» On change

…twelve interesting quotations

As they say, change is the only certainty (well, apart from death and taxes, of course).

Innovation—the heart of technological change—is fundamentally a learning process.

Peter Dicken . 1938- . English geographer and researcher into globalization . Global shift

Be the change you want to see in the world.

attributed to Mahatma Gandhi . 1869-1948 . Indian politician and spiritual leader

We resist change. Committing ourselves to a small change, even one that is unmistakably in our best interest, is often more frightening than ignoring a dangerous situation.

Stephen Grosz . 1952- . American psychoanalyst and author . The examined life

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.

Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara . 1928-1967 . Argentine revolutionary, guerrilla leader and military theorist . Che Guevara speaks

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
The more things change, the more they are the same.

Alphonse Karr . 1808-1890 . French critic, journalist and novelist . Les Guêpes

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.

Karl Marx . 1818-1883 . German political philosopher, economist, sociologist and historian . Theses on Feuerbach

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

attributed to Margaret Mead . 1901-1978 . American cultural anthropologist

Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

Reinhold Niebuhr . 1892-1971 . American theologian . The serenity prayer

I haven’t got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.

David Sedaris . 1956- . American essayist and radio contributor . Naked

Men do not change; they unmask themselves.

Madame de Staël . 1766-1817 . French-speaking Swiss author . quoted, Invasion of the party snatchers (Gold, 2008)

If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa . 1896-1957 . Italian novelist . The leopard . trans, Archibald Colquhoun

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order.

Alfred North Whitehead . 1861-1947 . British mathematician and American philosopher . Process and reality: an essay in cosmology

Related material:
> On change—2

On change—1

…twelve interesting quotations

Innovation—the heart of technological change—is fundamentally a learning process.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

We resist change. Committing ourselves to a small change, even one that is unmistakably in our best interest, is often more frightening than ignoring a dangerous situation.

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
The more things change, the more they are the same.

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

I haven’t got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.

Men do not change; they unmask themselves.

If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order.

Further reading

On change—1

…twelve interesting quotations

Innovation—the heart of technological change—is fundamentally a learning process.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

We resist change. Committing ourselves to a small change, even one that is unmistakably in our best interest, is often more frightening than ignoring a dangerous situation.

The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The more things change, the more they are the same.

The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.

Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

I haven’t got the slightest idea how to change people, but still I keep a long list of prospective candidates just in case I should ever figure it out.

Men do not change; they unmask themselves.

If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.

The art of progress is to preserve order amid change, and to preserve change amid order.

Further reading

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
The more things change, the more they are the same.

Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.