When the world says 'impossible', respond with steady practice and kind resolve — Nawal El Saadawi
—What lingers after this line?
Hearing “Impossible” as a Social Verdict
Nawal El Saadawi’s line begins where many struggles start: not with an inner limit, but with an external judgment. “The world” here is less the planet than the chorus of institutions, customs, and casual voices that declare what a person—often a woman, often an outsider—should not attempt. From that starting point, the quote reframes “impossible” as something spoken, not something proven. Once impossibility is recognized as a verdict delivered by power, fear, or habit, it becomes open to challenge—not by grand speeches, but by what El Saadawi proposes next: steady practice and kind resolve.
Steady Practice as Quiet Defiance
Rather than answering with rage or theatrics, El Saadawi points to repetition: the ordinary discipline of showing up again and again. Steady practice turns distant goals into daily actions, replacing the intimidation of a huge barrier with the manageable question of what can be done today. In this way, practice becomes a form of evidence. Each attempt—even imperfect—adds to a record that contradicts the world’s claim. Over time, the “impossible” starts to look less like a wall and more like a skill not yet mastered, a door not yet tried, or a system not yet forced to adapt.
Kind Resolve Without Losing Yourself
Importantly, El Saadawi pairs resolve with kindness, implying firmness without cruelty. Resolve is the backbone that keeps a person moving despite resistance, but kindness shapes how that movement affects others and oneself—preventing the struggle from hardening into bitterness. This kindness is not the softness of surrender; it is the discipline of refusing to mirror the contempt behind “impossible.” It suggests boundaries held without humiliation, ambition pursued without trampling, and persistence that protects dignity. In that sense, kindness becomes a strategy for endurance, because a goal pursued with self-respect lasts longer than one fueled by spite.
The Long Game of Changing What Seems Fixed
As practice accumulates and resolve stays gentle, something larger can shift: the conditions that made “impossible” feel authoritative. What once looked like a personal limitation may reveal itself as a shortage of access, training, allies, or time—factors that can be altered. El Saadawi’s own public life underscores this approach; her writings and activism repeatedly confronted entrenched norms, showing how persistence can turn taboo subjects into public debate. In that light, the quote reads not as motivational decoration but as a method for turning private effort into social pressure—slowly, consistently, and with a refusal to dehumanize.
Turning Resistance into a Daily Method
Finally, the quote offers a practical template for moments when discouragement is constant: respond, don’t react. The world may repeat “impossible” through rejections, mockery, or gatekeeping, yet the answer El Saadawi recommends is repeatable too—practice that builds capability and resolve that stays humane. Over time, this method does more than achieve a single outcome; it forms a person who can keep choosing forward motion under strain. The ultimate victory is not only proving a claim wrong, but cultivating a steady inner life that no longer depends on the world’s permission to try.
Recommended Reading
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
One-minute reflection
What feeling does this quote bring up for you?
Related Quotes
6 selectedEverything seems impossible until it is done. - Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
This quote highlights the notion that difficult tasks often seem insurmountable at first. However, with perseverance and determination, what once seemed impossible can ultimately be achieved.
Read full interpretation →To do anything truly well, you must be willing to be bad at it for a while. Growth is an accumulation of small, deliberate efforts. — Brené Brown
Brené Brown
At its core, Brené Brown’s insight dismantles the fantasy of instant mastery. To do something truly well, we must first accept awkwardness, mistakes, and visible imperfection.
Read full interpretation →As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed. — Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh’s sentence begins with a sober observation: life does not necessarily become simpler as we grow older. Instead, responsibilities deepen, losses accumulate, and choices carry heavier consequences.
Read full interpretation →Mental toughness isn't about how you feel, it's about what you do despite how you feel. — Rasheed Ogunlaru
Rasheed Ogunlaru
At first glance, Rasheed Ogunlaru’s quote shifts mental toughness away from image and toward behavior. It suggests that resilience is not the absence of fear, sadness, or doubt, but the decision to keep moving while thos...
Read full interpretation →It is not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. — Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
At first glance, Einstein’s remark sounds like modesty, yet it does more than downplay genius. By saying he simply ‘stays with problems longer,’ he shifts attention from innate talent to sustained effort, suggesting that...
Read full interpretation →The creative process is a cocktail of exhaustion and revelation; do not mistake the fatigue for a sign to stop, but rather for the evidence that you are building something new. — Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
At first glance, Twyla Tharp’s quote reframes a feeling many creators dread: exhaustion. Rather than treating fatigue as a warning that the work is failing, she presents it as a natural ingredient in invention itself.
Read full interpretation →More From Author
More from Nawal El Saadawi →I am not afraid of anything. I am only afraid of being afraid. — Nawal El Saadawi
Nawal El Saadawi’s statement opens with an almost defiant certainty—“I am not afraid of anything”—only to pivot toward a more intimate vulnerability: she fears “being afraid.” That turn matters, because it distinguishes...
Read full interpretation →You cannot be free until you are no longer a slave to the opinions of people who don't even know who you are. — Nawal El Saadawi
Nawal El Saadawi frames freedom less as a legal status and more as an internal state: you may move without chains and still live as if restrained. The quote points to a quieter captivity—measuring your worth by judgments...
Read full interpretation →They said, 'You are a savage and dangerous woman.' I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous. — Nawal El Saadawi
In Nawal El Saadawi’s line, the insult—“savage and dangerous”—arrives as a social verdict meant to isolate and tame her. Rather than soften herself to regain approval, she reverses the charge: if she is dangerous, it is...
Read full interpretation →The canvas of life is shaped by our choices. — Nawal El Saadawi
This quote emphasizes that our lives are the result of the choices we make. Every decision contributes to shaping the path we follow, much like how an artist creates a painting with deliberate strokes.
Read full interpretation →