--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I kept trying to be what everybody…" description: "\"“If I kept trying to be what everybody wanted, I'd soon be insipid enough to fit in everywhere.”\" — Barbara Kingsolver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/barbara-kingsolver-200_insipid_if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wa_2269776.png" --- # If I kept trying to be what everybody wanted, I'd soon be… ![“If I kept trying to be what everybody wanted, I'd soon be insipid enough to fit in everywhere.” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/barbara-kingsolver-200_insipid_if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wa_2269776.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/barbara-kingsolver-200_insipid_if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wa_2269776.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/barbara-kingsolver-200_insipid_if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wa_2269776.png) > ““If I kept trying to be what everybody wanted, I'd soon be insipid enough to fit in everywhere.”” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conforming to others' expectations erodes individuality, leading to blandness. **In simple terms:** Trying to please everyone makes you lose uniqueness. Key Takeaway Preserve authenticity. Themes individuality conformity self-expression Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - artistic work - social interactions - career choices Key Concepts psychology social pressure creativity Questions to Reflect On - What does authenticity cost you? - How can you balance acceptance and individuality? A Different Perspective Risk of alienation when rejecting norms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Everybody either wanted to take care of me or push me around, you know? I was teased a lot, sure I was, of course.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-hunt/everybody-either-wanted-to-take-care-of-me-or-push-me-around-you-know/) [Linda Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-hunt/) > [Not everybody wanted a female to be the front face of a big band, you know... You had to be three times better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolores-o-riordan/not-everybody-wanted-a-female-to-be-the-front-face-of-a-big-band-you/) [Dolores O'Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolores-o-riordan/) > [When I was in Italy in the 90s, early 2000s, everybody wanted to go to Italy, all the players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-goran-eriksson/when-i-was-in-italy-in-the-90s-early-2000s-everybody-wanted-to-go-to/) [Sven-Goran Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sven-goran-eriksson/) > [Just growing up and watching him play, everybody wanted to play like AP.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gurley/just-growing-up-and-watching-him-play-everybody-wanted-to-play-like-ap/) [Todd Gurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gurley/) > [I think everybody wanted to help the U.S. government in some way after 9/11.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-prince/i-think-everybody-wanted-to-help-the-u-s-government-in-some-way-after/) [Erik Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-prince/) > [Everybody wanted to be Michael Jackson. That's how Will and I got to know each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/apl-de-ap/everybody-wanted-to-be-michael-jackson-that-s-how-will-and-i-got-to/) [apl.de.ap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/apl-de-ap/) > [I think everyone in their life has some point on their life wanted to be like everybody else or wanted to be like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-andre-grondin/i-think-everyone-in-their-life-has-some-point-on-their-life-wanted-to/) [Marc-Andre Grondin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-andre-grondin/) > [I did 'Pines,' and everybody wanted me to be the bad boy. Then I did Tony in 'Brooklyn,' and everybody wanted me to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emory-cohen/i-did-pines-and-everybody-wanted-me-to-be-the-bad-boy-then-i-did-tony/) [Emory Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emory-cohen/) > [My whole life I saw everybody else get shine, I saw everybody else get money, everybody else wanted to rap. I saw them getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tee-grizzley/my-whole-life-i-saw-everybody-else-get-shine-i-saw-everybody-else-get/) [Tee Grizzley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tee-grizzley/) > [“Everybody wanted a better life away from the streets and drugs and violence and hopelessness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/everybody-wanted-a-better-life-away-from-the-streets-and-drugs-and/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [Everybody wanted to make it. One guy makes it. In a family when one guy makes it... 'Hey ain't you going to help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-anderson/everybody-wanted-to-make-it-one-guy-makes-it-in-a-family-when-one-guy/) [Louie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-anderson/) > [We were the only ones interested in comedy. Everybody else wanted to be Martin Scorsese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-stone/we-were-the-only-ones-interested-in-comedy-everybody-else-wanted-to/) [Matt Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-stone/) > [Since I had been little, everybody wanted me to get married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-princess-of-hanover/since-i-had-been-little-everybody-wanted-me-to-get-married/) [Caroline, Princess of Hanover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-princess-of-hanover/) > [The problem with Danity Kane is everybody wanted to play everybody's role, and when you're in a group like that, that can't survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-richard/the-problem-with-danity-kane-is-everybody-wanted-to-play-everybody-s/) [Dawn Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-richard/) > [“Everybody wanted something from me, and some days it felt like I was being pulled in thirty different directions, and I wondered how anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-konigsberg/everybody-wanted-something-from-me-and-some-days-it-felt-like-i-was/) [Bill Konigsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-konigsberg/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## More Insipid quotes > [Atheism can benefit no class of people; neither the unfortunate, whom it bereaves of hope, nor the prosperous, whose joys it renders insipid, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/atheism-can-benefit-no-class-of-people-neither-the-unfortunate-whom/) [François-René de Chateaubriand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/) > [Water and oil, simply considered, are capable of giving some pleasure to the taste. Water, when simple, is insipid, inodorous, colorless, and smooth; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/water-and-oil-simply-considered-are-capable-of-giving-some-pleasure/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Great wits, like great beauties, look upon mere esteem as a flat insipid thing; nothing less than admiration will content them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-seed/great-wits-like-great-beauties-look-upon-mere-esteem-as-a-flat/) [Jeremiah Seed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-seed/) > [The bread I eat in London, is a deleterious paste, mixed up with chalk, alum, and bone ashes: insipid to the taste, and destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/the-bread-i-eat-in-london-is-a-deleterious-paste-mixed-up-with-chalk/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [“Nothing conceivable is so petty, so insipid, so crowded with paltry interests, in one word, so anti-poetic, as the life of a man in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/nothing-conceivable-is-so-petty-so-insipid-so-crowded-with-paltry/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [A genius is the man in whom you are least likely to find the power of attending to anything insipid or distasteful in itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/a-genius-is-the-man-in-whom-you-are-least-likely-to-find-the-power-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“An insipid voice message or an incongruent emergence from the “other” world may disrupt our whole thinking system. If we are not able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/an-insipid-voice-message-or-an-incongruent-emergence-from-the-other/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Shabbat is a day of rest, of mental scrutiny and of balance. Without it the workdays are insipid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayim-nahman-bialik/shabbat-is-a-day-of-rest-of-mental-scrutiny-and-of-balance-without-it/) Hayim Nahman Bialik > [England has never enjoyed a genuine social revolution. Maybe that's what's wrong with that dear, tepid, vapid, insipid, stuffy, little country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/england-has-never-enjoyed-a-genuine-social-revolution-maybe-that-s/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Death is not earnest in the same way the eternal is. To the earnestness of death belongs precisely that remarkable capacity for awakening, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/death-is-not-earnest-in-the-same-way-the-eternal-is-to-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Men marry for fortune, and sometimes to please their fancy; but, much oftener than is suspected, they consider what the world will say of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/men-marry-for-fortune-and-sometimes-to-please-their-fancy-but-much/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [ Don’t you love quotations? I am immensely fond of them; a certain proof of erudition… \[I\]f you should happen to write an insipid poem...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-brooke/don-t-you-love-quotations-i-am-immensely-fond-of-them-a-certain-proof/) Frances Brooke > [Auto da Fay reveals the trickles of a creative sensibility that later became a tide, but essentially, Weldon the writer emerges only at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-murray-smith/auto-da-fay-reveals-the-trickles-of-a-creative-sensibility-that-later/) Joanna Murray-Smith > [Matisse can make you hate your life for its comparatively insipid joys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/matisse-can-make-you-hate-your-life-for-its-comparatively-insipid-joys/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [“A woman without a past is like a fruitcake without brandy—insipid!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-atherton/a-woman-without-a-past-is-like-a-fruitcake-without-brandy-insipid/) [Nancy Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-atherton/) Browse all 88 Insipid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I kept trying to be what everybody wanted, I'd soon be insipid enough to fit in everywhere.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Kingsolver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wanted-i-d-soon-be-insipid/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Insipid" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wanted-i-d-soon-be-insipid/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/barbara-kingsolver-200_insipid_if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wa_2269776.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/barbara-kingsolver-200_insipid_if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wa_2269776.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/353/barbara-kingsolver-200_insipid_if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wa_2269776.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I kept trying to be what everybody wanted, I'd soon be insipid enough to fit in everywhere.” — Barbara Kingsolver", "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": "Barbara Kingsolver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If I kept trying to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wanted-i-d-soon-be-insipid/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-i-kept-trying-to-be-what-everybody-wanted-i-d-soon-be-insipid/#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 } } ] } ```