I think it is wrong to expect certainties in this world, where all else but God, that is Truth, is an uncertainty.

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Source: Introduction to Gandhi's An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth (Navjivan, 1925-29).

About this quote

Insisting the world hand you guarantees is a recipe for constant disappointment, because almost nothing here stays fixed. Making peace with that — holding plans loosely, anchoring instead to what actually endures — is less resignation than relief. Certainty was never on offer for most of it.

When to use it

  • A planner learns to build slack into the schedule instead of raging every time a delay slips it.
  • A patient awaiting test results focuses on what he can control rather than demanding a guarantee no doctor can give.
  • An entrepreneur treats every forecast as a guess to revise, not a promise the market owes her.