About this quote

When the world stops making sense, acting like you've lost your mind can be a clear reaction to something that itself is broken. That response can force you to name the pressure and stop pretending everything is all right. Look for one small change you can make, like a boundary, a strange joke, or a refusal to comply, and see what shifts. Try a deliberate odd move and watch how people and systems respond: do they correct themselves or push harder? Decide what you will tolerate and what you will change.

When to use it

• At my startup, when the CEO asked us to hide the bug reports, I muttered the line and walked out of the meeting before I agreed to falsify anything.
• During my thesis defense, when my advisor hinted I should alter results to please a funder, I laughed and said the quote out loud, then I changed labs.
• At a family holiday where relatives tried to pressure me into an unsafe loan, I quoted it and left the table to make my decision clear.
• In a local soccer game where the ref kept inventing rules, I started playing wildly on purpose and everyone noticed the chaos until the rules were fixed.