Gandhi Didn’t Actually Ever Say, “Be the Change You Want to See in the World.” Here’s the Real Quote…
Fact Check
The internet is a great thing — still, after almost 30 years since CERN made the World Wide Web publicly available.
Yet, sometimes it is challenging to stumble over information that crushes long kept believes in the truth of certain quotes like
Be the change you want to see in the world
Not Mahatma Gandhi
My whole life, I firmly believed Mahatma Gandhi said that, and then I stumbled across Quote Investigator — and they crushed it.
Why is this quote great?
I liked the quote as a reminder to refocus on what I can change instead of pondering what I cannot change. What exactly?
- Don’t judge others. They won’t change, so thinking about why and how they are the way they are doesn’t serve a purpose.
- Instead of complaining about things…
- …it helps me think quickly about what I can do right now this moment to change things
Down to earth, get things done, and you will change in the direction where you want to be.
In simple terms, the quote always reminds me that complaining about this or that person's behavior doesn’t change a thing.
Sometimes, it tells me that the person is not the right one for a particular job, and I need to look elsewhere.
Even as Mahatma Gandhi didn’t say that, it is still one of the best short proverbs that always help me get the proper perspective on situations and people.
What did Gandhi say?
Although the quote is attributed to the great Mahatma Gandhi, he phrased it differently:
We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.
According to quote investigator in 1913, Mohandas Gandhi published a piece about snakebites that included a thematically matching passage.
Also, a lovely thought, yet a bit more sophisticated. He describes that we human beings perceive the world through the filters we impose on ourselves.
If we want to see a different reality, we need to work on our filtering, and the world will change. Well, probably not the world as a whole immediately, but definitely the way we perceive the world around us.
It is like whether the glass is half full or half empty, with many possible answers. Woody Allen said, well, the glass is half full…. of poison in the movie Scoop.
The source of happiness is to have a positive view of reality. That’s all, in my opinion.
Who brought up this abbreviated quote?
I refer to the work of the quote investigator and summarize it in my own words:
The great Gandhi passed away in 1948, and the first sources of the abbreviated quote appeared many years later in 1974 within a book chapter written by educator Arleen Lorrance. It was called the love project and stated:
One way to start a preventative program is to be the change you want to see happen. That is the essence and substance of the simple and successful endeavor known as THE LOVE PROJECT.
It took a couple of years more — until 1987 — when a Santa Fe, New Mexico Newspaper described
Organizer Mary Lou Cook said the inspiration to form such a group came from a statement by Gandhi: “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”
Anyhow — instead of criticizing and blaming, get your act together and change the way you do things. And your world will change with you.
I am an executive, advisor, and coach for companies in various industries. I am specialized in Corporate Development and Finance. From seed rounds to IPO level. I am focused on life science since 2006.
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