Inaction Quotes - Page 4

• So much of the world's suffering results from the sinful action or inaction of ourselves and others. For example, people look at a famine and wonder where God is, but the world produces enough food for each person to have 3,000 calories a day. It's our own irresponsibility and self-centeredness that prevents people from getting fed.

  Lee Strobel

  Self, People, Suffering

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• Some people wait so long for their ship to come in, their pier collapses.

  John Goddard

  Long, People, Waiting

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• To try and fail is at least to learn; to fail to try is to suffer the inestimable loss of what might have been.

  Chester Barnard

  Inspirational, Failure, Learning

  Chester Irving Barnard (1968). “The Functions of the Executive”, p.26, Harvard University Press

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• Once we know and are aware, we are responsible for our action and our inaction. We can do something about it or ignore it. Either way, we are still responsible.

  Jean-Paul Sartre

  Our Actions, Way, Responsible

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• Drastic action can be costly, but it can be less expensive than continuing inaction.

  Richard Neustadt

  Action, Continuing, Drastic

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• Inaction will cause a man to sink into the slough of despond and vanish without a trace.

  Farley Mowat

  Men, Causes, Without A Trace

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• Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.

  A. A. Milne

  Happiness, Being Happy, Appreciation

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• Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. But it's not. It takes patience, it takes commitment, and it comes with plenty of failure along the way. The real test is not whether you avoid this failure, because you won't. it's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.

  Barack Obama

  Patience, Perseverance, Real

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• It is difficult to steer a parked car, so get moving.

  Henrietta Mears

  Motivational, Women, Moving

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• [...] endless action and reaction. Those beautifully rounded pebbles which you gather on the sand and which you hold in your hand and marvel at their exceeding smoothness, were chiseled into their varies and graceful forms by the ceaseless action of countless waves. Nature is herself a great worker and never tolerates, without certain rebuke, any contradiction to her wise example. Inaction is followed by stagnation. Stagnation is followed by pestilence and pestilence is followed by death.

  Frederick Douglass

  Wise, Hands, Example

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• Awareness isn't passive. It directly leads to action (or inaction).

  Deepak Chopra

  Action, Awareness, Passive

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• And to those who would choose the safety of inaction over the danger of taking a stand, I have this to say:
  You bloody cowards. May you have the world that you deserve.

  Mira Grant

  Safety, Coward, World

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• Any action is better than no action at all.

  Norman Vincent Peale

  Inspirational, Confidence, Action

  Norman Vincent Peale (1996). “Power of the Plus Factor”, Ballantine Books

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• Laws will not eliminate prejudice from the hearts of human beings. But that is no reason to allow prejudice to continue to be enshrined in our laws - to perpetuate injustice through inaction.

  Shirley Chisholm

  Heart, Law, Prejudice

  "For the Equal Rights Amendment". Shirley Chisholm's speech in Washington, D.C., www.americanrhetoric.com. August 10, 1970.

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• Fruitless striving breeds less despair than inaction.

  Mason Cooley

  Despair, Action, Strive

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• See that you do not use the trick of prayer to cover up what you know you ought to do.

  Oswald Chambers

  Prayer, Cover Ups, Use

  Oswald Chambers (2010). “Prayer: A Holy Occupation”, p.52, Discovery House

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• Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows, by itself.

  Matsuo Basho

  Inspirational, Positive, Spring

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• There is nothing I fear so much as idleness, the want of occupation, inactivity, the lethargy of the faculties; when the body is idle, the spirit suffers painfully.

  Charlotte Bronte

  Suffering, Body, Occupation

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• Inaction is cowardice, but there can be no scholar without the heroic mind.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Mind, Heroic, Cowardice

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (2015). “Emerson's Essays: Top Essays”, p.16, 谷月社

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• To do anything, it is first necessary to be doing nothing.

  Nancy Hale

  Doing Nothing, Firsts

  Nancy Hale (1957). “Heaven and Hardpan Farm”

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• In order to align your life choices with your values, you will need to inquire about the effects of your actions (and inactions) on yourself and others. Although we are always stumbling upon new knowledge that shifts our choices and life direction, bringing conscious inquiry to life means that we continually ask questions that lead us to the information we need to make thoughtful decisions. Asking questions is liberating because we develop great understanding and discover more choices with our new knowledge

  Zoe Weil

  Mean, Thoughtful, Asking Questions

  Zoe Weil (2009). “Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life”, p.4, Simon and Schuster

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• Justice is not available to all equally; it is something that many of us must struggle to achieve. As an elected official, I know that fighting for what is just is not always popular but it is necessary; that is the real challenge that public servants face and it is where courage counts the most. Without courage, our action or inaction results in suffering of the few and injustice for all.

  Hilda Solis

  Real, Struggle, Fighting

  "Immigrant's daughter Solis to lead Labor Dept". International Business Times, December 19, 2008.

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• With the continued support of citizens who refuse to accept inaction at the expense of future generations, we will lead the world toward a sustainable future.

  Diana DeGette

  Support, Generations, Citizens

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• Climate change has a very high procrastination penalty that just grows with each passing year of inaction - rather like what happens if you don't pay off your credit card. But for climate, there is no such thing as a fresh start from bankruptcy.

  William H. Calvin

  Procrastination, Years, Climate

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• My mother always told me that inaction is not an option. And neither is going it alone.

  Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

  Mother

  "My Mother Always Told Me Inaction Is Not an Option" by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 19, 2014.

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