"It is evident that skepticism, while it makes no actual change in man, always makes him feel better."

Change

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on change by Ambrose Bierce resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in change is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Ambrose Bierce

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American author, journalist, and poet. A prolific and versatile writer, Bierce was regarded as one of the most influential journalists in the United States and as a pioneering writer of realist fiction. For his horror writing, Michael Dirda ranked him alongside Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft. S. T. Joshi speculates that "he may well be the greatest satirist America has ever produced, and in this regard can take his place with such figures as Juvenal, Swift, and Voltaire." His war stories influenced Stephen Crane, Ernest Hemingway and others, and he was considered an influential and feared literary critic. In recent decades, Bierce has gained wider respect as a fabulist and poet.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Ambrose Bierce

"Every summit scaled was once thought insurmountable from the valley below. This remains the cornerstone of personal mastery — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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"To live with purpose is to leave the world a little gentler than you found it. Let this simple maxim guide your daily deeds — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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"ambition, n. An overmastering desire to be vilified by enemies while living and made ridiculous by friends when dead."

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More about Change

"There are three critical ingredients to democratic renewal and progressive change in America: good public policy, grassroots organizing and electoral politics."

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"Organisations are now confronted with two sources of change: the traditional type that is initiated and managed and external changes over which no one has control."

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"What looks absolutely fabulous in rehearsal can fall flat in front of an audience. The audience dictates what you do or don't change."

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