--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For years I've wanted to live according…" description: "\"For years I've wanted to live according to everyone else's morals. I've forced myself to live like everyone else, to look like everyone else. I said wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/albert-camus-47_accepting_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-live-according_1116248.jpg" --- # For years I've wanted to live according to everyone else's… ![“For years I've wanted to live according to everyone else's morals. I've forced myself to live like everyone else, to look like everyone else. I said what was necessary to join together, even when I felt separate. And after all of this, catastrophe came. Now I wander amid the debris, I am lawless…” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/albert-camus-47_accepting_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-live-according_1116248.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/albert-camus-47_accepting_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-live-according_1116248.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/albert-camus-47_accepting_for-years-i-ve-wanted-to-live-according_1116248.jpg) > “For years I've wanted to live according to everyone else's morals. I've forced myself to live like everyone else, to look like everyone else. I said what was necessary to join together, even when I felt separate. And after all of this, catastrophe came. Now I wander amid the debris, I am lawless, torn to pieces, alone and accepting to be so, resigned to my singularity and to my infirmities. And I must rebuild a truth-after having lived all my life in a sort of lie.” [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living by others' morals leads to personal collapse; true authenticity requires confronting one's own truth after a period of deception. **In simple terms:** Following others' morals can cause personal ruin; authenticity requires truth. Key Takeaway Embrace personal truth. Themes existentialism authenticity loneliness Mood thoughtful melancholic Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - philosophical reflection - personal growth - psychological healing Key Concepts identity crisis moral independence self‑reconstruction Questions to Reflect On - What does authenticity mean to you? - How can one rebuild after living a lie? A Different Perspective The path to truth is painful and isolating. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [According Morals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/according-morals-2997852/) [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Debris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debris/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Felt Separate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-separate-605762/) [Infirmity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infirmity/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lawless Torn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lawless-torn-2997851/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Rebuild Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rebuild-truth-2997853/) [Relatable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatable/) [Resigned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resigned/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Singularity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singularity/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Torn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torn/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Wander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wander/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“As soon as I was old enough to have a feeling about it, I felt like I was alone. 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You could say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-gorman/there-are-places-where-litter-is-acceptable-and-others-where-it-is/) [Alice Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-gorman/) > [When the Universe was not so out of whack as it is today, and all the stars were lined up in their proper places,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-lem/when-the-universe-was-not-so-out-of-whack-as-it-is-today-and-all-the/) [Stanislaw Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-lem/) > [When the landscape buckles and jerks around, when a dust column of debris rises from the collapse of a block of buildings on bodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/when-the-landscape-buckles-and-jerks-around-when-a-dust-column-of/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Don't be decieved by your mortality, you're just a piece of debris, and the sophisticated one lies inside us which was either created or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/don-t-be-decieved-by-your-mortality-you-re-just-a-piece-of-debris-and/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Look here brother, who you jivin' with that cosmik debris?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/look-here-brother-who-you-jivin-with-that-cosmik-debris/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence of a mother who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bono/god-is-in-the-slums-in-the-cardboard-boxes-where-the-poor-play-house/) [Bono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bono/) > [“What can you expect from a stupid government? Anything good? Anything useful, anything clever? Anything just? No! You can expect nothing but stupidity, nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/what-can-you-expect-from-a-stupid-government-anything-good-anything/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. 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As for those who succumb, they did not deserve to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-best-are-led-to-make-greater-demands-upon-themselves-as-for-those/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“Then he asked me if I wasn’t interested in a change of life. I said that people never change their lives, that in any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/then-he-asked-me-if-i-wasn-t-interested-in-a-change-of-life-i-said/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Life is meaningless, but worth living, provided you recognize it's meaningless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/life-is-meaningless-but-worth-living-provided-you-recognize-it-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking of the future, establishing aims for oneself, having preferences-all this presupposes a belief in freedom, even if one occasionally ascertains that one doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-of-the-future-establishing-aims-for-oneself-having/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I explained to him, however, that my nature was such that my physical needs often got in the way of my feelings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-explained-to-him-however-that-my-nature-was-such-that-my-physical/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-only-way-to-deal-with-an-unfree-world-is-to-become-so-absolutely/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“We love people not because for good they did for us, but for good we did for them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/we-love-people-not-because-for-good-they-did-for-us-but-for-good-we/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [You have so much inside you, and the noblest happiness of all. Don’t just wait for a man to come along. That’s the mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/you-have-so-much-inside-you-and-the-noblest-happiness-of-all-don-t/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The desire for possession is insatiable, to such a point that it can survive even love itself. To love, therefore, is to sterilize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-desire-for-possession-is-insatiable-to-such-a-point-that-it-can/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) [Explore all 1,600 Albert Camus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. 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I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For years I've wanted to live according to everyone else's morals. I've forced myself to live like everyone else, to look like everyone else. I said what was necessary to join together, even when I felt separate. And after all of this, catastrophe came. Now I wander amid the debris, I am lawless, torn to pieces, alone and accepting to be so, resigned to my singularity and to my infirmities. 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