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Daily Inspiration Quote by Nicole Kidman

"I'd like to be wise. You have to go through a lot to get there, but I'm willing to go through a lot"

About this Quote

Wisdom, here, isn’t a vibe; it’s a bill that gets paid in experience, embarrassment, and endurance. Kidman frames it like a conscious career choice, not a personality trait. The first sentence is almost disarmingly plain, the kind of aspiration you’d expect from someone whose job is to manufacture believable lives. Then she punctures any self-help gloss: “You have to go through a lot to get there.” That “a lot” is doing strategic work. It’s vague enough to cover everything from heartbreak to professional risk, but concrete enough to imply scars. She’s not romanticizing suffering; she’s acknowledging the toll while refusing to flinch.

The subtext lands especially hard coming from a performer whose public image has been built under bright, sometimes punitive scrutiny. For celebrities, “wisdom” isn’t just inner growth; it’s survival under a microscope, learning what not to internalize, what to protect, what to ignore. Kidman also subtly rejects the fantasy that expertise arrives via talent alone. In acting, you can be gifted and still be naive. Wisdom means pattern recognition: reading people, power dynamics, and your own impulses, then choosing differently next time.

The line’s second pivot - “but I’m willing” - is the tell. It’s a declaration of appetite for the difficult parts, a refusal to let comfort be the organizing principle. In a culture addicted to shortcuts and branding, Kidman is pitching a slower, more expensive ambition: not to be adored, but to be durable.

Quote Details

TopicWisdom
SourceHelp us find the source
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Kidman, Nicole. (2026, January 15). I'd like to be wise. You have to go through a lot to get there, but I'm willing to go through a lot. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/id-like-to-be-wise-you-have-to-go-through-a-lot-153922/

Chicago Style
Kidman, Nicole. "I'd like to be wise. You have to go through a lot to get there, but I'm willing to go through a lot." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/id-like-to-be-wise-you-have-to-go-through-a-lot-153922/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'd like to be wise. You have to go through a lot to get there, but I'm willing to go through a lot." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/id-like-to-be-wise-you-have-to-go-through-a-lot-153922/. Accessed 6 Feb. 2026.

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Nicole Kidman on choosing wisdom and the cost
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About the Author

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman (born June 21, 1967) is a Actress from Australia.

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