---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s not enough to be good at something…"
description: "\"“It’s not enough to be good at something to be in your element… We’re being brought up with this idea that life is linear. This is an idea that’s perpe..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/sir-ken-robinson-44587_life_it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something_1851604.jpg"
---

#  It’s not enough to be good at something to be in your…

![“It’s not enough to be good at something to be in your element… We’re being brought up with this idea that life is linear. This is an idea that’s perpetuated when you come to write your CV — that you set out your life in a series of dates and achievements, in a linear way, as if your whole…” quote by Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/sir-ken-robinson-44587_life_it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something_1851604.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/sir-ken-robinson-44587_life_it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something_1851604.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/sir-ken-robinson-44587_life_it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something_1851604.jpg)

> ““It’s not enough to be good at something to be in your element… We’re being brought up with this idea that life is linear. This is an idea that’s perpetuated when you come to write your CV — that you set out your life in a series of dates and achievements, in a linear way, as if your whole existence has progressed in an ordered, structured way, to bring you to this current interview.””

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

## About This Quote

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

Life isn’t a straight line of achievements; career paths are nonlinear and should be viewed as evolving narratives.

**In simple terms:** Life is nonlinear.

Key Takeaway

Embrace flexible career journeys.

Themes

career education identity growth

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- job search
- career change
- skill development
- personal branding

Key Concepts

nonlinear development career narratives lifelong learning

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you showcase non‑linear growth?
- What narrative better reflects your journey?

A Different Perspective

Linear CVs can misrepresent true progress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/)

## Related quotes

> [“Life is a linear equation in which you can't cross multiply! If you think you can do it, you can do it. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/life-is-a-linear-equation-in-which-you-can-t-cross-multiply-if-you/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [Life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It's how you deal with the troughs that defines you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee-chin/life-is-not-linear-you-have-ups-and-downs-it-s-how-you-deal-with-the-2/)

[Michael Lee-Chin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee-chin/)

> [Life is not linear, it is organic. We create our lives symbiotically as we explore our talents in relation to the circumstances they help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-robinson/life-is-not-linear-it-is-organic-we-create-our-lives-symbiotically-as/)

[Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-robinson/)

> [The way that you remember your life, it's never linear. You have flashes of different moments of your life, and the flashes aren't equal;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/the-way-that-you-remember-your-life-it-s-never-linear-you-have/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [Life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It's how you deal with the trough that defines you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lee-chin/life-is-not-linear-you-have-ups-and-downs-it-s-how-you-deal-with-the/)

[Michael Lee-Chin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lee-chin/)

> [I don't believe that life is linear. I think of it as circles - concentric circles that connect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/i-don-t-believe-that-life-is-linear-i-think-of-it-as-circles/)

[Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/)

> [Life's not linear at all. It happens in lighting flashes. So fast you don't see those lay-you-out cold moments coming at you until you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/life-s-not-linear-at-all-it-happens-in-lighting-flashes-so-fast-you/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [I have a hard time making a linear-idea song, because that's not the way my thoughts work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oneohtrix-point-never/i-have-a-hard-time-making-a-linear-idea-song-because-that-s-not-the/)

[Oneohtrix Point Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oneohtrix-point-never/)

> [Reading is not a straightforward linear movement, a merely cumulative affair: our initial speculations generate a frame of reference within which to interpret what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/reading-is-not-a-straightforward-linear-movement-a-merely-cumulative/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [Chronological time is what we measure by clocks and calendars; it is always linear, orderly, quantifiable, and mechanical. Kairotic time is organic, rhythmic, bodily,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/chronological-time-is-what-we-measure-by-clocks-and-calendars-it-is/)

[Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/)

> [Modern anthropology ... opposes the utilitarian assumption that the primitive chants as he sows seed because he believes that otherwise it will not grow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carroll/modern-anthropology-opposes-the-utilitarian-assumption-that-the/)

[John Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carroll/)

> [A favorite strategy was the paragraph-terminating: Right? Followed immediately by Wrong. This linear invitation to a mugging was considered a strategy of wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/a-favorite-strategy-was-the-paragraph-terminating-right-followed/)

[Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/)

> [...mysticism and empiricism go together in opposition to scholasticism...they base themselves on the non-linear world of experience rather than the linear world of letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/mysticism-and-empiricism-go-together-in-opposition-to-scholasticism/)

[Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/)

> [If we fail to appreciate the soul that Easternism gives us, then what we have is a disconnected, Greco-Roman, Western, egocentric, compartmentalized, reductionist, fragmented,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/if-we-fail-to-appreciate-the-soul-that-easternism-gives-us-then-what/)

[Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/)

> [I like small things, I like small moments that are almost elliptical, that are not necessarily linear; they're natural things that happen in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-carter/i-like-small-things-i-like-small-moments-that-are-almost-elliptical/)

[Keith Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-carter/)

## More by Sir Ken Robinson

> [“Creativity is as important now in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/creativity-is-as-important-now-in-education-as-literacy-and-we-should/)

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

> [“There isn't an education system on the planet that teaches dance everyday to children the way we teach them mathematics. Why? Why not?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/there-isn-t-an-education-system-on-the-planet-that-teaches-dance/)

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

> [“The gardener does not make a plant grow. The job of a gardener is to create optimal conditions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/the-gardener-does-not-make-a-plant-grow-the-job-of-a-gardener-is-to/)

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

> [We are educating people out of their creative capacities. We don't grow in to creativity - we grow out of it. Or rather- we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/we-are-educating-people-out-of-their-creative-capacities-we-don-t/)

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

> [“si no estás preparado para equivocarte, nunca se te ocurrirá nada original.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/si-no-est-s-preparado-para-equivocarte-nunca-se-te-ocurrir-nada/)

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

> [“Human communities depend upon a diversity of talent not a singular conception of ability”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/human-communities-depend-upon-a-diversity-of-talent-not-a-singular-2/)

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

> [“Inspire creativity in students”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/inspire-creativity-in-students/)

[Sir Ken Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

[Explore all 8 Sir Ken Robinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/)

## More Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

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

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

Deanna L. Lawlis

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

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

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“It’s not enough to be good at something to be in your element… We’re being brought up with this idea that life is linear. This is an idea that’s perpetuated when you come to write your CV — that you set out your life in a series of dates and achievements, in a linear way, as if your whole existence has progressed in an ordered, structured way, to bring you to this current interview.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sir Ken Robinson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something-to-be-in-your-element-we-re/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something-to-be-in-your-element-we-re/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/sir-ken-robinson-44587_life_it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something_1851604.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/sir-ken-robinson-44587_life_it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something_1851604.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/sir-ken-robinson-44587_life_it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something_1851604.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It’s not enough to be good at something to be in your element… We’re being brought up with this idea that…” — Sir Ken Robinson",
                "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": "Sir Ken Robinson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-ken-robinson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“It’s not enough to be good...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something-to-be-in-your-element-we-re/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-ken-robinson/it-s-not-enough-to-be-good-at-something-to-be-in-your-element-we-re/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
