The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
If I had known what it would be like to have it all - I might have been willing to settle for less.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea that achieving everything one desires might not lead to happiness, suggesting that sometimes it's better to desire less.
Lily Tomlin's quote suggests a profound realization about the nature of fulfillment and the pursuit of desires. It implies that having everything one wants can lead to unexpected challenges and disappointments, making one reconsider whether striving for 'having it all' is truly worthwhile. Instead, it encourages the perspective of appreciating what one has rather than constantly seeking more, advocating for a reevaluation of personal aspirations and contentment.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used during a motivational speech about the importance of appreciating life.
More from Lily Tomlin
All quotes βSometimes I worry about being a success in a mediocre world.
The road to success is always under construction.
Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them.
Truth is, I've always been selling out. The difference is that in the past, I looked like I had integrity because there were no buyers.
Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying but when God talks to us we're schizophrenic?
Similar quotes
Do good with what thou hast, or it will do thee no good.
...to many it is not knowledge but the quest for knowledge that gives greater interest to thought-to travel hopefully is better than to arrive.
If others tell us something we make assumptions, and if they don't tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate. Even if we hear something and we don't understand we make assumptions about what it means and then believe the assumptions. We make all sorts of assumptions because we don't have the courage to ask questions.
I believe you are your work. Don't trade the stuff of your life, time, for nothing more than dollars. That's a rotten bargain.
Look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in
Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.