--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To let oneself be carried on passively is…" description: "\"“To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable. ‘That’s your course, world,’ one says, ‘mine is this.”\" — Virginia Woolf" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/virginia-woolf-49_carried_to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-i_710051.jpg" --- # To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable… ![“To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable. ‘That’s your course, world,’ one says, ‘mine is this.” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/virginia-woolf-49_carried_to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-i_710051.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/virginia-woolf-49_carried_to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-i_710051.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/756/virginia-woolf-49_carried_to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-i_710051.jpg) > ““To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable. ‘That’s your course, world,’ one says, ‘mine is this.”” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Passive acceptance of life's path is unacceptable; one must actively shape one's destiny. **In simple terms:** Don't just drift; take control of your life. Key Takeaway Actively define your own path. Themes self‑determination agency existentialism personal responsibility Mood determined assertive Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal relationships - creative projects - health choices Key Concepts Philosophy psychology literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - What does “your course” mean to you? - How can you assert agency in a restrictive environment? A Different Perspective Passive acceptance may ignore external constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Passively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passively/) ## Related quotes > [To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-is-unthinkable/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I still like to get carried away - but passively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/i-still-like-to-get-carried-away-but-passively/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [To think at its best is to find oneself carried down the current of necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brand-blanshard/to-think-at-its-best-is-to-find-oneself-carried-down-the-current-of/) [Brand Blanshard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brand-blanshard/) > [A man who is really earnest must begin with himself, he must be passively aware of all his thoughts, feelings and actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-man-who-is-really-earnest-must-begin-with-himself-he-must-be/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“We can passively take our place in the negative chain, accepting the harm to ourselves and passing it on to others. Or we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-archera-huxley/we-can-passively-take-our-place-in-the-negative-chain-accepting-the/) Laura Archera Huxley > [What I think makes people nerds is just being obsessive. I think that's what nerdiness really is - its people who don't just passively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/what-i-think-makes-people-nerds-is-just-being-obsessive-i-think-that/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > [A culture is like an immune system. It operates through the laws of systems, just like a body. If a body has an infection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/a-culture-is-like-an-immune-system-it-operates-through-the-laws-of/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [Conformity—the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/conformity-the-natural-instinct-to-passively-yield-to-that-vague/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Feelings come to us, passively; love comes from us, actively, by our free choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/feelings-come-to-us-passively-love-comes-from-us-actively-by-our-free/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [People are just passively accepting what you tell them, so if you are on TV there is that greater responsibility to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derren-brown/people-are-just-passively-accepting-what-you-tell-them-so-if-you-are/) [Derren Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derren-brown/) > [The most important thing I learned is that when you are actively learning about someone else you are passively teaching them about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-is-that-when-you-are-actively/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [When you exercise your will power you release the power of life energy - not when you merely wish passively to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/when-you-exercise-your-will-power-you-release-the-power-of-life/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything passively, to make yourself an inert mass, to stare at others with the eyes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet-everything-passively-to-make/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [It is dangerous to maintain equality at the cost of placing the pieces passively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-karpov/it-is-dangerous-to-maintain-equality-at-the-cost-of-placing-the/) [Anatoly Karpov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-karpov/) > [Not actively surviving is passively dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-hofmekler/not-actively-surviving-is-passively-dying/) [Ori Hofmekler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-hofmekler/) ## More by Virginia Woolf > [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. 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