---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To not advance is to retreat."
description: "\"To not advance is to retreat.\" — Tsunesaburo Makiguchi"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_advance_to-not-advance-is-to-retreat-2805756_2805756.png"
---

#  To not advance is to retreat.

![“To not advance is to retreat.” quote by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_advance_to-not-advance-is-to-retreat-2805756_2805756.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_advance_to-not-advance-is-to-retreat-2805756_2805756.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/tsunesaburo-makiguchi-60761_advance_to-not-advance-is-to-retreat-2805756_2805756.png)

> “To not advance is to retreat.”

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

## About This Quote

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

The statement equates stagnation with regression, implying that any lack of progress is a step backward.

**In simple terms:** No progress equals moving backward.

Key Takeaway

Continuously improve and adapt.

Themes

growth progress stagnation development

Mood

motivational reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- business strategy
- personal development
- educational reform
- innovation workshops

Key Concepts

change management education theory philosophy of progress

Questions to Reflect On

- When is pause beneficial?
- How to measure true progress?

A Different Perspective

May ignore necessary pauses for reflection.

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[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/)

## Related quotes

> [Progress is seldom simple; it comes with costs and casualties, even challenges about whether a change represents an advance or a retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/progress-is-seldom-simple-it-comes-with-costs-and-casualties-even/)

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> [When the Americans advance, we harass and retreat, fire from new positions and then retreat again. If the attacking force is too big, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muqtada-al-sadr/when-the-americans-advance-we-harass-and-retreat-fire-from-new/)

[Muqtada al Sadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muqtada-al-sadr/)

> [When over the enemy's lines never forget your own line of retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-boelcke/when-over-the-enemy-s-lines-never-forget-your-own-line-of-retreat/)

[Oswald Boelcke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-boelcke/)

> [His retreat into himself is not a final renunciation of the world, but a search for quietude, where alone it is possible for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/his-retreat-into-himself-is-not-a-final-renunciation-of-the-world-but/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

> [Men seek out retreats for themselves in the country, by the seaside, on the moutains . . . But all this is unphilosophical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/men-seek-out-retreats-for-themselves-in-the-country-by-the-seaside-on/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [Life doesn't retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/life-doesn-t-retreat/)

[Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/)

> [I long for, not a writer's retreat - I can write in any situation - but a reader's retreat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/i-long-for-not-a-writer-s-retreat-i-can-write-in-any-situation-but-a/)

[Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/)

> [Nowhere can man find a quieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/nowhere-can-man-find-a-quieter-or-more-untroubled-retreat-than-in-his/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [A man may be accused of cowardice for fleeing away from all manner of physical dangers but when things supernatural, insubstantial and inexplicable threaten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/a-man-may-be-accused-of-cowardice-for-fleeing-away-from-all-manner-of/)

[Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/)

> [I decided to lock myself in. A forced segregation. Sabbatical. A retreat into myself. My selves. Play hide and go seek in the looking-glass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-decided-to-lock-myself-in-a-forced-segregation-sabbatical-a-retreat/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My priority in life is my whanau, followed by my work as an artist, which has blessed me with the ability to provide opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/my-priority-in-life-is-my-whanau-followed-by-my-work-as-an-artist/)

[Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/)

> [Some companies out there quote a start of production that is substantially in advance of when customers get their cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/some-companies-out-there-quote-a-start-of-production-that-is/)

[Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/)

> [The advance of science spares us from irrational dread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/the-advance-of-science-spares-us-from-irrational-dread/)

[Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/)

> [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/)

[Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/)

> [I don't think we should tell them what we're going to do in advance. Let them think. Worry. Wonder. Uncertainty is the most chilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/i-don-t-think-we-should-tell-them-what-we-re-going-to-do-in-advance/)

[Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/)

## More by Tsunesaburo Makiguchi

> [The essence of education is not to transfer knowledge; it is to guide the learning process, to put responsibility for study in the student's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/the-essence-of-education-is-not-to-transfer-knowledge-it-is-to-guide/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

> [Cooperative living can develop only as individual persons become able to see their own weaknesses and strengths as well as the weaknesses and strengthen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/cooperative-living-can-develop-only-as-individual-persons-become-able/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

> [True happiness comes only through sharing in the trials and successes of other persons and of our community. Hence it is essential that any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/true-happiness-comes-only-through-sharing-in-the-trials-and-successes/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

> [What then is the purpose of national education? Rather than devise complex theoretical interpretations, it is better to start by looking to the lovely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/what-then-is-the-purpose-of-national-education-rather-than-devise/)

[Tsunesaburo Makiguchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

[Explore all 5 Tsunesaburo Makiguchi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsunesaburo-makiguchi/)

## More Advance quotes

> [I don't think we should tell them what we're going to do in advance. Let them think. Worry. Wonder. Uncertainty is the most chilling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-a-walters/i-don-t-think-we-should-tell-them-what-we-re-going-to-do-in-advance/)

[Vernon A. Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-a-walters/)

> [It's more common than not that bipolar illness will start in the teens. One of the reasons I spend a lot of time on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/it-s-more-common-than-not-that-bipolar-illness-will-start-in-the/)

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> [Others have said it before me. If you don't have a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu. And so it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/others-have-said-it-before-me-if-you-don-t-have-a-seat-at-the-table/)

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> [Some might complain that nuclear disarmament is little more than a dream. But that ignores the very tangible benefits disarmament would bring for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/some-might-complain-that-nuclear-disarmament-is-little-more-than-a/)

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Browse all 263 Advance quotes

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