--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Seriously protecting yourself calls for…" description: "\"“Seriously protecting yourself calls for the annihilation of ties with society, ties that most people need the way they need oxygen. You give up friend..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/barry-eisler-1009_afraid_seriously-protecting-yourself-calls-for_1468605.jpg" --- # Seriously protecting yourself calls for the annihilation… ![“Seriously protecting yourself calls for the annihilation of ties with society, ties that most people need the way they need oxygen. You give up friends, family, romance. You walk through the world like a ghost, detached from the living around you. If you were to die in, say, a bus accident, you’d…” quote by Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/barry-eisler-1009_afraid_seriously-protecting-yourself-calls-for_1468605.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/barry-eisler-1009_afraid_seriously-protecting-yourself-calls-for_1468605.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/barry-eisler-1009_afraid_seriously-protecting-yourself-calls-for_1468605.jpg) > ““Seriously protecting yourself calls for the annihilation of ties with society, ties that most people need the way they need oxygen. You give up friends, family, romance. You walk through the world like a ghost, detached from the living around you. If you were to die in, say, a bus accident, you’d wind up buried in an obscure municipal graveyard, just another John Doe, no flowers, no mourners, hell, no mourning. It’s natural, probably even desirable, to be afraid of all this.”” [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. Extreme self‑preservation leads to isolation, sacrificing essential human connections for safety. **In simple terms:** Protecting yourself too much cuts off vital relationships. Key Takeaway Balance safety with meaningful bonds. Themes isolation self‑preservation human connection Mood anxious reflective Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - survival scenarios - high‑risk professions - personal boundaries - mental health counseling Key Concepts existential risk psychological trade‑offs Questions to Reflect On - What relationships are you willing to risk for safety? - How can you protect yourself without becoming a ghost? A Different Perspective Complete detachment can cause profound loneliness and loss of purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Mourning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mourning/) ## Related quotes > [“Seriously protecting yourself calls for the annihilation of ties with society, ties that most people need the way they need oxygen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/seriously-protecting-yourself-calls-for-the-annihilation-of-ties-with/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [You can no more outgrow your need for God than you can outgrow your need for oxygen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-no-more-outgrow-your-need-for-god-than-you-can-outgrow-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I need you, just like I need oxygen to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-need-you-just-like-i-need-oxygen-to-live/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No one is ever better off with dictators but there comes a time you know, when you're on an airplane, they always say, "in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/no-one-is-ever-better-off-with-dictators-but-there-comes-a-time-you/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [Every one, we, we homosexuals, are people, and we need our oxygen to breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/binyavanga-wainaina/every-one-we-we-homosexuals-are-people-and-we-need-our-oxygen-to/) [Binyavanga Wainaina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/binyavanga-wainaina/) > [Question -Why do we need a close friend when we have so many friends around us? A great writer -There are many gases in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/question-why-do-we-need-a-close-friend-when-we-have-so-many-friends/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves; just as in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-esquivel/each-of-us-is-born-with-a-box-of-matches-inside-us-but-we-can-t-3/) [Laura Esquivel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-esquivel/) > [Up, up and away, so far up at the top I sit. My ass don't need no oxygen I'm so fucked up, intoxicants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti/up-up-and-away-so-far-up-at-the-top-i-sit-my-ass-don-t-need-no-oxygen/) TI > [The knockouts I have, people stay in bad shape, need oxygen, wake up the next day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-pereira/the-knockouts-i-have-people-stay-in-bad-shape-need-oxygen-wake-up-the/) [Alex Pereira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-pereira/) > [“I'm beginning to think I need you like I need oxygen”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-gibson/i-m-beginning-to-think-i-need-you-like-i-need-oxygen/) [Rachel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-gibson/) > [I do travel a lot, because I need oxygen, I need to go to places to meet people who aren't upset at me because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-do-travel-a-lot-because-i-need-oxygen-i-need-to-go-to-places-to/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“Raise your hand if your calendar ever makes you feel the need for an oxygen mask!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hurdle/raise-your-hand-if-your-calendar-ever-makes-you-feel-the-need-for-an/) [Amber Hurdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hurdle/) > [Why we need special friend when we have so many friends ? The answer is simple there are so many gases in the air…But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shubham-joshi/why-we-need-special-friend-when-we-have-so-many-friends-the-answer-is/) [Shubham Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shubham-joshi/) > [School uses a lot of paper, paper comes from trees, trees give us oxygen, we need oxygen to live. Oh, cool. Teachers want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/school-uses-a-lot-of-paper-paper-comes-from-trees-trees-give-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Because I don’t need oxygen. I’ve already come to all my conclusions. I’m just slowly gliding down. Someday I’ll be as light as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-i-don-t-need-oxygen-i-ve-already-come-to-all-my-conclusions-i/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) ## 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. 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I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/if-you-are-too-afraid-of-failure-you-cant-possibly-do-what-needs-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [We cannot be afraid of the dark that they live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burnie-burns/we-cannot-be-afraid-of-the-dark-that-they-live-in/) [Burnie Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burnie-burns/) > [“I think the reason we're cruel sometimes is that we're afraid we're going to like something.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-think-the-reason-we-re-cruel-sometimes-is-that-we-re-afraid-we-re/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I'm still with that feeling that I am afraid of doing the wrong thing, because somebody is going to punish me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-m-still-with-that-feeling-that-i-am-afraid-of-doing-the-wrong-thing/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 5,519 Afraid quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Seriously protecting yourself calls for the annihilation of ties with society, ties that most people need the way they need oxygen. 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