"You may not seem able to change some outer circumstances but you can start by changing your inner experience of life and yourself"
About this Quote
The phrasing is carefully hedged. “May not seem able” nods to the felt truth of helplessness without granting it full authority. It leaves open the possibility that “outer circumstances” might change later, but refuses to make that the prerequisite for relief. The pivot to “start” is the real instruction: don’t wait for the universe to become fair before you begin living differently.
Subtextually, it’s a push against the cultural addiction to external fixes - status, money, romance, recognition - as the only legitimate sources of transformation. Page suggests an inward rewrite: not denial of reality, but a change in how reality is metabolized. That can sound like self-help; it’s also a way to stay human in situations where agency is constrained. Inner experience becomes the first territory you can occupy without permission.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Improvement |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Page, Joy. (2026, January 15). You may not seem able to change some outer circumstances but you can start by changing your inner experience of life and yourself. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-may-not-seem-able-to-change-some-outer-146167/
Chicago Style
Page, Joy. "You may not seem able to change some outer circumstances but you can start by changing your inner experience of life and yourself." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-may-not-seem-able-to-change-some-outer-146167/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"You may not seem able to change some outer circumstances but you can start by changing your inner experience of life and yourself." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-may-not-seem-able-to-change-some-outer-146167/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.











