50 Status Quo Quotes with a Dose of Motivation

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published September 7, 2023

Status quo quotes are quite popular these days.

People share these quotes via different social media platforms to convey their point of view.

If you are also looking for some inspiring status quo quotes, this article can be helpful.

Here, we have curated a list of the most famous status quo quotes.

So, it won’t be difficult for you to find your favorite quote.

In addition to our quotes section, we have also discussed the term ‘Status Quo’ and the different aspects associated with it.

What is the Status Quo?

The literal meaning of this Latin phrase is the ‘existing state of affairs’.

The status quo is a dynamic interplay of different elements, including social, economic, political, and cultural aspects of our society.

In terms of sociology, the status quo refers to the prevailing state of social values and societal structure.

The Need for Change

Although the status quo represents sustainability and stability, change is necessary to let society grow.

This is the changing cultures and social norms that help us shape our lives.

By bringing some changes to the status quo, it is possible for societies to progress, attitudes to evolve, and technologies to advance.

Positive and Negative Aspects of Status Quo

It isn’t possible to state whether the status quo is positive or negative.

On the other hand, it tends to be a combination of both.

The status quo can improve the overall state of the people by providing stability to different policies.

On the other hand, the status quo could create hindrances when it comes to innovation and growth.

The negative aspects of the status quo include:

Perpetuation of inequalities
Stifling creativity
Inability to adapt to new challenges

Hence, in some instances, the status quo works as a barrier to progress.

Fighting against Status Quo

History is full of instances where individuals fought against the status quo and emerged as agents of change.

These people helped with the positive transformation of society by challenging the status quo.

People like Martin Luther King Jr. stood for civil rights, education, and justice.

Finding the Balance

For a society to grow and flourish, it is essential to create a balance between change and the status quo.

It involves critical thinking, discernment, and a willingness to adapt.

This is because a society can seek benefit from both change and stability.

Top 10 Status Quo Quotes

The top status quo quotes are presented as follows for you to have some knowledge regarding the status quo.

1. “The status quo leads to self-destruction.” — Emmanuel Macron

2. “Status quo, you know, is Latin for ‘the mess we’re in’.” — Ronald Reagan

3. “The riskiest thing we can do is just maintain the status quo.” — Bob Iger

4. “The status quo is never happy when things become a meritocracy.” — Marti Noxon

5. “Most of the press is in league with government, or with the status quo.” — Harold Pinter

6. “Whoever has an original thing to say, it is sort of a threat to the status quo.” — Steve Lacy

7. “I don’t accept the status quo. I do accept Visa, MasterCard, or American Express.” — Stephen Colbert

8. “Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status.” — Laurence J. Peter

9. “I’m never satisfied with the status quo, and a desire to make a difference is what drives me.” — Kim Reynolds

10. “Faith in God’s revelation has nothing to do with an ideology which glorifies the status quo.” — Karl Barth

Status Quo Quotes On Challenge & Change

The quotes mentioned below are related to changing and challenging the status quo.

11. “The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.” — Warren Bennis

12. “I look at every business and ask, How long can this last? How can I identify the status quo and change it?” — Sheldon Adelson

13. “It will always be a battle a day between those who want maximum change and those who want to maintain the status quo.” — Gerry Adams

14. “If you want to thrive in today’s economy, you must challenge the status quo and get the financial education necessary to succeed.” — Robert Kiyosaki

15. “My topics are timely. When an event is happening, it is when I want to be there… I think it is our duty to challenge the status quo.” — Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Quotes About Why Changing the Status Quo is Challenging

Here are a few additional quotes related to changing and challenging the status quo.

16. “I really think it would be cowardly to pull back and not challenge the status quo when the status quo may not be the right way for the field to go.” — Mehmet Oz

17. “Comedy is to force us to observe ourselves in ways that are humorous and yet, at the end of the day, that cause us enough discomfort with the status quo to make a change.” — Michael Eric Dyson

18. “Politics isn’t just a game of clashing parties and competing interests. The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.” — Sarah Palin

19. “The highest calling of leadership is to challenge the status quo and unlock the potential of others. We need a leader who will lead the resurgence of this great nation and unlock its potential once again.” — Carly Fiorina

20. “We emphasize that we believe in change because we were born of it, we have lived by it, we prospered and grew great by it. So the status quo has never been our god, and we ask no one else to bow down before it.” — Carl T. Rowan

Let’s explore some great thought-provoking status quo quotes related to facts and truths.

21. “We cannot accept the status quo of throwing more taxpayer money into a broke and broken system.” — Bruce Rauner

22. “Any business today that embraces the status quo as an operating principle is going to be on a death march.” — Howard Schultz

23. “The status quo and the media is doing everything it can to fry children’s brains and make them grow up maladjusted.” — Julie Christie

24. “Nothing is more terrifying to me, really, than the status quo. I’ll make mistakes before I keep doing something the same way.” — Twyla Tharp

25. “Change doesn’t always mean progress, but the status quo isn’t always the best result either. It is merely the most convenient.” — Harsha Bhogle

26. “Status quo just means that everyone’s doing it. It doesn’t mean that this was divinely ordained, and of course, this is the right decision.” — Alexis Ohanian

27. “I think when you see that the status quo creates pain and anguish and suffering, what I am most afraid of is that things will stay the same.” — Bryan Stevenson

28. “When something really bad is going on in a culture, the average guy doesn’t see it. He can’t. He’s average and is surrounded by and immersed in the cant and discourse of the status quo.” — George Saunders

29. “I refuse to go along with the status quo of more wasteful federal spending, and I refuse to let the Obama Administration continue to force their misguided ideology through regulatory overreach.” — Paul Gosar

30. “The older generations are too wedded to political parties, too wedded to romantic memories of what education was like when they were kids, and too wedded to the status quo group that clings to power.” — Betsy DeVos

Status Quo Quotes On Progress, Change, and Challenge

Here are some insightful quotes revealing the dynamics of progress, change, and challenge within the status quo.

31. “People who demand neutrality in any situation are usually not neutral but in favor of the status quo.” — Max Eastman

32. “A critical component of progress is engaging with people you don’t agree with – everything else is the status quo.” — Anthony Albanese

33. “States are like people. They do not question the awful status quo until some dramatic event overturns the conventional and lax way of thinking.” — Victor Davis Hanson

34. “The status quo is presented as something to aspire to, whereas for us, the status quo was something we wanted to shatter in order to create the space for people to choose for themselves.” — Genesis P-Orridge

35. “Some say that I should settle down, go slower, and not push so hard, so quickly for such transformational change. To them, I say that you misunderstand the size of the problems we face, the strength of the status quo, and the urgency of the people’s desire for change.” — Eliot Spitzer

More Quotes About the Status Quo, Progress, Change, and Challenge

Learn more about the status quo impacts progress and change in the following quotes.

36. “Influential people are never satisfied with the status quo. They’re the ones who constantly ask, ‘What if?’ and ‘Why not?’ They’re not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, and they don’t disrupt things for the sake of being disruptive; they do it to make things better.” — Travis Bradberry

37. “We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends tacit validity to this status quo. People have morally identified with a subset of humanity rather than with humanity as a whole.” — Sam Harris

38. “I don’t foresee a future where people don’t have some sort of phone that’s like a computer. I don’t foresee a future where those phones don’t have cameras in them. That spells a future where smartphones are the status quo. You have to ask yourself how you allow people to communicate what’s in their lives.” — Kevin Systrom

39. “People have long assumed that violence is necessary for political change. Rulers never cede power voluntarily, the argument goes, so progressives have no choice but to contemplate the use of force to bring about a better world, mindful of the trade-off between a small amount of violence now and acceptance of an unjust status quo indefinitely.” — Steven Pinker

40. “The hazing experience and then the subsequent participation in the group forces its members to maintain the status quo and traditions at all costs. It demands mindlessness and unquestioned loyalty, resulting in boring people who have little ability to think for themselves or have an opposing viewpoint from those who have the most social power.” — Rosalind Wiseman

The status quo of America is looked at by almost all the people over the world.

41. “In America, evangelical churches have often been bastions of conservatism, providing support for the status quo.” — Tony Campolo

42. “We have too many in Washington who are all too willing to just go along with the status quo and not make any waves.” — John Fleming

43. “Trump is going to be the change agent. Hillary Clinton is going to be the status quo. Bernie Sanders is not going to be in the mix.” — Rob Portman

44. “Visionless status quo policy towards Latin America, particularly towards Cuba, has turned off a lot of people, and I think it’s created an opening.” — Joe Garcia

45. “I’m excited about seeing a bipartisan plan to reform education in the United States. The only other option is to protect the status quo, and I really don’t think anybody wants to do that.” — John Rowland

Let’s explore some more quotes related to the status quo of the USA.

46. “Texas has waited too long for a governor who knows that quid pro quo shouldn’t be the status quo. It’s time for a governor who believes that you don’t have to buy a place in Texas’ future.” — Wendy Davis

47. “Growing up in New York with artist parents – a very liberal environment, where we were always encouraged to challenge the status quo – I think for a long time I confused jingoism with patriotism. And that is a mistake.” — Claire Danes

48. “Often motivated by a desire to maintain the existing status quo, sloth almost cost the U.S. its auto industry, as it refused for decades to build fuel-efficient cars to compete with Japanese, Korean, and European imports.” — Simon Mainwaring

49. “Tonight was a great opportunity to take on the political status quo that has given us trillion-dollar deficits and put millions out of work. Our objective was to inject some common sense into the conversation among Republicans at a time when business-as-usual simply won’t work.” — Gary Johnson

50. “If you want a president who will upend the status quo in Washington, D.C., and appoint justices of the Supreme Court who will uphold the Constitution, we have but one choice and that man is ready. This team is ready. Our party is ready and when we elect Donald Trump, the 45th president.” — Mike Pence