---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had been right, I was still right, I…"
description: "\"“I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/albert-camus-47_life_i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was_369026.jpg"
---

#  I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I…

![“I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn't done that. I hadn't done this thing but I had done another. And so?” quote by Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/albert-camus-47_life_i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was_369026.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/albert-camus-47_life_i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was_369026.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/albert-camus-47_life_i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was_369026.jpg)

> ““I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn't done that. I hadn't done this thing but I had done another. And so?””

[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.

The narrator reflects on the futility of trying to justify past choices, recognizing that any life path could have been taken and that certainty about being right is illusory.

**In simple terms:** Life choices are arbitrary and certainty is misleading.

Key Takeaway

Accept uncertainty and focus on present actions.

Themes

existentialism choice certainty absurdity

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- decision making
- moral evaluation

Key Concepts

free will subjective truth existential angst

Questions to Reflect On

- How does recognizing life's arbitrariness affect your current decisions?
- Can you find peace without needing to be right?

A Different Perspective

Life is ambiguous; past decisions cannot be definitively judged.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

## Related quotes

> [I had been right I was still right I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was-always-right-i-had-lived-my-2/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [“He wasn’t even sure he was alive, because he was living like a dead man. Whereas it looked as if I was the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/he-wasn-t-even-sure-he-was-alive-because-he-was-living-like-a-dead/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [“If Christ hadn't lived and hadn't died, there would truly be no way out at all. Then all the weeping would be horribly meaningless.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-scholl-richard-hanser/if-christ-hadn-t-lived-and-hadn-t-died-there-would-truly-be-no-way/)

Hans Scholl Richard Hanser

> [I've always lived my life fearlessly, and what I want to do with my life, I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-taylor-wood/i-ve-always-lived-my-life-fearlessly-and-what-i-want-to-do-with-my/)

[Sam Taylor-Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-taylor-wood/)

> [I definitely lived my life like I wasn't in the public eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannen-doherty/i-definitely-lived-my-life-like-i-wasn-t-in-the-public-eye/)

[Shannen Doherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannen-doherty/)

> [A life not lived for others is not a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/a-life-not-lived-for-others-is-not-a-life/)

[Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/)

> [In his own way, he's lived life with all the intensity he could muster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/in-his-own-way-he-s-lived-life-with-all-the-intensity-he-could-muster/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Just because a woman is over 50 does not mean she no longer has anything to offer. If anything, we have so much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-wells/just-because-a-woman-is-over-50-does-not-mean-she-no-longer-has/)

Dawn Wells

> [I've always done more than I ever thought I would. Becoming a professor - I never would have imagined that. Writing books - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-gilpin-faust/i-ve-always-done-more-than-i-ever-thought-i-would-becoming-a/)

[Drew Gilpin Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-gilpin-faust/)

> [LEGACY : How I LIVED my life and how I LED others TO live!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/legacy-how-i-lived-my-life-and-how-i-led-others-to-live/)

[Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/)

> [Only a life lived for others is a life worthwile..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/only-a-life-lived-for-others-is-a-life-worthwile/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I have lived all my life as part of an ethnic conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-gersht/i-have-lived-all-my-life-as-part-of-an-ethnic-conflict/)

[Ori Gersht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-gersht/)

> [I still live in the same place I've lived all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-straight/i-still-live-in-the-same-place-i-ve-lived-all-my-life/)

[Susan Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-straight/)

> [It doesn't matter what people think of me. I've lived my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-paterno/it-doesn-t-matter-what-people-think-of-me-i-ve-lived-my-life/)

[Joe Paterno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-paterno/)

> [I have lived my life in the slipstream of experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jane-howard/i-have-lived-my-life-in-the-slipstream-of-experience/)

[Elizabeth Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jane-howard/)

## More by Albert Camus

> [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Being is good, but getting rich is better… If the gods had only the riches of men's adoration, they would be as poor as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/being-is-good-but-getting-rich-is-better-if-the-gods-had-only-the/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [“Having been, not only mutilated in our country, wounded in our very flesh, but also divested of our most beautiful images, for you gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/having-been-not-only-mutilated-in-our-country-wounded-in-our-very/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I've seen of enough of people who die for an idea. I don't believe in heroism; I know it's easy and I've learned it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-ve-seen-of-enough-of-people-who-die-for-an-idea-i-don-t-believe-in/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [The best are led to make greater demands upon themselves. 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 Life quotes

> [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/)

[Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/)

> [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/)

[Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/)

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/)

[Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/)

> [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/)

[Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/)

> [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/)

Deanna L. Lawlis

> [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/)

[Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/)

> [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/)

[Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/)

> [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/)

[Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/)

> [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/)

[Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/)

> [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

[Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as well have lived it another. I had done this and I hadn't done that. I hadn't done this thing but I had done another. And so?”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Albert Camus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was-always-right-i-had-lived-my/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Life"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was-always-right-i-had-lived-my/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/albert-camus-47_life_i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was_369026.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/albert-camus-47_life_i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was_369026.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ea/albert-camus-47_life_i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was_369026.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I had been right, I was still right, I was always right. I had lived my life one way and I could just as…” — Albert Camus",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Albert Camus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I had been right, I was...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was-always-right-i-had-lived-my/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-had-been-right-i-was-still-right-i-was-always-right-i-had-lived-my/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
