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The sad ones are those who waste their energy in trying to hold it back, for they can only feel bitterness in loss and no joy in gain.
John Steinbeck
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Resisting change leads to bitterness and prevents experiencing joy.

In this quote, John Steinbeck emphasizes the futility of attempting to halt the inevitable flow of life and emotions. By clinging to past losses or resisting change, one not only fails to find joy in new opportunities but also risks becoming consumed by bitterness, thereby missing out on the positive experiences life has to offer.

Themes

ChangeBitternessJoyLossGainLife

In practice

Example use cases

In a motivational speech about embracing change in the workplace.

More from John Steinbeck

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.
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At one point, as Samuel urges Adam to raise his boys well regardless of the blood that might be in them, Adam tells him, "You can't make a race horse of a pig." Samuel replies, "No, but you can make a very fast pig.
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And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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People do not want advice - they want corroboration.
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It is one of the triumphs of the human that he can know a thing and still not believe it.
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