“My aim is not to be consistent with my previous statements on a given question, but to be consistent with truth as it may present itself to me at a given moment. The result has been that I have grown from truth to truth.”
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Source: Mahatma Gandhi, Harijan, 1939 (on inconsistency and growing toward truth).
About this quote
Clinging to an old position just to look consistent traps you inside yesterday's understanding. The honest aim is loyalty to what seems true right now, even when that contradicts something you said before. Revising your view in light of better evidence is a sign of growth, not of weakness.
When to use it
- A manager reverses a policy once new data proves it wrong, unbothered by having championed it last year.
- You admit a long-held opinion was mistaken after a friend shows you the evidence, rather than defending it from pride.
- A teacher updates the curriculum as the field advances instead of teaching what they learned decades ago.