---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ‎\"What falls but never breaks; what…"
description: "\"“‎\"What falls but never breaks; what breaks but never falls?”\" — Ted Dekker"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/ted-dekker-1605_breaks_what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks_2475199.png"
---

#  ‎"What falls but never breaks; what breaks but never falls?

![“‎"What falls but never breaks; what breaks but never falls?” quote by Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/ted-dekker-1605_breaks_what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks_2475199.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/ted-dekker-1605_breaks_what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks_2475199.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/ted-dekker-1605_breaks_what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks_2475199.png)

> ““‎"What falls but never breaks; what breaks but never falls?””

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

## About This Quote

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

A riddle about a paradoxical phenomenon where one action causes opposite outcomes.

**In simple terms:** A paradoxical riddle.

Key Takeaway

Embrace curiosity to solve puzzles.

Themes

puzzles paradoxes logic

Mood

intrigued playful

Type

riddle philosophical

When to use this quote

- brain teasers
- team building
- education
- problem solving

Key Concepts

contradiction perception

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the riddle illustrate about expectations?
- How can paradoxes sharpen thinking?

A Different Perspective

May be too abstract for some audiences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [I never fall in love, because everything that falls breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-fall-in-love-because-everything-that-falls-breaks/)

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

> [Crazy When A Heart Breaks It Never Breaks Even](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/crazy-when-a-heart-breaks-it-never-breaks-even/)

[Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/)

> [Nothing's a break for me. Not even the breaks are breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-downey-jr/nothing-s-a-break-for-me-not-even-the-breaks-are-breaks/)

[Robert Downey, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-downey-jr/)

> [Love but never fall in love whatever falls breaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-but-never-fall-in-love-whatever-falls-breaks/)

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

> [We should love, not fall in love. Because everything that falls, breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/we-should-love-not-fall-in-love-because-everything-that-falls-breaks/)

[Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/)

> [Dear Humpty Dumpty, you are not the only one who falls and breaks into pieces. Sincerely, The Heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zariahh-renee/dear-humpty-dumpty-you-are-not-the-only-one-who-falls-and-breaks-into/)

[Zariahh Renee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zariahh-renee/)

> [A person is unlucky who falls on his back and breaks his nose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/french-proverb/a-person-is-unlucky-who-falls-on-his-back-and-breaks-his-nose/)

French Proverb

> [“For thirty minutes I sat back and felt the glimmer of pride that historically precedes the most catastrophic falls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-john/for-thirty-minutes-i-sat-back-and-felt-the-glimmer-of-pride-that/)

[Antony John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-john/)

> [A new-born Government must shine and astonish - the moment it loses its éclat it falls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/a-new-born-government-must-shine-and-astonish-the-moment-it-loses-its/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [... life falls into place only with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/life-falls-into-place-only-with-god/)

[H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/)

> [When I eat cilantro, it's like someone sprayed perfume down my throat. It closes up my throat, even if there's only a little piece.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-rose/when-i-eat-cilantro-it-s-like-someone-sprayed-perfume-down-my-throat/)

[Amber Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-rose/)

> [“Everyone falls sometimes, son, even me, but the trick is to get right back up. They’ll always target the ones who appear vulnerable, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/everyone-falls-sometimes-son-even-me-but-the-trick-is-to-get-right/)

[J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/)

> [All trembling, I reached the Falls of Niagara, and oh, what a scene! My blood shudders still, although I am not a coward, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/all-trembling-i-reached-the-falls-of-niagara-and-oh-what-a-scene-my/)

[John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/)

> [“The one who falls and gets up is so much stronger than the one who never fell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-one-who-falls-and-gets-up-is-so-much-stronger-than-the-one-who/)

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

> [Ambition devours gold and drinks blood and climbs so high by other men's heads, that at the length in the fall, it breaks its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wentworth-1st-earl-of-strafford/ambition-devours-gold-and-drinks-blood-and-climbs-so-high-by-other/)

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

## More by Ted Dekker

> [Grow up? Get herself straightened out? Her mind reeled from the verbal battering. No matter what she did, her father would tell her she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/grow-up-get-herself-straightened-out-her-mind-reeled-from-the-verbal/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [My idea for 'BoneMan's Daughters' came from the loss of my own daughter when she left home to live with a monster at age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/my-idea-for-boneman-s-daughters-came-from-the-loss-of-my-own-daughter/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [And does man simply choose evil, or does he create it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/and-does-man-simply-choose-evil-or-does-he-create-it/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [“doing good required taking risks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/doing-good-required-taking-risks/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [“Pape called Basil his sanctuary. In truth we all exist in our own sanctuaries-but I don't mean cathedrals or prisons. I'm talking about our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/pape-called-basil-his-sanctuary-in-truth-we-all-exist-in-our-own/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [“The physical power of real love is staggering, because real forgiveness is staggering...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-physical-power-of-real-love-is-staggering-because-real/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [“The only barrier to apprehending the truth is our own unwillingness to see the world as it is instead of how we prefer it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-only-barrier-to-apprehending-the-truth-is-our-own-unwillingness/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [What is pure Bill? Or excellent or admirable? The death of a million people in a flood? God evidently through so. He is incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/what-is-pure-bill-or-excellent-or-admirable-the-death-of-a-million/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [It's critical that we use a very dark brush to paint evil. When you bring the light into that darkness as characterized in John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/it-s-critical-that-we-use-a-very-dark-brush-to-paint-evil-when-you/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [Sin thrives in the dungeon, but slap it on the table for all to see, and it withers rather quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/sin-thrives-in-the-dungeon-but-slap-it-on-the-table-for-all-to-see/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [“Elyon was restoring the Great Romance. Teeleh had stolen his first love, but now Justin had reclaimed her. The price had been his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/elyon-was-restoring-the-great-romance-teeleh-had-stolen-his-first/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [The good news is that even though we walk through this valley of death, we don't have to fear, at least not for ourselves!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/the-good-news-is-that-even-though-we-walk-through-this-valley-of/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [“We become so used to the familiar that we begin to doubt the unfamiliar, until our eyes are opened and we see .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/we-become-so-used-to-the-familiar-that-we-begin-to-doubt-the/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

> [Perfect, that's our plan then. But you'll have to give up being a priest first. I wouldn't want to just sit around whispering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/perfect-that-s-our-plan-then-but-you-ll-have-to-give-up-being-a/)

[Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

[Explore all 222 Ted Dekker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/)

## More Breaks quotes

> [“...between two rapid beats of my heart, someone else's breaks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandy-williams/between-two-rapid-beats-of-my-heart-someone-else-s-breaks/)

[Sandy Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandy-williams/)

> [When you cook a sausage, the skin sometimes breaks and the ground meat comes apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-cook-a-sausage-the-skin-sometimes-breaks-and-the-ground-meat/)

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

> [What I look for in a script is something that challenges me, something that breaks new ground, something that allows me to flex my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bay/what-i-look-for-in-a-script-is-something-that-challenges-me-something/)

[Michael Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bay/)

> [Since FDR's New Deal, corporations and wealthy families have been non-stop finding new ways to get tax breaks, deregulation and entitlements from the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/since-fdr-s-new-deal-corporations-and-wealthy-families-have-been-non/)

[Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/)

> [Ambition devours gold and drinks blood and climbs so high by other men's heads, that at the length in the fall, it breaks its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wentworth-1st-earl-of-strafford/ambition-devours-gold-and-drinks-blood-and-climbs-so-high-by-other/)

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

> [There is no secret to success except hard work and getting something indefinable which we call 'the breaks.' In order for a writer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/countee-cullen/there-is-no-secret-to-success-except-hard-work-and-getting-something/)

[Countee Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/countee-cullen/)

> [I hit Damian Fuller with a left hook that left him laid out for 30-45 minutes. They brought oxygen to him, they couldn't wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-corrales/i-hit-damian-fuller-with-a-left-hook-that-left-him-laid-out-for-30-45/)

[Diego Corrales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-corrales/)

> [“Everyone breaks a little sometimes. That doesn't make you weak. It makes you wounded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-kenner/everyone-breaks-a-little-sometimes-that-doesn-t-make-you-weak-it/)

[J. Kenner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-kenner/)

> [You need to understand plant chemistry, be inured to discomfort and awesomely flexible. When something breaks down-the plane, the boat, you just have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/you-need-to-understand-plant-chemistry-be-inured-to-discomfort-and/)

[Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/)

> [You've got to be poised in and out of your breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deebo-samuel/you-ve-got-to-be-poised-in-and-out-of-your-breaks/)

[Deebo Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deebo-samuel/)

> [I'm a 6'4' guy who can run every route. I can get in and out of breaks like a 5'10' guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-green/i-m-a-6-4-guy-who-can-run-every-route-i-can-get-in-and-out-of-breaks/)

[A. J. Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-green/)

> [When a guy breaks up with you, make sure you show him that you are having a f\*ckin' good time without him and with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-parkin/when-a-guy-breaks-up-with-you-make-sure-you-show-him-that-you-are/)

[Sophie Parkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-parkin/)

> [Contact with the world either breaks or hardens the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contact-with-the-world-either-breaks-or-hardens-the-heart/)

[Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/)

> [My heart breaks a little bit more every time I see you with her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-heart-breaks-a-little-bit-more-every-time-i-see-you-with-her/)

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

> [We've had lots of breaks, especially over the last 10 years, so to still be getting together and to be able to get on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kanal/we-ve-had-lots-of-breaks-especially-over-the-last-10-years-so-to/)

[Tony Kanal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kanal/)

Browse all 359 Breaks quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“‎\"What falls but never breaks; what breaks but never falls?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ted Dekker"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks-but-never-falls/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Breaks"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks-but-never-falls/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/ted-dekker-1605_breaks_what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks_2475199.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/ted-dekker-1605_breaks_what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks_2475199.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cfa/ted-dekker-1605_breaks_what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks_2475199.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“‎\"What falls but never breaks; what breaks but never falls?” — Ted Dekker",
                "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": "Ted Dekker",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“‎\"What falls but never breaks; what...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks-but-never-falls/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/what-falls-but-never-breaks-what-breaks-but-never-falls/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```