--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first rule of holes is when you're in…" description: "\"The first rule of holes is when you're in one, stop digging. When you're in three, bring a lot of shovels.\" — Thomas Friedman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/thomas-friedman-1784_digging_the-first-rule-of-holes-is-when-you-re-i_2771201.png" --- # The first rule of holes is when you're in one, stop… ![“The first rule of holes is when you're in one, stop digging. When you're in three, bring a lot of shovels.” quote by Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/thomas-friedman-1784_digging_the-first-rule-of-holes-is-when-you-re-i_2771201.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/thomas-friedman-1784_digging_the-first-rule-of-holes-is-when-you-re-i_2771201.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a28/thomas-friedman-1784_digging_the-first-rule-of-holes-is-when-you-re-i_2771201.png) > “The first rule of holes is when you're in one, stop digging. When you're in three, bring a lot of shovels.” [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognize when a situation is worsening and stop actions that worsen it; sometimes multiple problems require more resources. **In simple terms:** Stop making things worse; add tools if needed. Key Takeaway Pause, assess, then act wisely. Themes decision making risk management problem solving Mood cautious analytical Type advice practical When to use this quote - personal finance - project management - environmental policy - relationship conflicts Key Concepts systems thinking resource allocation Questions to Reflect On - Are you adding effort to a losing battle? - When is it better to bring more resources? A Different Perspective If you keep digging, you may deepen the hole beyond repair. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [The first rule of holes: When you're in one stop digging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-first-rule-of-holes-when-you-re-in-one-stop-digging/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [It is a good thing to follow the First Law of Holes: if you are in one, stop digging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-healey/it-is-a-good-thing-to-follow-the-first-law-of-holes-if-you-are-in-one/) [Denis Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-healey/) > [“Healey’s First Law Of Holes: When in one, stop digging.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-healey/healey-s-first-law-of-holes-when-in-one-stop-digging/) [Denis Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-healey/) > [First law on holes - when you're in one, stop digging!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-healey/first-law-on-holes-when-you-re-in-one-stop-digging/) [Denis Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-healey/) > [“The first rule for getting out of holes is to stop”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-jance/the-first-rule-for-getting-out-of-holes-is-to-stop/) [J.A. Jance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-jance/) > [We do have a saying in America: if you're in a hole, stop digging … erm, I'm not sure I should have said that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/we-do-have-a-saying-in-america-if-you-re-in-a-hole-stop-digging-erm-i/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [“When you find youself in a hole - stop digging.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/when-you-find-youself-in-a-hole-stop-digging/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Now, given the experience that we have had thus far, with our subsequent trade agreements with NAFTA and others, you would think that with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-f-lynch/now-given-the-experience-that-we-have-had-thus-far-with-our/) [Stephen F. Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-f-lynch/) > [“One thing they don’t tell you ’bout the blues when you got ’em, you keep on fallin’ ’cause there ain't no bottom,' sings Emmylou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/one-thing-they-don-t-tell-you-bout-the-blues-when-you-got-em-you-keep/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [“If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. —WILL ROGERS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-allen/if-you-find-yourself-in-a-hole-the-first-thing-to-do-is-stop-digging-2/) [David Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-allen/) > [“The most important thing to do if you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-most-important-thing-to-do-if-you-find-yourself-in-a-hole-is-to/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Remember what to do when you're at the bottom of a hole? You've got to stop digging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-mackler/remember-what-to-do-when-you-re-at-the-bottom-of-a-hole-you-ve-got-to/) [Carolyn Mackler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-mackler/) > [When you are in a hole, the top priority is to stop digging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-easterly/when-you-are-in-a-hole-the-top-priority-is-to-stop-digging/) [William Easterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-easterly/) > [If You're In A Hole, Stop Digging: 'Do Not Create More Trouble For Yourself When You Are Already Facing Some.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/if-you-re-in-a-hole-stop-digging-do-not-create-more-trouble-for/) Pacifiersucker > [If you find yourself in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/church-bulletin-board/if-you-find-yourself-in-a-hole-the-first-thing-to-do-is-stop-digging/) Church Bulletin Board ## More by Thomas Friedman > [I'm pretty much an open book. I am a fanatic golfer and golf nut. If I have three free hours any day, my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/i-m-pretty-much-an-open-book-i-am-a-fanatic-golfer-and-golf-nut-if-i/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [The financial crisis just made the hole deeper, which is why our stimulus needs to be both big and smart, both financially and educationally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/the-financial-crisis-just-made-the-hole-deeper-which-is-why-our/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Many jobs at Google require math, computing, and coding skills, so if your good grades truly reflect skills in those areas that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/many-jobs-at-google-require-math-computing-and-coding-skills-so-if/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Never before in the history of the planet have so many people, on their own, had the ability to find so much information about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/never-before-in-the-history-of-the-planet-have-so-many-people-on/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [When I was growing up, my parents told me, 'Finish your dinner. People in China and India are starving.' 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We cannot make ourselves safer abroad unless we change our behavior at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/geopolitics-is-all-about-leverage-we-cannot-make-ourselves-safer/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Big breakthroughs happen when what is suddenly possible meets what is desperately needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/big-breakthroughs-happen-when-what-is-suddenly-possible-meets-what-is/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [That's right-the striking thing about greenhouse gases is the diversity of sources that emit them. A herd of cattle belching can be worse than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/that-s-right-the-striking-thing-about-greenhouse-gases-is-the/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [There is something more severe than the problem with Thomas Friedman, which can be generalized to represent someone causing action while being completely unaccountable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/there-is-something-more-severe-than-the-problem-with-thomas-friedman/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [Pessimists are usually right and optimists are usually wrong but all the great changes have been accomplished by optimists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/pessimists-are-usually-right-and-optimists-are-usually-wrong-but-all/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) [Explore all 208 Thomas Friedman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) ## More Digging quotes > [Some people are like ants. Give them a warm day and a piece of ground and they start digging. There the similarity ends. Ants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/some-people-are-like-ants-give-them-a-warm-day-and-a-piece-of-ground/) [Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/) > [In a delightful garden, sowing, planting or digging are not hardship but are done with a zeal and a certain pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/in-a-delightful-garden-sowing-planting-or-digging-are-not-hardship/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [In archaeology you uncover the unknown. In diplomacy you cover the known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-archaeology-you-uncover-the-unknown-in-diplomacy-you-cover-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/i-thought-i-knew-a-lot-about-music-then-you-start-digging-and-the/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [From my image of digging around in the mud like a grunt, I preferred fighting the war from ships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/from-my-image-of-digging-around-in-the-mud-like-a-grunt-i-preferred/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [When you consider the sheer magnitude of investable equities to choose from in the world's emerging markets, you realize that finding one that looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mobius/when-you-consider-the-sheer-magnitude-of-investable-equities-to/) [Mark Mobius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mobius/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [ The Ancient One, as you know, is the master, is the Sorcerer Supreme, and \[Doctor\] Strange comes to learn how to heal himself and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tilda-swinton/the-ancient-one-as-you-know-is-the-master-is-the-sorcerer-supreme-and/) [Tilda Swinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tilda-swinton/) > [I wish I lived back in the Old West days, because I'd save up my money for about twenty years so I could buy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-wish-i-lived-back-in-the-old-west-days-because-i-d-save-up-my-money/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [If you really want to be a good archaeologist, you have to understand ancient DNA; you have to understand chemical analysis to figure out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-parcak/if-you-really-want-to-be-a-good-archaeologist-you-have-to-understand/) [Sarah Parcak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-parcak/) > [I was a manual labourer. I figured out really early on that the value of my life could be determined by my hourly rate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-was-a-manual-labourer-i-figured-out-really-early-on-that-the-value/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [Archaeology, I found, comprehended all manner of excitement and achievement. Adventure is coupled with bookish toil. Romantic excursions go hand in hand with scholarly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/archaeology-i-found-comprehended-all-manner-of-excitement-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've never met a girl who thinks like you." "A lot of people tell me that," she said, digging at a cuticle. "But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-ve-never-met-a-girl-who-thinks-like-you-a-lot-of-people-tell-me/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you don't break a hole through the brick wall, don't just start digging a new hole. Keep going until you break through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/if-you-don-t-break-a-hole-through-the-brick-wall-don-t-just-start/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [Keep digging, Flynn. Six feet makes a grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-monk/keep-digging-flynn-six-feet-makes-a-grave/) [Devon Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-monk/) Browse all 487 Digging quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first rule of holes is when you're in one, stop digging. 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