lot of times, my work is looked at very much on the surface. It's very easy to just want to put something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-koons/a-lot-of-times-my-work-is-looked-at-very-much-on-the-surface-it-s/) [Jeff Koons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-koons/) > [“The best way to achieve a wonderful life is to have wonderful desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-best-way-to-achieve-a-wonderful-life-is-to-have-wonderful-desires/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Our desires have a way of getting bigger with our incomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/our-desires-have-a-way-of-getting-bigger-with-our-incomes/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [“The Heart Desires to Be Free”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-belmer/the-heart-desires-to-be-free/) [Cynthia Belmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-belmer/) > [“Desires and wishes don’t lead to success. Plans and efforts do. Create a vision, chalk out an action plan, put in your best efforts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roopleen/desires-and-wishes-don-t-lead-to-success-plans-and-efforts-do-create/) [Roopleen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roopleen/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [My intentions go one way, my desires another. Thus I feel both self-indulgent and deprived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/my-intentions-go-one-way-my-desires-another-thus-i-feel-both-self/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-best-kind-of-wealth-is-to-give-up-inordinate-desires/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“I never get writer's block. My secret...I have purring cats in surround sound while I write...best white noise on the planet." R.Rose when asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-rose/i-never-get-writer-s-block-my-secret-i-have-purring-cats-in-surround/) [R. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-rose/) > [“The desires of the flesh leads to sin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-desires-of-the-flesh-leads-to-sin/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [It is a happy circumstance that when nature gives us true burning desires, she also gives us the means to satisfy them. Those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/it-is-a-happy-circumstance-that-when-nature-gives-us-true-burning/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [“You can become even a co-creator of this universe... an assurance coming from the Ancient Wisdom; provided you bear an appropriate WILL...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-kumar/you-can-become-even-a-co-creator-of-this-universe-an-assurance-coming/) [Dinesh Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-kumar/) > [“I want to have a lasting experience of God', I told him. 'Sometimes I feel like I understand the divinity of this world, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/i-want-to-have-a-lasting-experience-of-god-i-told-him-sometimes-i/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [Christ desires nothing more of us than that we speak of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/christ-desires-nothing-more-of-us-than-that-we-speak-of-him/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) [Browse all 1,202 Desires quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general, accustom myself to the persuasion that, except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power;”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "René Descartes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desires" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/ren-descartes-1376_desires_my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-t_15907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/ren-descartes-1376_desires_my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-t_15907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/ren-descartes-1376_desires_my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-t_15907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My third maxim was to endeavour always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather…” — René Descartes", "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": "René Descartes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“My third maxim was to endeavour...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/my-third-maxim-was-to-endeavour-always-to-conquer-myself-rather-than/#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 } } ] } ```