--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the desire for definition, self or…" description: "\"“When the desire for definition, self or otherwise, comes out of a desire for limitation rather than a desire for expansion, no true face can emerge.”\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/audre-lorde-758_desire_when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-o_1530501.jpg" --- # When the desire for definition, self or otherwise, comes… ![“When the desire for definition, self or otherwise, comes out of a desire for limitation rather than a desire for expansion, no true face can emerge.” quote by Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/audre-lorde-758_desire_when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-o_1530501.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/audre-lorde-758_desire_when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-o_1530501.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/audre-lorde-758_desire_when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-o_1530501.jpg) > ““When the desire for definition, self or otherwise, comes out of a desire for limitation rather than a desire for expansion, no true face can emerge.”” [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Defining self through limitation hinders authentic identity; expansion allows true self to appear. **In simple terms:** Limiting definitions block true self. Key Takeaway Embrace growth, not restriction. Themes identity self‑definition freedom Mood thoughtful challenging Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - social activism Key Concepts psychology philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What limits your self‑definition? - How can expansion foster authenticity? A Different Perspective Expanding identity can cause confusion or conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Limitation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitation/) ## Related quotes > [Every act of will is an act of self-limitation. To desire action is to desire limitation. In that sense, every act is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-act-of-will-is-an-act-of-self-limitation-to-desire-action-is-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every act of will is an act of self-limitation. To desire action is to desire limitation. In that sense, every act is an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/every-act-of-will-is-an-act-of-self-limitation-to-desire-action-is-to-2/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [No reason why anyone should fall from the eyes, Oh, wretched people who take advantage of this limitation, and the desire to rise above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/no-reason-why-anyone-should-fall-from-the-eyes-oh-wretched-people-who/) Mak\_786 > [Any transition serious enough to alter your definition of self will require not just small adjustments in your way of living and thinking but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/any-transition-serious-enough-to-alter-your-definition-of-self-will/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [You cannot be who and what you are unless you have a lifestyle, both internally and externally, that is designed to support that definition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cannot-be-who-and-what-you-are-unless-you-have-a-lifestyle-both/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I didn't have any definition of self. I never fit in, so I started pretending I was other people. I'd find people I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-monteith/i-didn-t-have-any-definition-of-self-i-never-fit-in-so-i-started/) [Cory Monteith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-monteith/) > [“My definition of self-published: A printed work distributed by someone who believes more in sharing their story than making a fortune.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-bianco/my-definition-of-self-published-a-printed-work-distributed-by-someone/) [Giuseppe Bianco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-bianco/) > [Self-definition and self-determination is about the many varied decisions that we make to compose and journey toward ourselves, about the audacity and strength to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-mock/self-definition-and-self-determination-is-about-the-many-varied/) [Janet Mock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-mock/) > [“Perhaps your definition of your self-system lacks authentic boundaries. You've erected a precarious structure of personality on unconscious factors over which you have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/perhaps-your-definition-of-your-self-system-lacks-authentic/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Think of a crucible as an occasion for real magic, the creation of something more valuable than an alchemist could possibly imagine. In it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-g-bennis/think-of-a-crucible-as-an-occasion-for-real-magic-the-creation-of/) [Warren G. Bennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-g-bennis/) > [You are One with everything. When you are clear about this, your definition of self-interest will change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/you-are-one-with-everything-when-you-are-clear-about-this-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [But an accurate definition of the self is impossible. You are more than you realize, more than you can define. And the more time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-an-accurate-definition-of-the-self-is-impossible-you-are-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Resistance by definition is self-sabotage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/resistance-by-definition-is-self-sabotage/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Self-denial is the test and definition of self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/self-denial-is-the-test-and-definition-of-self-government/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you have low self-esteem, you believe you can see yourself through other people’s eyes, and you judge yourself by what you imagine other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-berent/if-you-have-low-self-esteem-you-believe-you-can-see-yourself-through/) [Jonathan Berent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-berent/) ## More by Audre Lorde > [Every woman I have ever loved has left her print upon me, where I loved some invaluable piece of myself apart from me-so different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/every-woman-i-have-ever-loved-has-left-her-print-upon-me-where-i/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [There are many kinds of open. . . Love is a word, another kind of open. . . Take my word for jewel in your open light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-are-many-kinds-of-open-love-is-a-word-another-kind-of-open-take/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Your silence will not protect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/your-silence-will-not-protect-you/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-can-t-really-define-it-in-sexual-terms-alone-although-our-sexuality/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our life-pursuits that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/for-once-we-begin-to-feel-deeply-all-the-aspects-of-our-lives-we/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [the fear of death is that you are dying too soon. Nobody wants to, but at the point that you die you can pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-fear-of-death-is-that-you-are-dying-too-soon-nobody-wants-to-but/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“There is an important difference between openness and naïveté. Not everyone has good intentions nor means me well. I remind myself I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/there-is-an-important-difference-between-openness-and-na-vet-not/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/what-are-the-words-you-do-not-yet-have-what-do-you-need-to-say-what/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [I learned to read from Mrs. Augusta Baker, the children's librarian. ... If that was the only good deed that lady ever did in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-learned-to-read-from-mrs-augusta-baker-the-children-s-librarian-if/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/poetry-is-not-only-dream-and-vision-it-is-the-skeleton-architecture/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I think that in America there are certain kinds of problems and in Russia there are certain kinds of problems, but basically, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-think-that-in-america-there-are-certain-kinds-of-problems-and-in/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [Institutionalized rejection of differences is an absolute necessity in a profit economy which needs outsiders as surplus people. As members of such an economy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/institutionalized-rejection-of-differences-is-an-absolute-necessity/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, forms a bridge between the sharers which can be the basis for understanding much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-sharing-of-joy-whether-physical-emotional-psychic-or-intellectual/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [“I forgot what we were celebrating. Because we were always celebrating something, a new job, a new poem, a new love, a new dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/i-forgot-what-we-were-celebrating-because-we-were-always-celebrating/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) > [How a diamond comes into a knot of flame How a sound comes into a word, coloured By who pays what for speaking. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/how-a-diamond-comes-into-a-knot-of-flame-how-a-sound-comes-into-a/) [Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) [Explore all 377 Audre Lorde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the desire for definition, self or otherwise, comes out of a desire for limitation rather than a desire for expansion, no true face can emerge.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audre Lorde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-otherwise-comes-out-of-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-otherwise-comes-out-of-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/audre-lorde-758_desire_when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-o_1530501.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/audre-lorde-758_desire_when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-o_1530501.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63b/audre-lorde-758_desire_when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-o_1530501.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the desire for definition, self or otherwise, comes out of a desire for limitation rather than a desire…” — Audre Lorde", "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": "Audre Lorde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When the desire for definition, self...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-otherwise-comes-out-of-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/when-the-desire-for-definition-self-or-otherwise-comes-out-of-a/#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 } } ] } ```