"When things are bad, it's the best time to reinvent yourself"
About this Quote
The intent is pragmatic encouragement, aimed at people who feel cornered. Lopez isn’t claiming suffering is good. He’s pointing out that disruption can strip away the comfortable story you tell yourself about who you are. When things are going well, you protect the persona that’s paying rent socially, emotionally, literally. When things go bad, that persona stops working. The subtext is blunt: you were always more flexible than you let yourself be, but comfort makes you lazy about change.
Context matters here because Lopez’s public brand is built on transformation. He’s talked openly about growing up poor, navigating identity in a Mexican-American family, and later, dramatic personal health changes. Comedy itself is reinvention: turning pain into a new narrative that makes other people laugh, then charging admission. The quote functions like a joke without a punchline - a setup that flips despair into agency. It’s not denial; it’s control. In a culture obsessed with “authenticity,” Lopez quietly argues that authenticity is something you rebuild, not something you discover once and preserve.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reinvention |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lopez, George. (2026, January 16). When things are bad, it's the best time to reinvent yourself. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-things-are-bad-its-the-best-time-to-reinvent-105115/
Chicago Style
Lopez, George. "When things are bad, it's the best time to reinvent yourself." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-things-are-bad-its-the-best-time-to-reinvent-105115/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When things are bad, it's the best time to reinvent yourself." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-things-are-bad-its-the-best-time-to-reinvent-105115/. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.









