--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I decided years ago not to read stories…" description: "\"I decided years ago not to read stories about myself anymore. Each one is a potential minefield: Whatever it says, you're bound to take it the wrong wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/bette-midler-1976_bounds_i-decided-years-ago-not-to-read-stories_130246.jpg" --- # I decided years ago not to read stories about myself… ![“I decided years ago not to read stories about myself anymore. Each one is a potential minefield: Whatever it says, you're bound to take it the wrong way. Why do it if you know it's going to make you miserable?” quote by Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/bette-midler-1976_bounds_i-decided-years-ago-not-to-read-stories_130246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/bette-midler-1976_bounds_i-decided-years-ago-not-to-read-stories_130246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85d/bette-midler-1976_bounds_i-decided-years-ago-not-to-read-stories_130246.jpg) > “I decided years ago not to read stories about myself anymore. Each one is a potential minefield: Whatever it says, you're bound to take it the wrong way. Why do it if you know it's going to make you miserable?” [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading personal stories can become harmful because they are often misinterpreted and cause distress. **In simple terms:** Self‑stories can hurt when misunderstood. Key Takeaway Choose narratives wisely. Themes self‑awareness media consumption mental health boundaries Mood cautious analytical Type advisory reflective When to use this quote - social media - therapy sessions - personal memoirs Key Concepts psychology communication Questions to Reflect On - Why do you read personal stories? - How can you protect yourself from misinterpretation? A Different Perspective Avoiding all stories may limit growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Minefields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minefields/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [There are no really new stories anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/there-are-no-really-new-stories-anymore/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [You have to be driven by the stories that you want to tell. You can't simply be responding, or there won't be any real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shore/you-have-to-be-driven-by-the-stories-that-you-want-to-tell-you-can-t/) [David Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shore/) > [When Gazza was dribbling he used to go through a minefield with his arm, a bit like you go through a supermarket.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-robson/when-gazza-was-dribbling-he-used-to-go-through-a-minefield-with-his/) [Bobby Robson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-robson/) > [Do you live in a mine field or a garden? When we live in a minefield mentality, we explode with the weeds of worry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beckwith/do-you-live-in-a-mine-field-or-a-garden-when-we-live-in-a-minefield/) [Michael Beckwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beckwith/) > [“Most of the mines in the minefields of our life were planted by the choices that we should have never made while we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/most-of-the-mines-in-the-minefields-of-our-life-were-planted-by-the/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The goalie is like the guy on the minefield. He discovers the mines and destroys them. If you make a mistake, somebody gets blown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arturs-irbe/the-goalie-is-like-the-guy-on-the-minefield-he-discovers-the-mines/) Arturs Irbe > [I go out into America, and I am literally navigating a minefield. Godliness has become abnormal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/si-robertson/i-go-out-into-america-and-i-am-literally-navigating-a-minefield/) [Si Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/si-robertson/) > [If we come to a minefield, our infantry attacks exactly as it were not there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgy-zhukov/if-we-come-to-a-minefield-our-infantry-attacks-exactly-as-it-were-not/) [Georgy Zhukov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgy-zhukov/) > [The borderline between prose and poetry is one of those fog-shrouded literary minefields where the wary explorer gets blown to bits before ever seeing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-borderline-between-prose-and-poetry-is-one-of-those-fog-shrouded/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Trusting others puts us at risk. Yet failure to trust entails risk as well. The ability to navigate through this minefield successfully is one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-frank/trusting-others-puts-us-at-risk-yet-failure-to-trust-entails-risk-as/) [Robert H. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-frank/) > [Without being good enough, I started figuring out how to make my way through the minefield of a script, which is what it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-fuller/without-being-good-enough-i-started-figuring-out-how-to-make-my-way/) [Kurt Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-fuller/) > [An interview is like a minefield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/an-interview-is-like-a-minefield/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) > [Total grief is like a minefield. No knowing when one will touch the tripwire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/total-grief-is-like-a-minefield-no-knowing-when-one-will-touch-the/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Life is about making choices: you can either spend three quid on a glossy magazine or you can spend it clearing three square metres…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/life-is-about-making-choices-you-can-either-spend-three-quid-on-a/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [Life, if you're fat is a minefield--you have to pick your way, otherwise you blow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-margolyes/life-if-you-re-fat-is-a-minefield-you-have-to-pick-your-way-otherwise/) [Miriam Margolyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-margolyes/) ## More by Bette Midler > [If I could be granted a wish, I'd shine in your eye like a jewel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/if-i-could-be-granted-a-wish-i-d-shine-in-your-eye-like-a-jewel/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [I firmly believe that with the right footwear one can rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-firmly-believe-that-with-the-right-footwear-one-can-rule-the-world/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [You can't just have a clean public space - you also have to have people willing to use it, and something that will draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/you-can-t-just-have-a-clean-public-space-you-also-have-to-have-people/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [I read neither good nor bad about me. I let it not even in my life, so it has no effect on me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-read-neither-good-nor-bad-about-me-i-let-it-not-even-in-my-life-so/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [ If they \[at the audition\] don't like the way you sound they won't buy you anyway, ripped dress or no ripped dress, ass hanging… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/if-they-at-the-audition-don-t-like-the-way-you-sound-they-won-t-buy/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [The old forms of entertainment are not extinct. Live performances are the pinnacle. If you can something that people want to see live, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/the-old-forms-of-entertainment-are-not-extinct-live-performances-are/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/it-s-the-heart-afraid-of-breaking-that-never-learns-to-dance-it-is/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [I made a pact with myself a long time ago: Never watch anything stupider than you. It's helped me a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-made-a-pact-with-myself-a-long-time-ago-never-watch-anything/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [It's the one who won't be taken that cannot seem to give, and the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/it-s-the-one-who-won-t-be-taken-that-cannot-seem-to-give-and-the-soul/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [Culturally, it's very hard to change people's attitudes about public space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/culturally-it-s-very-hard-to-change-people-s-attitudes-about-public/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [As you age, feelings do diminish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/as-you-age-feelings-do-diminish/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [Sometimes my brain goes on CD shuffle. You know, you put a bunch of CD's on and hit play and random things come out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/sometimes-my-brain-goes-on-cd-shuffle-you-know-you-put-a-bunch-of-cd/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [I come from an overly confident place. But I'm overconfident because of feelings of inferiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-come-from-an-overly-confident-place-but-i-m-overconfident-because/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [My idea of superwoman is someone who scrubs her own floors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/my-idea-of-superwoman-is-someone-who-scrubs-her-own-floors/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [In a marriage, you struggle and struggle and struggle, and then you realize that you have to ride the horse in the direction it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/in-a-marriage-you-struggle-and-struggle-and-struggle-and-then-you/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) [Explore all 193 Bette Midler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) ## More Bounds quotes > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Importunity is a condition of prayer. We are to press the matter, not with vain repetitions, but with urgent repetitions. We repeat, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/importunity-is-a-condition-of-prayer-we-are-to-press-the-matter-not/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [We have committed ourselves to pursue joint policies, but then national governments say, "We aren't bound by that." That is a dramatic situation, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/we-have-committed-ourselves-to-pursue-joint-policies-but-then/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [The World's a Printing-House, our words, our thoughts, Our deeds, are characters of several sizes. Each soul is a Compos'tor, of whose faults The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/the-world-s-a-printing-house-our-words-our-thoughts-our-deeds-are/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [Christian obligation cannot be made to accord with a law of expediency. The Christian's maxims are, Do right because you are bound to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-landey-patton/christian-obligation-cannot-be-made-to-accord-with-a-law-of/) Francis Landey Patton > [Such as the chain of causes we call Fate, such is the chain of wishes: one links on to another; the whole man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/such-as-the-chain-of-causes-we-call-fate-such-is-the-chain-of-wishes/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > ['You spin in the sky, the world spins under you, and you step from land to land, while we . . .' She turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/you-spin-in-the-sky-the-world-spins-under-you-and-you-step-from-land/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [An order given in battle, an instruction issued by the master of a sailing ship, a cry for help, are as powerful in modifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bronislaw-malinowski/an-order-given-in-battle-an-instruction-issued-by-the-master-of-a/) [Bronislaw Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bronislaw-malinowski/) > [It is only when our life proceeds within bounds and in an accepted, disciplined way, that the mind can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinoba-bhave/it-is-only-when-our-life-proceeds-within-bounds-and-in-an-accepted/) [Vinoba Bhave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinoba-bhave/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [I have visited sweatshops, factories, and crowded slums. If I could not see it, I could smell it. The foundation of society is laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-visited-sweatshops-factories-and-crowded-slums-if-i-could-not/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Once we are bound together to our brothers by a common good that is outside us, then we can breathe. Experience teaches us that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/once-we-are-bound-together-to-our-brothers-by-a-common-good-that-is/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 1,649 Bounds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I decided years ago not to read stories about myself anymore. Each one is a potential minefield: Whatever it says, you're bound to take it the wrong way. 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