Sayings about Intentions
To do things wrong with best intentions is better than acting to the letter of the law with evil intentions. ~ Hebrew Proverb
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. ~ English Proverbs
Let a wrong-doing repeat itself at least three times: the first may be an accident, the second a mistake, but the third is likely to be intentional. ~ African Proverb
If your motive is good, a farting donkey won’t harm you. ~ Omani Proverb
I have no sword; I make no mind my sword. ~ Japanese Proverbs
Hell is paved with good intentions, roofed in with lost opportunities. ~ Portuguese Proverbs
He who covers up his mistakes intends to make some more. ~ Chinese Proverb
Quotations about Intentions
One feels inclined to say that the intention that man should be “happy” is not included in the plan of “Creation.” ~ Sigmund Freud
By going over your day in imagination before you begin it, you can begin acting successfully at any moment. ~ Dorothea Brande
Anyone can write one book: even politicians do it. Starting a second book reveals an intention to be a professional writer. ~ Len Deighton
No matter how brilliant an action, it should not be considered great unless it was the result of a great motive. ~ Francois De La Rochefoucauld
Hell is paved with good intentions, not with bad ones. All men mean well. ~ George Bernard Shaw
We know there is intention and purpose in the universe, because there is intention and purpose in us. ~ George Bernard Shaw
The intention of never deceiving often exposes us to deception. ~ Francois De La Rochefoucauld
I am sure of nothing so little as my own intentions. ~ Lord Byron
Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. ~ William A. Foster
That is the principal thing: not to remain with the dream, with the intention, with the being in the mood, but always forcibly to convert it into all things. ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
His designs were strictly honorable, as the phrase is; that is, to rob a lady of her fortune by way of marriage. ~ Henry Fielding
If religion might be judged of according to men’s intentions, there would scarcely be any idolatry in the world. ~ Joseph Hall
One of the hardest things to do in life is to listen without intent to reply. ~ Author Unknown
Many good purposes lie in the churchyard. ~ Philip Henry
Would that well-thinking people should be replaced by thinking ones. ~ Natalie Clifford Barney
You must decide where you are going in the evening, if you intend to leave early in the morning. ~ Malian Proverb
It is not whether your words or actions are tough or gentle; it is the spirit behind your actions and words that announces your inner state. ~ Ching Ning Chu
Life is not governed by will or intention. Life is a question of nerves, and fibers, and slowly built-up cells in which thought hides itself, and passion has its dreams. ~ Oscar Wilde
I’d rather attempt to do great things and blow it, than succeed at meaningless things and just get by. ~ Author Unknown
The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance, and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding. ~ Albert Camus
No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he only had good intentions. He had money as well. ~ Margaret Thatcher
Leadership is the wise use of power. Power is the capacity to translate intention into reality and sustain it. ~ Warren G. Bennis
Be intent on the perfection of the present day. ~ William Law
The greatest events occur without intention playing any part in them; chance makes good mistakes and undoes the most carefully planned undertaking. The world’s greatest events are not produced, they happen. ~ Georg C. Lichtenberg
A man’s intentions should be allowed in some respects to plead for his actions. ~ George Washington
A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer. ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca
No thought, no reflection, no analysis, no cultivation, no intention; let it settle itself. ~ Author Unknown
There is wickedness in the intention of wickedness, even though it be not perpetrated in the act. ~ Marcus T. Cicero
When a man says that he approves something in principal, it means he hasn’t the slightest intention of putting it in practice. ~ Otto Von Bismarck
All that counts in life is intention. ~ Andrea Bocelli
Purposes, like eggs, unless they be hatched into action, will run into rottenness. ~ Samuel Smiles
The road of good intentions is paved with Hell. ~ Spencer Ante
It is not good enough for things to be planned — they still have to be done; for the intention to become a reality, energy has to be launched into operation. ~ Pir Vilayat Khan
By concentrating our attention on the effect rather than the causes, we can avoid the laborious, nearly impossible task of trying to detect and deflect the many psychological influences on liking. ~ Robert Cialdini
With mere good intentions, hell is proverbially paved. ~ William James
If it is good then the deed is more important than the intention; if it’s bad then the intention is worse than the deed. ~ Spanish Proverb
God has no intention of setting a limit to the efforts of man to conquer space. ~ Pius XII
What is the quality of your intent? ~ Thurgood Marshall
The man who is intent on making the most of his opportunities is too busy to bother about luck. ~ B.C. Forbes
Simplicity is the intention, purity in the affection; simplicity turns to God, purity unites with and enjoys him. ~ Thomas a Kempis
The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention. ~ Author Unknown
Through faithfulness we are collected and wound up into unity within ourselves, otherwise we are scattered abroad in multiplicity. ~ St. Augustine
Every act is to be judged by the intention of the agent. ~ Author Unknown
Our intention creates our reality. ~ Wayne Dyer
