Inaction Quotes

The action or inaction of any government does not negate the Personal Responsibility of the citizens. ~ Sunday Adelaja

To do anything, it is first necessary to be doing nothing. ~ Nancy Hale

Everything I was, everything I did, everything I am, was forged from the twins of their action and inaction. ~ Tahereh Mafi

Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed. ~ George Burns

Violence is a cleansing force. It frees the native from his inferiority complex and from his despair and inaction; it makes him fearless and restores his self-respect ~ Frantz Fanon

But it was not real freedom, he realised. It was the freedom that comes from lack of choice and moreover, was the kind that only came with decisions delayed. It was a freedom of inaction. ~ Lavie Tidhar

I looked anxiously around me: the present, nothing but the present. Furniture light and solid, rooted in its present, a table, a bed, a closet with a mirror-and me. the true nature of the present revealed itself: it was what exists, and all that was not present did not exist. The past did not exist. Not at all. Not in things, not even in my thoughts. It is true that I had realized a long time ago that mine had escaped me. But until then I had believed that it had simply gone out of my range. For me the past was only a pensioning off: it was another way of existing, a state of vacation and inaction; each event, when it had played its part, put itself politely into a box and became an honorary event: we have so much difficulty imagining nothingness. Now I knew: things are entirely what they appear to be-and behind them ... there is nothing. ~ Jean-Paul Sartre

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

External things are not the problem. It's your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now. If the problem is something in your own character, who's stopping you from setting your mind straight? And if it's that you're not doing something you think you should be, why not just do it? - But there are insuperable obstacles. Then it's not a problem. The cause of your inaction lies outside you. - But how can I go on living with that undone? Then depart, with a good conscience, as if you'd done it, embracing the obstacles too. ~ Marcus Aurelius

Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you
want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. ~ Dale Carnegia

Often what people don't say or leave out, tells the real story. ~ Shannon L. Alder

I think it is important for people to understand that there are real serious economic costs and real serious economic damages associated with inaction on climate change. ~ Naomi Oreskes

Whatever the dangers of the action we take, the dangers of inaction are far, far greater. ~ Tony Blair

One of mankind's greatest sins is inaction in the face of injustice. ~ John Kramer

Obama is learning very late that, for a superpower, inaction is a form of action. You can abdicate, but you really can't hide. History will find you. It has now found Obama. ~ Charles Krauthammer

Solitude and inaction are unraveling me right down to the core. ~ Karen Marie Moning

In life and business, there are two cardinal sins. The first is to act precipitously without thought and the second is to not act at all. ~ Carl Icahn

Every time you decide to do one thing, you decide not to do another. Keep this in mind when deciding what to do next. What is the consequence of what you are about to do? Will this action, or inaction help or harm you? Stay mindfully present! Empower yourself in the now. ~ Akiroq Brost

A sedentary life is the real sin against the Holy Spirit. Only those thoughts that come by walking have any value. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

To the man who can perfectly practice inaction, all things are possible. ~ Ernest Holmes

Rest in inaction, and the world will be reformed of itself; Forget your body and spit forth intelligence. Ignore all differences and become one with the Infinite. Release your mind, and free your spirit. Be vacuous, be devoid of soul. Thus will things grow and prosper and return to their Rust and Rest. Returning to their Root. Returning to their Root without their knowing it, the result will be a formless whole which will never be cut up, to know it is to cut it up. (Great Nebulous says to General Clouds) ~ Zhuangzi

You may not have a clue of what lies ahead, but it's better to act on life than simply let life act on you. ~ Nick Vujicic

Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph. ~ Haile Selassie

I never worry about action, but only about inaction. ~ Winston S. Churchill

Inaction, contrary to its reputation for being a refuge, is neither safe nor comfortable. ~ Madeleine M. Kunin

I have met people who have ruined their entire lives because of procrastination. They were unaware of why they never took a step, but I could easily see their Procrasdemon standing beside them. ~ Neeraj Agnihotri

Inaction saps the vigor of the mind. ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

You must never stay at the station where you feel unhappy! Unhappiness combined with inaction always creates deeper unhappiness! The solution is very simple: Leave the station; trust the motion because only motion will take you to the new stations! ~ Mehmet Murat Ildan

Doing nothing was as honourable as any available course of action. Think of Hamlet, think of Job, think of Jesus before Pilate. ~ Johnny Rich

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

While we cannot accurately predict the course of climate change in the coming decades, the risks we run if we don't change our course are enormous. Prudent risk management does not equate uncertainty with inaction. ~ Steven Chu

The best antidote to worry is action. If there is an action that will lessen the likelihood of a dreaded outcome occurring, and if that action doesn't cost too much in terms of effort or freedom, then take it. The worry about whether we remembered to close the baby gate at the top of the stairs can be stopped in an instant by checking. Then it isn't a worry anymore; it's just a brief impulse. Almost all of the worry parents feel about keeping their children safe evolves from the conflict between intuition and inaction.
Your choices when worrying are clear: take action, have faith, pray, seek comfort, or keep worrying. ~ Gavin De Becker

People are fond of using the its not what you know, its who you know adage as an excuse for inaction, as if all successful people are born with powerful friends. Nonsense. ~ Timothy Ferriss

One who sees inaction in action, and action in inaction, is intelligent among men. ~ Bhagavad Gita

The non-action of the wise man is not inaction. It is not studied. It is not shaken by anything. The sage is quiet because he is not moved, not because he wills to be quiet ... Joy does all things without concern. For emptiness, stillness, tranquillity, tastelessness, silence, and non-action are the root of all things. ~ Zhuangzi

Inaction breeds fear and doubt. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. - Dale Carnegie, writer and lecturer ~ Meg Jay

Revolutionaries - true revolutionaries - are aggressive, ruthless, and generally seize the main chance, as William Henry Drayton did when he saw that stump-speaking was getting him nowhere. But defenders of the status quo tend toward caution and legalisms and inaction until it is too late ~ John Buchanan

We have complete choice as individuals: the only decisions we can take are our own. And yet so many species use the state of being an individual as an excuse for inaction, helplessness and irresponsibility.No situation is so overwhelming that action is pointless.
Targassat of Surang. ~ Karen Traviss

We believe that cowardice is to blame for the world's injustices. We believe that peace is hard-won, that sometimes it is necessary to fight for peace. But more than that: We believe that justice is more important than peace. We believe in freedom from fear, in denying fear the power to influence our decisions. We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another. We believe in acknowledging fear and the extent to which it rules us. We believe in facing that fear no matter what the cost to our comfort, our happiness, or even to our sanity. We believe in shouting for those who can only whisper, in defending those who cannot defend themselves. We believe, not in just bold words, but in bold deeds to match them. We believe that pain and death are better than cowardice and inaction because we believe in action. We do not believe in living comfortable lives. We do not believe that silence is useful. We do not believe in good manners. We do not believe in empty heads, empty mouths, or empty hands. We do not believe that learning to master violence encourages unnecessary violence. We do not believe that we should be allowed to stand idly by. We do not believe that any other virtue is more important than bravery. ~ Veronica Roth

Inaction that results from indulgence is Procrastination. Inaction that results from intention is Patience. ~ Rory Vaden

No, one couldn't make a revolution, one couldn't even start a riot, with sheep that asked only for better browsing. ~ Ellen Glasgow

Some people wait so long for their ship to come in, their pier collapses. ~ John Goddard

When you say ROI, do you mean return on investment or risk of inaction. ~ Paul Gillin

A man is not weighed by what he has done," the hunter proceeded. "A man is weighed by what he fails to do. His judgment is based on his doubts and the inaction that results from such. Conversely, a man's redemption is based not on transgressions of old, for all sins are forgiven in due time. No, a man's redemption is based on his love. ~ S.A. Falconi

My aunt must have been perfectly well aware that she would not see Swann again, that she would never leave her own house any more, but this ultimate seclusion seemed to be accepted by her with all the more readiness for the very reason which, to our minds, ought to have made it more unbearable; namely, that such a seclusion was forced upon her by the gradual and steady diminution in her strength which she was able to measure daily, which, by making every action, every movement 'tiring' to her if not actually painful, gave to inaction, isolation and silence the blessed, strengthening and refreshing charm of repose. ~ Marcel Proust

The real test is not whether you avoid failure, because you won't. It's whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it ... ~ Barack Obama

The situation on Earth today is too dire for us to act from habit - to reenact again and again the same kinds of solutions that brought us to our present extremity. Where does the wisdom to act in entirely new ways come from? It comes from nowhere, from the void; it comes from inaction. When we see it, we realize it was right in front of us all along. It is never far away; yet at the same time it is in a different universe - a different Story of the World. ~ Charles Eisenstein

Rejection is more valuable than inaction. All that I have learned until now has been because of rejections. Inaction didn't teach me a thing. ~ Neeraj Agnihotri

The actions and inactions of hundreds of millions of people and nearly 200 states, will affect what kind of world emerges in the time ahead. ~ Herbert Schiller

Life happens at its own pace and in its own time. It has a mind of its own. Your rushing through it only increases your stress levels and makes you anxious. You can do nothing to Life. At all times, in all contexts, you are never in control – Life is! And all you can and must do is to learn to live fully with what is. This does not mean inaction – trusting the process of Life is a lot of action; of keeping the faith and being patient. So, sit quietly doing whatever you can in a given context. And whatever must happen alone will happen; whatever is due to you alone will flow to you…on its own. When you are calm, you are non-worrying, non-frustrated and non-suffering and only when you are in this state will you see how perfect your Life really is! ~ AVIS Viswanathan

So I waited. Then I got used to waiting. Eventually, waiting was more real than what we had. ~ Andre Aciman

I think comedy is the most difficult thing in the world, I really do. ~ Martha Graham

The fact that the biosphere responds unpredictably to our actions is not an argument for inaction. It is, however, a powerful argument for caution, and for adopting a tentative attitude toward all we believe, and all we do. Unfortunately, our species has demonstrated a striking lack of caution in the past. It is hard to imagine that we will behave differently in the future.
We think we know what we are doing. We have always thought so. We never seem to acknowledge that we have been wrong in the past, and so might be wrong in the future. Instead, each generation writes off earlier errors as the result of bad thinking by less able minds
and then confidently embarks on fresh errors of its own.
We are one of only three species on our planet that can claim to be self-aware, yet self-delusion may be a more significant characteristic of our kind. ~ Michael Crichton

Cannabis sativa and its derivatives are strictly prohibited in Turkey, and the natural correlative of this proscription is that alcohol, far from being frowned upon as it is in other Moslem lands, is freely drunk; being a government monopoly it can be bought at any cigarette counter. This fact is no mere detail; it is of primary social importance, since the psychological effects of the two substances are diametrically opposed to each other. Alcohol blurs the personality by loosening inhibitions. The drinker feels, temporarily at least, a sense of participation. Kif abolishes no inhibitions; on the contrary it reinforces them, pushes the individual further back into the recesses of his own isolated personality, pledging him to contemplation and inaction. It is to be expected that there should be a close relationsip between the culture of a given society and the means used by its members to achieve release and euphoria. For Judaism and Christianity the means has always been alcohol; for Islam it has been hashish. The first is dynamic in its effects, the other static. If a nation wishes, however mistakenly, to Westernize itself, first let it give up hashish. The rest will follow, more or less as a manner of course. Conversely, in a Western country, if a whole segment of the population desires, for reasons of protest (as has happened in the United States), to isolate itself in a radical fashion from the society around it, the quickest and surest way is for it to replace alcohol b ~ Paul Bowles

[The cause of inaction in war] ... is the imperfection of human perception and judgment which is more pronounced in war than anywhere else. We hardly know accurately our own situation at any particular moment while the enemy's, which is concealed from us, must be deduced from very little evidence. ~ Carl Von Clausewitz

Our government should do everything it can to ensure the successful prosecution of those responsible for the murders of U.S. citizens abroad. It should provide resources as needed, and it should make it clear to the authorities in Belgrade that inaction does have repercussions on bilateral relations. ~ Tim Bishop

It was far easier for me to see how the war in Syria was in part an unintended consequence of other American wars, no matter how well-meaning they might have been. The toppling of "Saddam Hussein had strengthened Iran, provoked Putin, opened up a Pandora's box of sectarian conflict that now raged in Iraq and Syria, and led to an insurgency that had given birth to ISIL. The toppling of Muammar Gaddafi had made plain to dictators that you either cling to power or end up dead in a sewer. Syria looked more and more like a moral morass - a place where our inaction was a tragedy, and our intervention would only compound the tragedy. Obama kept probing for options that could make a positive difference, finding none. ~ Ben Rhodes

Your right is to work only and never to the fruit thereof. Do not consider yourself to be the cause of the fruit of action; nor let your attachment be to inaction. ~ Gita Press

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

We are the sum of our actions, and of our inactions, yes, that is easy enough to understand. What comes harder is finding ourselves the sum of our emotions, which flicker, altered by experience, by the things we cannot bear to tell ourselves, by the trouble we accrue, the flattening and tamping down as we learn how not to be hurt. As we learn protection and the easiest means of protection. ~ Carrie Snyder

Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation ... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind. ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

You are where you are right now because of the actions you've taken, or maybe, the inaction you've taken. ~ Steve Maraboli

First, imagine taking the potentially regret - producing path of inaction. Then imagine what the very best outcome would be were you to take this risk. By picturing both scenarios in advance, you can avoid the regret of what might have been. ~ Wayne Dyer

Action is about living fully. Inaction is the way that we deny life. Inaction is sitting in front of the television every day for years because you are afraid to be alive and tot ake the risk of expressing what you are. Expressing what you are is taking action. ~ Miguel Ruiz

There are many roads to prosperity, but one must be taken. Inaction leads nowhere. ~ Robert Zoellick

Fear was the worst evil ever to plague a man, for with it came hesitation and with that, inaction, failure, death. ~ Melissa McPhail

The Three Laws of Robotics:
1: A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm;
2: A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law;
3: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law;
The Zeroth Law: A robot may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. ~ Isaac Asimov

Procrastination most often arises from a sense that there is too much to do, and hence no single aspect of the to-do worth doing ... Underneath this rather antic form of action-as-inaction is the much more unsettling question whether anything is worth doing at all. ~ Mark Kingwell

It is not necessary for a man to be actively bad in order to make a failure in life; simple inaction will accomplish it. Nature has everywhere written her protest against idleness; everything which ceases to struggle toward an ideal, the constant effort to get higher and further, which develops manhood and character. ~ James Terry White

I know in my heart the dream will be realized. I choose to believe. And choosing is a powerful thing. It's available to you at every moment. You can choose understanding over anger, believing over nonbelieving, action over inaction. It gives meaning to every choice we make. ~ Yolanda King

Just as iron rusts from disuse, even so does inaction spoil the intellect. ~ Leonardo Da Vinci

Drastic action can be costly, but it can be less expensive than continuing inaction. ~ Richard Neustadt

Take action and be brave Theodor for it is fear and inaction that kills. ~ Robert Radcliffe

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

It is the responsibility, yet the individual choice, of each of us to use the light we have to dispel the work of darkness, because if we do not, the power of falsehood rises. Through our inaction it becomes stronger, and a more potent force. It can even lead to the dimming of the light of all humanity born on this planet. That is why we struggle. That is why we fight to contribute to the confirmation of what is good, to seal our compact with love within our own lives and within our world. ~ John Lewis

Tolerance never exists without negative judgment. It is the sentiment of having a negative opinion about something yet still putting up with it. ~ Criss Jami

But the only way never to do the wrong thing is never to do anything. ~ Jim Butcher

The Pandemic Sonnet

This ain't the first time you've come to haunt us,
And it won't be the last either.
You thought you could break the species,
But all you did is bring us together.
You brought the world to almost a standstill,
Yet we never stood still to let inaction take over.
Each one of us did the best we could,
And we'll keep on doing till your traces wither.
We may have our differences at times,
But when trouble knocks on our door we all stand one.
We may act selfish sometimes,
But in catastrophe we refrain from helping no one.
However thanks for reminding us to leave wildlife alone,
Otherwise all we'll have left to do is mourn. ~ Abhijit Naskar

100,000,000 Guinea Pigs sparked a rising wave of consumer indignation. But ... it takes a major catastrophe to carry legal and enforcement action over the hump of lethargy and inaction ... Today, nearly forty years later, the situation is worse, not better. ~ John Fuller

No one likes a person that "should of" all over the place. ~ Shannon L. Alder

Those who claim to be on the side of good yet do nothing to fight evil are on the side of evil. ~ Joyce Rachelle

If you like to wonder about what you have done in life...know that wondering is about weighing the worth of your actions. To be able to do so would mean having the knowledge of that what constitutes action. Or even inaction. For somewhere in the realm of knowledge, you cease to be the actor or actress. Deeper within, you would realize that you never were for you could never be the actor or the actress! For you have done nothing since you can do nothing! But it is good to begin wondering in the first place. It already puts you ahead in the path of progress! ~ Anandputra Ananta

Oh, the others will talk and plan and make oaths and promises, but there are precious few fuckers who will do. ~ Ian McGuire

Defeat appears to me preferable to total Inaction. ~ John Adams

God loves man, we are told, but love must be proved by facts, not reasons. If you were in a boat and did not save a drowning man, you would burn in Hell for certain; yet God, in His wisdom, feels no need to use His power to save anyone from a single moment of suffering, and in spite of his inaction He is celebrated and revered. ~ Joe Hill

Idealism and naiveté were youthful cousins. Foresight and the considerations of age and experience often brought inaction, compromise, second-guessing; the ability to foresee the extent of actions--to understand implications of cause and effect--could effectively thwart spontaneous, if impractical, decisions. ~ Brent Hayward

There is a time when even reasonable men must begin to take unreasonable actions. To do anything else is to be less than human. 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. - From ~ Mira Grant

It's really a whole new feeling when you realize you're in charge of your life, your thoughts, and your actions - or inaction. ~ Kaira Rouda

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Cynicism does not cause inaction.. ~ David Wong

If you want a creative organization, inaction is the worst kind of failure. ~ Robert I. Sutton

Take the word of experience, I speak the truth: inaction is safest in danger. ~ Silius Italicus

As Hans Bernd Gisevius, a civil servant under Hitler and a member of the German Resistance, puts it: One of the vital lessons that we must learn from the German disaster is the ease with which a people can be sucked down into the morass of inaction; let them as individuals fall prey to overcleverness, opportunism, or cowardliness and they are irrevocably lost. ~ Philip Ball

True prayer is not a prelude to inaction. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The breeding ground of fear is procrastination and inaction. We overcome them not by preparation, but by taking action. ~ Debasish Mridha

We must create our own world or we will die from inaction ~ Robert Greene

If I were to do nothing, I'd be guilty of complicity. ~ DaShanne Stokes

Racist" is not - as Richard Spencer argues - a pejorative. It is not the worst word in the English language; it is not the equivalent of a slur. It is descriptive, and the only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it - and then dismantle it. The attempt to turn this usefully descriptive term into an almost unusable slur is, of course, designed to do the opposite: to freeze us into inaction. ~ Ibram X. Kendi

In dangerous times, there is no sin greater than inaction. ~ Dan Brown

Inaction may be the biggest form of action. ~ Jerry Brown