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About this quote

What does it mean?
Thought must come before action, but acting is more noble than thinking.
In plain terms
Think first, but doing is better than just thinking.
What can you take from it?
Plan with thought but value action over theory.

Where it applies

  • making decisions
  • leadership
  • social change

Putting it to work

  • act on your beliefs
  • balance planning and doing
  • take responsibility

Questions to consider

  • Do you value thinking or doing more?
  • How do you balance planning and acting?

Another view

Sometimes action without thought can cause harm.

More from Virginia Woolf

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  2. In the past, the virtue of women's writing often lay in its divine spontaneity ... But it was also, and much more often, chattering and garrulous ... In future…

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  3. If, then, one should try to sum up the character of women's fiction at the present moment, one would say that it is courageous; it is sincere; it keeps closely…

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