---
title: "Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to … — James Allen Quote #31 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. — a quote by James Allen."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.

[James Allen](https://quotesby.net/James-Allen)\#31

[Effort](https://quotesby.net/James-Allen/effort/)[Growth](https://quotesby.net/James-Allen/growth/)[Change](https://quotesby.net/topics/change/)[Self improvement](https://quotesby.net/topics/self-improvement/)

[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CMen%20are%20anxious%20to%20improve%20their%20circumstances%2C%20but%20are%20unwilling%20to%20improve%20themselves%3B%20they%20therefore%20remain%20bound.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20James%20Allen%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJames-Allen%2F31%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CMen%20are%20anxious%20to%20improve%20their%20circumstances%2C%20but%20are%20unwilling%20to%20improve%20themselves%3B%20they%20therefore%20remain%20bound.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20James%20Allen&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJames-Allen%2F31%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJames-Allen%2F31%2F)

## About this quote

What does it mean?People want better lives but fail to change themselves, leaving them stuck.In plain termsMen want to improve their lives but not themselves, so they stay the same.What can you take from it?External improvement requires internal self-improvement first.

### Where it applies

- career changes
- personal growth
- resisting habits

### Putting it to work

- working on self
- seeking change
- overcoming inertia

### Questions to consider

- Are you working on changing yourself or just your surroundings?

### Another view

Sometimes external circumstances change despite internal effort.

## More from James Allen

1. > Man is made or unmade by himself. By the right choice he ascends. As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, he holds the k…

[Permalink to quote \#30](https://quotesby.net/James-Allen/30/ "Permalink to quote 30")
2. > No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.

[Permalink to quote \#32](https://quotesby.net/James-Allen/32/ "Permalink to quote 32")
3. > Let there be nothing within thee that is not very beautiful and very gentle, and there will be nothing without thee that is not beautiful and softened by the s…

[Permalink to quote \#29](https://quotesby.net/James-Allen/29/ "Permalink to quote 29")

## Related quotes

1. > It takes a son of a bitch to change a habit.

[Stephen King](https://quotesby.net/Stephen-King)[Stephen King quote \#10](https://quotesby.net/Stephen-King/10/ "Permalink to quote 10")
2. > I never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning, however small, for it is wonderful how often in such matters the mustard-seed germinates and roots…

[Florence Nightingale](https://quotesby.net/Florence-Nightingale)[Florence Nightingale quote \#14](https://quotesby.net/Florence-Nightingale/14/ "Permalink to quote 14")
3. > We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are.

[Oprah Winfrey](https://quotesby.net/Oprah-Winfrey)[Oprah Winfrey quote \#34](https://quotesby.net/Oprah-Winfrey/34/ "Permalink to quote 34")

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "Quotation",
    "text": "Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.",
    "url": "https://quotesby.net/James-Allen/31/",
    "spokenByCharacter": {
        "@type": "Person",
        "name": "James Allen"
    }
}
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
    "itemListElement": [
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 1,
            "name": "Home",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 2,
            "name": "Authors",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/authors/"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 3,
            "name": "James Allen",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/James-Allen"
        },
        {
            "@type": "ListItem",
            "position": 4,
            "name": "Quote #31",
            "item": "https://quotesby.net/James-Allen/31/"
        }
    ]
}
```