--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anybody can be very destructive in that…" description: "\"Anybody can be very destructive in that position without at all meaning to be, and I know that I have been inadvertently destructive in the past for ce..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/tobias-wolff-7890_anybody_anybody-can-be-very-destructive-in-that_2243187.png" --- # Anybody can be very destructive in that position without… ![“Anybody can be very destructive in that position without at all meaning to be, and I know that I have been inadvertently destructive in the past for certain people on certain occasions.” quote by Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/tobias-wolff-7890_anybody_anybody-can-be-very-destructive-in-that_2243187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/tobias-wolff-7890_anybody_anybody-can-be-very-destructive-in-that_2243187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/tobias-wolff-7890_anybody_anybody-can-be-very-destructive-in-that_2243187.png) > “Anybody can be very destructive in that position without at all meaning to be, and I know that I have been inadvertently destructive in the past for certain people on certain occasions.” [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often cause harm unintentionally when in positions of influence, reflecting a lack of self‑awareness and empathy. **In simple terms:** Unintentional harm occurs when we act without considering impact. Key Takeaway Cultivate awareness of how actions affect others. Themes responsibility self‑awareness impact Mood reflective concerned Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - leadership - team projects - family dynamics - volunteering Key Concepts psychology ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you check your impact before acting? - What habits increase self‑awareness? A Different Perspective Not all destructive behavior is deliberate; intent matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anybody/) [Anybody Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anybody-destructive-5094473/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive/) [Destructive Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive-past-5094474/) [Destructive Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructive-position-5094475/) [In the past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/in-the-past/) [Inadvertently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadvertently/) [Inadvertently Destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadvertently-destructive-5094472/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without/) ## Related quotes > [I had inadvertently walked through a door that I shouldn’t have gone through and couldn’t get back to the place I hadn’t meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/i-had-inadvertently-walked-through-a-door-that-i-shouldn-t-have-gone/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [It's hard to read good fiction when I am writing, because if it is really good I catch myself sort of inadvertently imitating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/it-s-hard-to-read-good-fiction-when-i-am-writing-because-if-it-is/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [“Or maybe it was too late, and I had already chosen, inadvertently and incrementally, to be something else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-levy/or-maybe-it-was-too-late-and-i-had-already-chosen-inadvertently-and/) [Ariel Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-levy/) > [We're so preoccupied with protecting children from disappointment and discomfort that we're inadvertently excusing them from growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lz-granderson/we-re-so-preoccupied-with-protecting-children-from-disappointment-and/) [LZ Granderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lz-granderson/) > [Fortunately, I am accustomed to creating amusement inadvertently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-simsion/fortunately-i-am-accustomed-to-creating-amusement-inadvertently/) [Graeme Simsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-simsion/) > [In a sense, Britain inadvertently, through its actions in Hong Kong, did more to reduce world poverty than all the aid programs that we’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-romer/in-a-sense-britain-inadvertently-through-its-actions-in-hong-kong-did/) [Paul Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-romer/) > [With its missed lines and falling tombstones, 'Dark Shadows' was sometimes inadvertently funny, but what made the show work was the fact that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-mann/with-its-missed-lines-and-falling-tombstones-dark-shadows-was/) [William J. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-mann/) > [If children can't handle competition when it's necessary, or take some criticism, or never strive to be better because their parents inadvertently programmed them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lz-granderson/if-children-can-t-handle-competition-when-it-s-necessary-or-take-some/) [LZ Granderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lz-granderson/) > [One of the things about politics, when you're actually there, you realize, you're on a high wire and there is no net under you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/one-of-the-things-about-politics-when-you-re-actually-there-you/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [I haven't read a lot of science fiction, and I never intend to write it; it seems to happen a little bit inadvertently for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-haven-t-read-a-lot-of-science-fiction-and-i-never-intend-to-write/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Sometimes, you find yourself inadvertently in the dark. But I’d discovered that if you stopped fighting against it and just stood still, sometimes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-jacobs/sometimes-you-find-yourself-inadvertently-in-the-dark-but-i-d/) [Holly Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-jacobs/) > [Seve Ballesteros was the best trouble-shot player who ever lived. It didn't matter how far in the woods you put that guy, he'd find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-trevino/seve-ballesteros-was-the-best-trouble-shot-player-who-ever-lived-it/) [Lee Trevino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-trevino/) > [For most of my life, I did deliberately lead a private life and inadvertently led a public life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-clinton/for-most-of-my-life-i-did-deliberately-lead-a-private-life-and/) [Chelsea Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-clinton/) > [I will say that my days are spent solitary and somewhat lost in thought, and every single time I inadvertently wear my shirt inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-will-say-that-my-days-are-spent-solitary-and-somewhat-lost-in/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [If your not striving to become a better person, then inadvertently you are striving to become worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemar-hinds/if-your-not-striving-to-become-a-better-person-then-inadvertently-you/) [Kemar Hinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemar-hinds/) ## More by Tobias Wolff > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [You boys know what tropism is, it's what makes a plant grow toward the light. Everything aspires to the light. You don't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/you-boys-know-what-tropism-is-it-s-what-makes-a-plant-grow-toward-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [We even talked like Hemingway characters, though in travesty, as if to deny our discipleship: That is your bed, and it is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/we-even-talked-like-hemingway-characters-though-in-travesty-as-if-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [“But for now Anders can still make time. Time for the shadows to lengthen on the grass, time for the tethered dog to bark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/but-for-now-anders-can-still-make-time-time-for-the-shadows-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [One of the last courses I taught was on the Russian short story, which I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/one-of-the-last-courses-i-taught-was-on-the-russian-short-story-which/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [“He did not remember when everything began to remind him of something else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/he-did-not-remember-when-everything-began-to-remind-him-of-something/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Because I don't have to be careful of people's feelings when I teach literature, and I do when I'm teaching writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/because-i-don-t-have-to-be-careful-of-people-s-feelings-when-i-teach/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Work for most people is really very social, and the actual thinking is often done in community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/work-for-most-people-is-really-very-social-and-the-actual-thinking-is/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Writers cannot let themselves be servants of the official mythology. They have to, whatever the cost, say what truth they have to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/writers-cannot-let-themselves-be-servants-of-the-official-mythology/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [One can imagine a world without essays. It would be a little poorer, of course, like a world without chess, but one could live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/one-can-imagine-a-world-without-essays-it-would-be-a-little-poorer-of/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [I was giving up--being realistic, as people liked to say, meaning the same thing. Being realistic made me feel bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/i-was-giving-up-being-realistic-as-people-liked-to-say-meaning-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [“Lose Faith. Pray anyway. Persist. We are made to persist, to complete the whole tour. That's how we find out who we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/lose-faith-pray-anyway-persist-we-are-made-to-persist-to-complete-the/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [I believe that the short story is as different a form from the novel as poetry is, and the best stories seem to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/i-believe-that-the-short-story-is-as-different-a-form-from-the-novel/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [It's probably why I'm a short story writer. I tend to remember things in the past in narrative form, in story form, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/it-s-probably-why-i-m-a-short-story-writer-i-tend-to-remember-things/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [When we are green, still half-created, we believe that our dreams are rights, that the world is disposed to act in our best interests,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/when-we-are-green-still-half-created-we-believe-that-our-dreams-are/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) [Explore all 86 Tobias Wolff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) ## More Anybody quotes > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The reason I got into acting was not to explore myself. I was a reader, I didn't care about acting. I got into it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/the-reason-i-got-into-acting-was-not-to-explore-myself-i-was-a-reader/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [I would never refuse to work with anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleen-nolan/i-would-never-refuse-to-work-with-anybody/) [Coleen Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleen-nolan/) > [Take control of who you report to, what you do, what you create. Or start a business on the side. Deliver some value, any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/take-control-of-who-you-report-to-what-you-do-what-you-create-or/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [I'm against unanswerable concentrations of power, whether that be government or private industry or religious figures - anybody who is not accountable to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-m-against-unanswerable-concentrations-of-power-whether-that-be/) [Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/) > [Anybody who is an entrepreneur is a person who essentially has impaired judgment. The odds of success are zilch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/anybody-who-is-an-entrepreneur-is-a-person-who-essentially-has/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [The reality is that the work I do is not private work. I bring all my secrets, my life, to my work. Anybody who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-garcia/the-reality-is-that-the-work-i-do-is-not-private-work-i-bring-all-my/) [Andy Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-garcia/) > [I want everybody to worship the God of love instead of worshipping the God of hate and torture. But in the meantime, we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mosab-hassan-yousef/i-want-everybody-to-worship-the-god-of-love-instead-of-worshipping/) [Mosab Hassan Yousef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mosab-hassan-yousef/) > [I don't know anybody that doesn't own a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-manchin/i-don-t-know-anybody-that-doesn-t-own-a-gun/) [Joe Manchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-manchin/) > [The Bushes were certainly part of Texas in their mind, but they didn't have the kind of political flavor that you normally find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-bushes-were-certainly-part-of-texas-in-their-mind-but-they-didn-t/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [There's no recovery on Main Street, I can tell you that for sure. 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