--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have spent myself on all kinds of…" description: "\"I have spent myself on all kinds of things ... I have advanced much politically but I have written little and moreover have written it badly.\" — Ba Jin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/ba-jin-37257_all-kinds_i-have-spent-myself-on-all-kinds-of-thin_900618.png" --- # I have spent myself on all kinds of things ... I have… ![“I have spent myself on all kinds of things ... I have advanced much politically but I have written little and moreover have written it badly.” quote by Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/ba-jin-37257_all-kinds_i-have-spent-myself-on-all-kinds-of-thin_900618.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/ba-jin-37257_all-kinds_i-have-spent-myself-on-all-kinds-of-thin_900618.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/ba-jin-37257_all-kinds_i-have-spent-myself-on-all-kinds-of-thin_900618.png) > “I have spent myself on all kinds of things ... I have advanced much politically but I have written little and moreover have written it badly.” [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on political success contrasted with literary shortcomings, expressing regret over limited writing achievements. **In simple terms:** Political progress but poor writing leaves dissatisfaction. Key Takeaway Balance political work with creative pursuits. Themes self‑reflection career artistic ambition Mood reflective regretful Type autobiographical philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - creative writing - public service Key Concepts politics literature personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What creative goals have you neglected? - How can you integrate art into your life? A Different Perspective Political duties may eclipse artistic growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-kinds/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Little Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-written-1237170/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Politically Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politically-written-1237173/) [Spent Kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spent-kinds-754058/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Badly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-badly-1237172/) [Written Little](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-little-1237171/) ## Related quotes > [People sort of lump packaged-goods video games into all video games. But when you look at total hours consumed and the dollars that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-kotick/people-sort-of-lump-packaged-goods-video-games-into-all-video-games/) [Robert A. Kotick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-kotick/) > [There's a great deal of attention paid and books written about this change of life in a woman, and really very little written about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/there-s-a-great-deal-of-attention-paid-and-books-written-about-this/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [Theres a great deal of attention paid and books written about this change of life in a woman, and really very little written about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/theres-a-great-deal-of-attention-paid-and-books-written-about-this/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/books-are-well-written-or-badly-written-that-is-all/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“And what is written well and what is written badly...need we ask Lysias or any other poet or orator who ever wrote or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig-2/and-what-is-written-well-and-what-is-written-badly-need-we-ask-lysias/) [Robert M Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig-2/) > [Every really good book was written a little at a time, over time, in tremendous confusion and doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bausch/every-really-good-book-was-written-a-little-at-a-time-over-time-in/) [Richard Bausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bausch/) > [I've written a little bit in Germany.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-ve-written-a-little-bit-in-germany/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [I can assure you that it feels even stranger to me than it probably does to you to have seen so much written about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-middleton/i-can-assure-you-that-it-feels-even-stranger-to-me-than-it-probably/) [Pippa Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-middleton/) > [I always wanted to write about comics and I have written little things here and there but I am not confident in my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-forsman/i-always-wanted-to-write-about-comics-and-i-have-written-little/) [Charles Forsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-forsman/) > [“Books are written little by little...as the cat eats the fish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-k-scott/books-are-written-little-by-little-as-the-cat-eats-the-fish/) [Lynda K. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-k-scott/) > [Sydney is full of the craziest and most talented artists of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiynan-lonsdale/sydney-is-full-of-the-craziest-and-most-talented-artists-of-all-kinds/) [Keiynan Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keiynan-lonsdale/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. So yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/my-office-in-new-york-is-overflowing-with-all-kinds-of-cookbooks-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-m-not-technically-proficient-enough-to-attempt-all-kinds-of-music/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) ## More by Ba Jin > [I write just because the fire of my emotion is burning. Had I not, I would not have been able to find peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/i-write-just-because-the-fire-of-my-emotion-is-burning-had-i-not-i/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [Before my eyes are many miserable scenes, the suffering of others and myself forces my hands to move. I become a machine for writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/before-my-eyes-are-many-miserable-scenes-the-suffering-of-others-and/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [Loving truth and living honestly is my attitude to life. Be true to yourself and be true to others, thus you can be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/loving-truth-and-living-honestly-is-my-attitude-to-life-be-true-to/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [Victory is for them, not for us. We have not made profit out of our country's misfortune. Victory does not bring us luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/victory-is-for-them-not-for-us-we-have-not-made-profit-out-of-our/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [Nobody would say the cowshed was heaven and nobody would say the inhuman torture of so many victims be called a revolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/nobody-would-say-the-cowshed-was-heaven-and-nobody-would-say-the/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [You have your thoughts and I have mine. This is the fact and you can't change it even if you kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/you-have-your-thoughts-and-i-have-mine-this-is-the-fact-and-you-can-t/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [My pen is alight and my body aflame. Until both burn down to ash, my love and my hate will remain here in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/my-pen-is-alight-and-my-body-aflame-until-both-burn-down-to-ash-my/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [I've lived on royalties all my life. It is the readers who have supported me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/i-ve-lived-on-royalties-all-my-life-it-is-the-readers-who-have/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [I believe in the future a new Dante will write a new Divine Comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/i-believe-in-the-future-a-new-dante-will-write-a-new-divine-comedy/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [I am a person always full of contradictions... It was hard to choose whether to devote myself to revolution as a soldier or as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/i-am-a-person-always-full-of-contradictions-it-was-hard-to-choose/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) > [Only by not forgetting the past can we be the master of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ba-jin/only-by-not-forgetting-the-past-can-we-be-the-master-of-the-future/) [Ba Jin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) [Explore all 12 Ba Jin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ba-jin/) ## More All kinds quotes > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-m-not-technically-proficient-enough-to-attempt-all-kinds-of-music/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. So yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/my-office-in-new-york-is-overflowing-with-all-kinds-of-cookbooks-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [Sydney is full of the craziest and most talented artists of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiynan-lonsdale/sydney-is-full-of-the-craziest-and-most-talented-artists-of-all-kinds/) [Keiynan Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keiynan-lonsdale/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [You know, the world’s not running out of oil. There’s all kinds of oil left in all kinds of places. …We’re never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rubin/you-know-the-world-s-not-running-out-of-oil-there-s-all-kinds-of-oil/) [Jeff Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rubin/) > [I grew up with all kinds of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/i-grew-up-with-all-kinds-of-people/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The architecture of the song, if it's built properly, can withstand all kinds of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-haines/the-architecture-of-the-song-if-it-s-built-properly-can-withstand-all/) [Emily Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-haines/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [We also need to make sure women can be in charge of their reproductive health. We can't defund places like Planned Parenthood, where women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/we-also-need-to-make-sure-women-can-be-in-charge-of-their/) [Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Do you know people who insist they like 'all kinds of music'? That actually means they like no kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/do-you-know-people-who-insist-they-like-all-kinds-of-music-that/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) [Browse all 1,489 All kinds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-kinds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have spent myself on all kinds of things ... 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