--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life, we can now say, is getting…" description: "\"“Life, we can now say, is getting something to happen against the odds, and remembering how to do it.”\" — Ursula Goodenough" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/ursula-goodenough-28376_life_life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something_1899553.png" --- # Life, we can now say, is getting something to happen… ![“Life, we can now say, is getting something to happen against the odds, and remembering how to do it.” quote by Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/ursula-goodenough-28376_life_life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something_1899553.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/ursula-goodenough-28376_life_life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something_1899553.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/ursula-goodenough-28376_life_life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something_1899553.png) > ““Life, we can now say, is getting something to happen against the odds, and remembering how to do it.”” [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is about confronting odds, achieving outcomes, and remembering how to repeat success, emphasizing resilience and learning from experience. **In simple terms:** Resilience leads to success. Key Takeaway Learn, act, and repeat. Themes resilience innovation learning Mood encouraging reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - personal development - education Key Concepts biology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What odds have you overcome? - How do you retain successful strategies? A Different Perspective May simplify complex challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) ## Related quotes > [What were the odds that she'd turn away at the same instant the ball came flying her way? And that she'd be holding a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/what-were-the-odds-that-she-d-turn-away-at-the-same-instant-the-ball/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [You weren't put in this life to give up, they say. You have a purpose, they say. Then why can't you tell me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie/you-weren-t-put-in-this-life-to-give-up-they-say-you-have-a-purpose/) [Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie/) > [People say life is this and that !! I say just shut the fuck up and live life king size !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jraj/people-say-life-is-this-and-that-i-say-just-shut-the-fuck-up-and-live/) [Jraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jraj/) > [One of the biggest lessons I've learned in my life is to never say somethin you don't mean... that can cause a problem that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-biggest-lessons-i-ve-learned-in-my-life-is-to-never-say/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to live my life in a way that when I get really old, I look back at my life and say: aaah…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-to-live-my-life-in-a-way-that-when-i-get-really-old-i-look/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say: 'Enough is enough.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-armstrong/there-comes-a-point-in-every-man-s-life-when-he-has-to-say-enough-is/) [Lance Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-armstrong/) > [For better or for worse, I just have to be on tour for some portion of the year. 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For the things I knew I should have done. All I have to say come back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacent-nakato/all-of-my-life-i-can-say-am-sorry-for-the-things-i-knew-i-should-have/) [Jacent Nakato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacent-nakato/) > [A great pleasure in life is to do what they say you can't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/a-great-pleasure-in-life-is-to-do-what-they-say-you-can-t/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“They say life makes you tired, but if you ask life, it will say to you: You had wrong thoughts, you made wrong decisions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/they-say-life-makes-you-tired-but-if-you-ask-life-it-will-say-to-you/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [They say love is life, I say love is smile :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babar-ali/they-say-love-is-life-i-say-love-is-smile/) Babar Ali > [As much as you can in your life, say yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-carillo/as-much-as-you-can-in-your-life-say-yes/) [Mary Carillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-carillo/) ## More by Ursula Goodenough > [Early humans, bursting with questions about Nature but with limited understanding of its dynamics, explained things in terms of supernatural persons and person-animals who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/early-humans-bursting-with-questions-about-nature-but-with-limited/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [The most reliable joy is to be out of doors, to be a creature among other creatures. I find it very restful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/the-most-reliable-joy-is-to-be-out-of-doors-to-be-a-creature-among/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [Human consensus does not generate reality. Were it able to do so, the Sun would have taken to orbiting the Earth some time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/human-consensus-does-not-generate-reality-were-it-able-to-do-so-the/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [Reverence is the sense that there is something larger than the self, larger even than the human, to which one accords respect and awe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/reverence-is-the-sense-that-there-is-something-larger-than-the-self/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [Perhaps we should all settle down and think about what's good in the world and what we want to do here. If we find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/perhaps-we-should-all-settle-down-and-think-about-what-s-good-in-the/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [The evolution of the cosmos invokes in me a sense of mystery; the increase in biodiversity invokes the response of humility; and an understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/the-evolution-of-the-cosmos-invokes-in-me-a-sense-of-mystery-the/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [I have come to understand that the self, my self, is inherently sacred. By virtue of its own improbability, its own miracle, its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/i-have-come-to-understand-that-the-self-my-self-is-inherently-sacred/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [The biochemistry and biophysics are the notes required for life; they conspire, collectively, to generate the real unit of life, the organism. The intermediate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/the-biochemistry-and-biophysics-are-the-notes-required-for-life-they/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [Human memory, they say, is like a coat closet: The most enduring outcome of a formal education is that it creates rows of coat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/human-memory-they-say-is-like-a-coat-closet-the-most-enduring-outcome/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [It is as we respond to the understandings and feelings inherent in . . . art that we acquire much of our truth, much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/it-is-as-we-respond-to-the-understandings-and-feelings-inherent-in/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [The religious naturalist is provisioned with tales of natural emergence that are, to my mind, far more magical than traditional miracles. Emergence is inherent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/the-religious-naturalist-is-provisioned-with-tales-of-natural/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [The Big Bang, the formation of sars and planets, the origin and evolution of life on this planet, the advent of human consciousness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/the-big-bang-the-formation-of-sars-and-planets-the-origin-and/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [It seems far simpler to go ahead and say that the epic is a fantastic myth, that happens to be true of the material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/it-seems-far-simpler-to-go-ahead-and-say-that-the-epic-is-a-fantastic/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [The concept of an independent spiritual realm does not augment, for me, the magic of the mystical dimension, whereas to think of this dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/the-concept-of-an-independent-spiritual-realm-does-not-augment-for-me/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) > [When the responses elicited by the Epic of Evolution are gathered together several religious principles emerge that I can believe, serve as a framework…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/when-the-responses-elicited-by-the-epic-of-evolution-are-gathered/) [Ursula Goodenough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) [Explore all 19 Ursula Goodenough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Life, we can now say, is getting something to happen against the odds, and remembering how to do it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula Goodenough" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something-to-happen-against-the-odds/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something-to-happen-against-the-odds/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/ursula-goodenough-28376_life_life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something_1899553.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/ursula-goodenough-28376_life_life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something_1899553.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/11d/ursula-goodenough-28376_life_life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something_1899553.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life, we can now say, is getting something to happen against the odds, and remembering how to do it.” — Ursula Goodenough", "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": "Ursula Goodenough", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-goodenough/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Life, we can now say, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something-to-happen-against-the-odds/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-goodenough/life-we-can-now-say-is-getting-something-to-happen-against-the-odds/#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 } } ] } ```