--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it’s like swimming underwater, you…" description: "\"“But it’s like swimming underwater, you know? At first you feel as though you could go along forever, seeing everything from this new perspective, but ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/barry-eisler-1009_underwater_but-it-s-like-swimming-underwater-you-kn_451319.png" --- # But it’s like swimming underwater, you know? At first you… ![“But it’s like swimming underwater, you know? At first you feel as though you could go along forever, seeing everything from this new perspective, but eventually you have to come up for air.” quote by Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/barry-eisler-1009_underwater_but-it-s-like-swimming-underwater-you-kn_451319.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/barry-eisler-1009_underwater_but-it-s-like-swimming-underwater-you-kn_451319.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a98/barry-eisler-1009_underwater_but-it-s-like-swimming-underwater-you-kn_451319.png) > ““But it’s like swimming underwater, you know? At first you feel as though you could go along forever, seeing everything from this new perspective, but eventually you have to come up for air.”” [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The metaphor describes initial excitement of a new viewpoint, but reminds that it cannot last forever and one must return to reality. **In simple terms:** New perspectives feel endless, but reality forces a return. Key Takeaway Enjoy fresh views, but stay grounded. Themes adaptation perspective limits Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - starting a new job - traveling abroad - learning a skill - creative projects Key Concepts psychology growth balance Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when to pause? - What signals indicate you need to return? A Different Perspective The excitement may fade quickly, leaving disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [It's like swimming, underwater, this whole year. I just close my eyes. hold my breath, and keep kicking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-moriarty/it-s-like-swimming-underwater-this-whole-year-i-just-close-my-eyes/) [Laura Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-moriarty/) > [“All good writing is like swimming underwater and holding your breath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/all-good-writing-is-like-swimming-underwater-and-holding-your-breath/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Making art is like swimming underwater in a blindfold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/making-art-is-like-swimming-underwater-in-a-blindfold/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [“I will run every mile, i will save every line, i will say i reached the top and i will fall back down standing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mennah-al-refaey/i-will-run-every-mile-i-will-save-every-line-i-will-say-i-reached-the/) Mennah al refaey > [Now I know I'll never be numb again. A mother is condemned to feel everything forever. And I'm finally afraid, condemned to fear everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hersh/now-i-know-i-ll-never-be-numb-again-a-mother-is-condemned-to-feel/) [Kristin Hersh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hersh/) > [How wonderful to have someone to blame! How wonderful to live with one's nemesis! You may be miserable, but you feel forever in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/how-wonderful-to-have-someone-to-blame-how-wonderful-to-live-with-one/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“The feel of him would forever be etched in her memory.And cause an eternity of torment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-bielman/the-feel-of-him-would-forever-be-etched-in-her-memory-and-cause-an/) [Robin Bielman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-bielman/) > [“Three things: 1- Stop letting pride win. Don't let it destroy and unravel friendships and loves. We blinked, and it's the holidays again. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-erickson/three-things-1-stop-letting-pride-win-don-t-let-it-destroy-and/) [Victoria Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-erickson/) > [I don't want to think that the stories are finite; I want to feel that they can go on forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/i-don-t-want-to-think-that-the-stories-are-finite-i-want-to-feel-that/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [“If you fall in love, you feel forever young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/if-you-fall-in-love-you-feel-forever-young/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [To feel forever its soft fall and swell, Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, And so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/to-feel-forever-its-soft-fall-and-swell-awake-for-ever-in-a-sweet/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I feel forever debted to China.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephon-marbury/i-feel-forever-debted-to-china/) [Stephon Marbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephon-marbury/) > [“I feel no peace, I feel nothing. I think I will feel nothing forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippa-gregory/i-feel-no-peace-i-feel-nothing-i-think-i-will-feel-nothing-forever/) [Philippa Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippa-gregory/) > [Being an actor, you always feel like you're swimming upstream. People are going, 'No, they don't like you. They don't like the way you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-whitford/being-an-actor-you-always-feel-like-you-re-swimming-upstream-people/) [Bradley Whitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-whitford/) > [I let it go. It's like swimming against the current. It exhausts you. After a while, whoever you are, you just have to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-let-it-go-it-s-like-swimming-against-the-current-it-exhausts-you/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) ## More by Barry Eisler > [“But, like all indulgences that are valued not just for their product but for their process, the sento will never entirely disappear. For in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/but-like-all-indulgences-that-are-valued-not-just-for-their-product/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“She’s a bargirl. You don’t know where her loyalties lie. That one was unconvincing. No one had directed her against me—I was the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/she-s-a-bargirl-you-don-t-know-where-her-loyalties-lie-that-one-was/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“In my unpleasant experience, unarmed against a knife, you’ve basically got four options. Your best bet is to run like hell, if you can.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/in-my-unpleasant-experience-unarmed-against-a-knife-you-ve-basically/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [The most important guideline when it comes to argument is the golden rule. If someone were addressing your point, what tone, what overall approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/the-most-important-guideline-when-it-comes-to-argument-is-the-golden/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“That I was apparently into body building at all at this stage in my life probably meant affairs with young women, for whom a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/that-i-was-apparently-into-body-building-at-all-at-this-stage-in-my/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“Immediately the sounds of the street below grew detached, distant, the meaningless echoes of urban voices whose urgent notes reached but held no sway…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/immediately-the-sounds-of-the-street-below-grew-detached-distant-the/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“I heard laughter and looked up. Some kids at the terminal next to me, playing an online game. I wondered for a moment how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-heard-laughter-and-looked-up-some-kids-at-the-terminal-next-to-me/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“I shifted my head slightly. The corners of our mouths brushed together. I felt her breath on my cheek. Then we were kissing. Her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-shifted-my-head-slightly-the-corners-of-our-mouths-brushed-together/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“I looked at her. Why was it her question seemed suffused with double entendre? She was attractive, of course, more than attractive, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-looked-at-her-why-was-it-her-question-seemed-suffused-with-double/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“I realized my knowledge of that potentially damning evidence gave Delilah a reason to want me out of the way. “Out of the way”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-realized-my-knowledge-of-that-potentially-damning-evidence-gave/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“I wouldn’t want to try to take this guy out with anything less than a scoped rifle. Which is something that’s hard to confuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-wouldn-t-want-to-try-to-take-this-guy-out-with-anything-less-than-a/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“I picked up the earthen cup and went to take a sip. “Not like that,” Miyamoto said. “Let it cool a little. Give yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/i-picked-up-the-earthen-cup-and-went-to-take-a-sip-not-like-that/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“It seemed he’d recently learned the value of playing up the difficulty of accomplishing whatever he was tasked with, the better to play the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/it-seemed-he-d-recently-learned-the-value-of-playing-up-the/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“Yukiko walked over, her mouth stretching into a feline grin at the sight of Murakami. Naomi followed a moment later. She was wearing another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/yukiko-walked-over-her-mouth-stretching-into-a-feline-grin-at-the/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [It would be awesome to be so impressive that we could sway people to our way of thinking just by declaiming our thoughts, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/it-would-be-awesome-to-be-so-impressive-that-we-could-sway-people-to/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) [Explore all 305 Barry Eisler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) ## More Underwater quotes > [“he moved neither forward nor backward in time, but merely endured variations of the same day over and over. Maybe he was the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/he-moved-neither-forward-nor-backward-in-time-but-merely-endured/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [Nationally, the share of mortgages that are underwater fell by about one-half between 2011 and 2014.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-yellen/nationally-the-share-of-mortgages-that-are-underwater-fell-by-about/) [Janet Yellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-yellen/) > [Poverty comes from Hell. Prosperity comes from Heaven. Adam had complete dominion over the earth and all it contains. A. Adam could fly like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/poverty-comes-from-hell-prosperity-comes-from-heaven-adam-had/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [I always try to write on the principle of the iceberg. There is seven-eighths of it underwater for every part that shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-always-try-to-write-on-the-principle-of-the-iceberg-there-is-seven/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [There's a lot of stress involved when your house is underwater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccallum/there-s-a-lot-of-stress-involved-when-your-house-is-underwater/) [Scott McCallum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccallum/) > [“Human?' The girl cocked her head the other way. I caught a glimpse of pink gills under her chin. 'My sisters told me stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/human-the-girl-cocked-her-head-the-other-way-i-caught-a-glimpse-of/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [Perhaps we should put up posters in such places reminding people that where they stand was underwater the last time that the Earth ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-calvin/perhaps-we-should-put-up-posters-in-such-places-reminding-people-that/) [William H. Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-calvin/) > [You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-mentioned-the-navy-for-example-and-that-we-have-fewer-ships-than/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I think something that forces financial institutions to write down underwater mortgages, I think, would be a sensible thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-romer/i-think-something-that-forces-financial-institutions-to-write-down/) [Christina Romer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-romer/) > [Like a fish needs a bicycle. A goldfish riding a bicycle underwater. I need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-dunn/like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle-a-goldfish-riding-a-bicycle-underwater-i/) Irina Dunn > [“Anyone else feel like that? Like your life's a big act. Like you're trying to be a man when you're just a scared kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-flinn/anyone-else-feel-like-that-like-your-life-s-a-big-act-like-you-re/) [Alex Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-flinn/) > [Still in my coat and hat, I sank onto the stair to read the letter. (I never read without making sure I am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/still-in-my-coat-and-hat-i-sank-onto-the-stair-to-read-the-letter-i/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [I've always said, 'Underwater or on top, men and women are compatible.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-earle/i-ve-always-said-underwater-or-on-top-men-and-women-are-compatible/) [Sylvia Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-earle/) > [I like underwater life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayao-miyazaki/i-like-underwater-life/) [Hayao Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayao-miyazaki/) > [Sponge Bob set fire underwater, Adele set fire to the rain, and I set fire on ice cubes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vip/sponge-bob-set-fire-underwater-adele-set-fire-to-the-rain-and-i-set/) Vip Browse all 248 Underwater quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it’s like swimming underwater, you know? 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