"When we do things that we think are impossible, we are also inspiring other people to do the same"
About this Quote
The subtext is about permission. Most people don’t need new dreams so much as evidence that their dream won’t get them laughed out of the room. Arnesen points to the quiet mechanics of cultural change: a single outlier’s action can downgrade “absurd” into “unlikely,” and “unlikely” into “tryable.” That shift matters because “impossible” is often a social consensus masquerading as physics, enforced by institutions, gatekeepers, and the easy cynicism of people who benefit when others stay in their lane.
Context sharpens it further. Arnesen is a woman in a field historically mythologized around masculine conquest narratives, which makes her emphasis on “other people” pointed. The feat isn’t just to arrive somewhere brutal and beautiful; it’s to widen the category of who gets to attempt it. Inspiration here isn’t sentiment. It’s contagion, with consequences.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Arnesen, Liv. (2026, January 15). When we do things that we think are impossible, we are also inspiring other people to do the same. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-we-do-things-that-we-think-are-impossible-we-171730/
Chicago Style
Arnesen, Liv. "When we do things that we think are impossible, we are also inspiring other people to do the same." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-we-do-things-that-we-think-are-impossible-we-171730/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"When we do things that we think are impossible, we are also inspiring other people to do the same." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/when-we-do-things-that-we-think-are-impossible-we-171730/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.












