--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you can't beat them or join them, then…" description: "\"If you can't beat them or join them, then do something weird. No matter how much the passengers eat, the weight of the plane stays the same. Do you som..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/thomas-sowell-247_beats_if-you-can-t-beat-them-or-join-them-then_1198528.jpg" --- # If you can't beat them or join them, then do something… ![“If you can't beat them or join them, then do something weird. No matter how much the passengers eat, the weight of the plane stays the same. Do you sometimes feel that you are necessary but not sufficient?” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/thomas-sowell-247_beats_if-you-can-t-beat-them-or-join-them-then_1198528.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/thomas-sowell-247_beats_if-you-can-t-beat-them-or-join-them-then_1198528.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7cd/thomas-sowell-247_beats_if-you-can-t-beat-them-or-join-them-then_1198528.jpg) > “If you can't beat them or join them, then do something weird. No matter how much the passengers eat, the weight of the plane stays the same. Do you sometimes feel that you are necessary but not sufficient?” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When faced with opposing forces, unconventional actions can reveal hidden possibilities, and perceived importance may not guarantee impact. **In simple terms:** Unconventional actions can matter despite feeling insufficient. Key Takeaway Embrace creativity, recognize limits. Themes creativity self‑worth impact Mood reflective provocative Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - team dynamics - personal growth - leadership challenges Key Concepts paradox agency perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you channel weirdness productively? - When does feeling necessary become limiting? A Different Perspective Unconventional approaches may backfire or be misunderstood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beats/) [Eat Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eat-weight-592832/) [Feel Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-necessary-958722/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matter Passengers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter-passengers-3585244/) [Miscellaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miscellaneous/) [Passengers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passengers/) [Passengers Eat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passengers-eat-3585243/) [Plane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plane/) [Planes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/planes/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Sufficient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufficient/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [Normally after a game I want to eat something that I know is filling. 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I actually have to eat to keep the weight on when I am working because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-romijn/i-go-to-the-gym-whenever-i-can-i-actually-have-to-eat-to-keep-the/) [Rebecca Romijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-romijn/) > [I do watch what I eat, but not for weight reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-kruger/i-do-watch-what-i-eat-but-not-for-weight-reasons/) [Diane Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-kruger/) > [“the more greens you eat, the more weight you will lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-fuhrman/the-more-greens-you-eat-the-more-weight-you-will-lose/) [Joel Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-fuhrman/) > [Deception is one of the quickest ways to gain little things and lose big things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/deception-is-one-of-the-quickest-ways-to-gain-little-things-and-lose/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“The way he’s watching me makes me feel needed like no one’s ever been able to make me feel. In a way, he makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/the-way-he-s-watching-me-makes-me-feel-needed-like-no-one-s-ever-been/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“I know I should try harder to make her feel necessary in my life. It totally freaked her when I said I didn’t need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-klise/i-know-i-should-try-harder-to-make-her-feel-necessary-in-my-life-it/) [Kate Klise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-klise/) > [“I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/i-don-t-feel-that-it-is-necessary-to-know-exactly-what-i-am-the-main-2/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [The only thing I really feel is necessary is that the black people, not only in Mississippi, will have to actually upset this applecart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/the-only-thing-i-really-feel-is-necessary-is-that-the-black-people/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [“I don't feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/i-don-t-feel-that-it-is-necessary-to-know-exactly-what-i-am-the-main/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-i-a/uncomfortable-silences-why-do-we-feel-it-s-necessary-to-yak-about/) [M.I.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-i-a/) > [Here is how it is for women. We become our schedules. That starts to feel good. Then it starts to feel necessary. Then it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacquelyn-mitchard/here-is-how-it-is-for-women-we-become-our-schedules-that-starts-to/) [Jacquelyn Mitchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacquelyn-mitchard/) > [What I really feel is necessary is that the black people in this country wil have to upset this apple cart. We can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/what-i-really-feel-is-necessary-is-that-the-black-people-in-this/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. But, for the global warming scenario that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-difference-is-that-we-have-the-hardest-and-most-painful-evidence/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Just as price fluctuations allocate scarce resources which have alternative uses, price controls which limit those fluctuations reduce the incentives for individuals to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/just-as-price-fluctuations-allocate-scarce-resources-which-have/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The greatest danger to the liberal vision are facts about the consequences of liberalism itself and the laws, policies, and ways of life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-greatest-danger-to-the-liberal-vision-are-facts-about-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Do all children have some inherent right to live in America if they have done nothing wrong? 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Years from now, we will look back at this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingraham/certainly-these-are-not-easy-times-but-history-does-not-contain-very/) [Laura Ingraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingraham/) > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [If you don't like club beats take a HIT OF E and you will love the music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/if-you-don-t-like-club-beats-take-a-hit-of-e-and-you-will-love-the/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Every pitcher can beat you, it doesn't matter how good you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bonds/every-pitcher-can-beat-you-it-doesn-t-matter-how-good-you-are/) [Barry Bonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-bonds/) > [Only two to three per cent of an audience is interested in words and pays attention to lyrics; most of the rest of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stewart/only-two-to-three-per-cent-of-an-audience-is-interested-in-words-and/) [Al Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stewart/) > [Joel Lane documents a life we don’t quite live, in a city we can’t quite find: half glimpsed and half imagined, we know it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaz-brenchley/joel-lane-documents-a-life-we-don-t-quite-live-in-a-city-we-can-t/) [Chaz Brenchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaz-brenchley/) > [Practice to beat the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-bennett/practice-to-beat-the-best/) [Dick Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-bennett/) > [I don't know about the rest of the world, but I know in our region everyone is gunning to beat us. 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