--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of regarding them as things that…" description: "\"“Instead of regarding them as things that just need to go away, we look at the behaviors as a precious resource, valuable information that can be mined..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/robert-kegan-23287_habits_instead-of-regarding-them-as-things-that_1720527.jpg" --- # Instead of regarding them as things that just need to go… ![“Instead of regarding them as things that just need to go away, we look at the behaviors as a precious resource, valuable information that can be mined to develop a more satisfying picture of what may really be happening. Another” quote by Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/robert-kegan-23287_habits_instead-of-regarding-them-as-things-that_1720527.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/robert-kegan-23287_habits_instead-of-regarding-them-as-things-that_1720527.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/682/robert-kegan-23287_habits_instead-of-regarding-them-as-things-that_1720527.jpg) > ““Instead of regarding them as things that just need to go away, we look at the behaviors as a precious resource, valuable information that can be mined to develop a more satisfying picture of what may really be happening. Another”” [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Behaviors are valuable data sources that can be analyzed to understand deeper realities. **In simple terms:** Treat actions as information to learn from. Key Takeaway Mine behavior for insight. Themes psychology learning analysis Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - coaching - organizational change - personal growth Key Concepts Systems thinking cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - What hidden insights can behavior reveal? - How do we avoid over‑analysis? A Different Perspective Data can be misinterpreted without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) ## Related quotes > [I think the word 'soul' - it depends on what you define by 'soul.' If you're defining it as a mystical aura that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/i-think-the-word-soul-it-depends-on-what-you-define-by-soul-if-you-re/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [Although our inattention can contribute to our lack of total well-being, we also have the power to choose positive behaviors and responses. In that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-anderson/although-our-inattention-can-contribute-to-our-lack-of-total-well/) [Greg Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-anderson/) > [People are not their behaviors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/people-are-not-their-behaviors/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [I started working with brain sensing tech in labs over a decade ago and was immediately fascinated by the potential to help people peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-garten/i-started-working-with-brain-sensing-tech-in-labs-over-a-decade-ago/) [Ariel Garten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-garten/) > [“It is the leader’s job to lead by example and enforce the values and the behaviors to set the culture for any company or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ramsay/it-is-the-leader-s-job-to-lead-by-example-and-enforce-the-values-and/) [Beth Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ramsay/) > [Leaders are not modest, and more importantly, the extensive social science research on narcissism, self-promotion, and similar constructs shows that these qualities and behaviors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/leaders-are-not-modest-and-more-importantly-the-extensive-social/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [“For design thinkers, however, behaviors are never right or wrong, but they are always meaningful. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-brown/for-design-thinkers-however-behaviors-are-never-right-or-wrong-but/) [Tim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-brown/) > [You can learn what you want to learn through hard work. And a good employer will teach you what you want to learn as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-chertavian/you-can-learn-what-you-want-to-learn-through-hard-work-and-a-good/) [Gerald Chertavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-chertavian/) > [“It’s extremely unlikely you will be magically transformed from a mediocre or average people manager to a Satya Nadella or a Ratan Tata. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binod-shankar/it-s-extremely-unlikely-you-will-be-magically-transformed-from-a/) Binod Shankar > [You, I, we all encounter behaviors that we might say, I wouldn't do that. But she has a huge amount of contact with how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-andrew/you-i-we-all-encounter-behaviors-that-we-might-say-i-wouldn-t-do-that/) [Prince Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-andrew/) > [Learned behaviors have replaced the biologically given ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/learned-behaviors-have-replaced-the-biologically-given-ones/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“It is the leader’s job to model and enforce the values and behaviors that make up the company culture. “Model” the behaviors is key.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ramsay/it-is-the-leader-s-job-to-model-and-enforce-the-values-and-behaviors/) [Beth Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ramsay/) > [“Police officers are well known for their aggressive behaviors, search "Police Officer Angry Aggression Theory". I can speak from personal experience that they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/police-officers-are-well-known-for-their-aggressive-behaviors-search/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“If your child had only your behavior to watch, what would he see? Which of your behaviors does he copy most? Smoking a cigarette?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-borba/if-your-child-had-only-your-behavior-to-watch-what-would-he-see-which/) [Michele Borba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-borba/) > [“Dear haters, You’re never going to catch up. Because while you’re talking about how “lucky” I am, I’m working. While you’re talking about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/dear-haters-you-re-never-going-to-catch-up-because-while-you-re/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) ## More by Robert Kegan > [Successfully functioning in a society with diverse values, traditions and lifestyles requires us to have a relationship to our own reactions rather than be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/successfully-functioning-in-a-society-with-diverse-values-traditions/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“The struggle of the sexes to know each other, to see each other, and to communicate deeply - a struggle which may be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/the-struggle-of-the-sexes-to-know-each-other-to-see-each-other-and-to/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“Although I have suggested that American culture tends to favor the side of independence over the side of inclusion (and I would extend that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/although-i-have-suggested-that-american-culture-tends-to-favor-the/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [It is not change that causes anxiety; it is the feeling that we are without defenses in the presence of what we see as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/it-is-not-change-that-causes-anxiety-it-is-the-feeling-that-we-are/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“But what can be found can also be lost. The process of differentiation, creating the possibility of integration, brings into being the lifelong theme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/but-what-can-be-found-can-also-be-lost-the-process-of-differentiation/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“If you want to understand another person in some fundamental way you must know where the person is in his or her evolution...the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/if-you-want-to-understand-another-person-in-some-fundamental-way-you/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“While the emergence from embeddedness in the interpersonal frees one from the subjectivity of constructing one's morality on the bases of arbitrary affections and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/while-the-emergence-from-embeddedness-in-the-interpersonal-frees-one/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“Depression characterized by the 'threat-to' orientation lodges itself in one side of the proposition. Doing so does not eliminate doubt, it only places it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/depression-characterized-by-the-threat-to-orientation-lodges-itself/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“It is easy for us to delude ourselves into thinking that our notions of the healthy person are unbiased by our particular circumstances or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/it-is-easy-for-us-to-delude-ourselves-into-thinking-that-our-notions/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“All growth is costly. It involves the leaving behind of an old way of being in the world. Often it involves, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/all-growth-is-costly-it-involves-the-leaving-behind-of-an-old-way-of/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“A writer has to strain to make the reader recover the process in the words 'human being'; we talk about 'a being' and 'beings.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/a-writer-has-to-strain-to-make-the-reader-recover-the-process-in-the/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“Emergence from embeddedness involves a kind of repudiation, an evolutionary re-cognition that what before was me is not-me. This we see, too, on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/emergence-from-embeddedness-involves-a-kind-of-repudiation-an/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [Learning is the making of meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/learning-is-the-making-of-meaning/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“How do we help people (whether individuals or groups) to make their third column commitments visible? We begin by surfacing the biggest fears that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/how-do-we-help-people-whether-individuals-or-groups-to-make-their/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) > [“Kohlberg's stage 4 is essentially the psychological birth of ideology, which is a meaning system that is above all factional - that is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kegan/kohlberg-s-stage-4-is-essentially-the-psychological-birth-of-ideology/) [Robert Kegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) [Explore all 26 Robert Kegan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kegan/) ## More Behaviors quotes > [I think the word 'soul' - it depends on what you define by 'soul.' If you're defining it as a mystical aura that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-nicolelis/i-think-the-word-soul-it-depends-on-what-you-define-by-soul-if-you-re/) [Miguel Nicolelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-nicolelis/) > [Although our inattention can contribute to our lack of total well-being, we also have the power to choose positive behaviors and responses. In that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-anderson/although-our-inattention-can-contribute-to-our-lack-of-total-well/) [Greg Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-anderson/) > [People are not their behaviors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/people-are-not-their-behaviors/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“If your child had only your behavior to watch, what would he see? Which of your behaviors does he copy most? Smoking a cigarette?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-borba/if-your-child-had-only-your-behavior-to-watch-what-would-he-see-which/) [Michele Borba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-borba/) > [“Police officers are well known for their aggressive behaviors, search "Police Officer Angry Aggression Theory". I can speak from personal experience that they do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/police-officers-are-well-known-for-their-aggressive-behaviors-search/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“It is the leader’s job to model and enforce the values and behaviors that make up the company culture. “Model” the behaviors is key.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ramsay/it-is-the-leader-s-job-to-model-and-enforce-the-values-and-behaviors/) [Beth Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ramsay/) > [Learned behaviors have replaced the biologically given ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/learned-behaviors-have-replaced-the-biologically-given-ones/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [You, I, we all encounter behaviors that we might say, I wouldn't do that. But she has a huge amount of contact with how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-andrew/you-i-we-all-encounter-behaviors-that-we-might-say-i-wouldn-t-do-that/) [Prince Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-andrew/) > [“It’s extremely unlikely you will be magically transformed from a mediocre or average people manager to a Satya Nadella or a Ratan Tata. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binod-shankar/it-s-extremely-unlikely-you-will-be-magically-transformed-from-a/) Binod Shankar > [You can learn what you want to learn through hard work. And a good employer will teach you what you want to learn as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-chertavian/you-can-learn-what-you-want-to-learn-through-hard-work-and-a-good/) [Gerald Chertavian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-chertavian/) > [“For design thinkers, however, behaviors are never right or wrong, but they are always meaningful. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-brown/for-design-thinkers-however-behaviors-are-never-right-or-wrong-but/) [Tim Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-brown/) > [Leaders are not modest, and more importantly, the extensive social science research on narcissism, self-promotion, and similar constructs shows that these qualities and behaviors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/leaders-are-not-modest-and-more-importantly-the-extensive-social/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [“It is the leader’s job to lead by example and enforce the values and the behaviors to set the culture for any company or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ramsay/it-is-the-leader-s-job-to-lead-by-example-and-enforce-the-values-and/) [Beth Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ramsay/) > [I started working with brain sensing tech in labs over a decade ago and was immediately fascinated by the potential to help people peer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-garten/i-started-working-with-brain-sensing-tech-in-labs-over-a-decade-ago/) [Ariel Garten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-garten/) > [“Dear haters, You’re never going to catch up. Because while you’re talking about how “lucky” I am, I’m working. While you’re talking about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/dear-haters-you-re-never-going-to-catch-up-because-while-you-re/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) Browse all 112 Behaviors quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Instead of regarding them as things that just need to go away, we look at the behaviors as a precious resource, valuable information that can be mined to develop a more satisfying picture of what may really be happening. 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