--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is easier to live life through someone…" description: "\"It is easier to live life through someone else than to become complete yourself.\" — Betty Friedan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/betty-friedan-3185_easier_it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someon_22826.jpg" --- # It is easier to live life through someone else than to… ![“It is easier to live life through someone else than to become complete yourself.” quote by Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/betty-friedan-3185_easier_it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someon_22826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/betty-friedan-3185_easier_it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someon_22826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/betty-friedan-3185_easier_it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someon_22826.jpg) > “It is easier to live life through someone else than to become complete yourself.” [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living through others' expectations limits personal growth; authentic self‑development requires confronting one’s own identity. **In simple terms:** Self‑actualization versus conformity Key Takeaway True fulfillment comes from personal self‑t Mood Reflective Motivational Type Philosophical Inspirational When to use this quote - Career choices - Relationships - Creative projects - Cultural assimilation Key Concepts Self-Identity Personal Growth Social Expectations Practical Applications - Coaching - Therapeutic counseling Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of my life are shaped by others' expectations? - How can I cultivate my own sense of completeness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) ## Related quotes > [It is easier to live through someone else than to complete yourself. The freedom to lead and plan your own life is frightening if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-through-someone-else-than-to-complete-yourself/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [It is easier to live through someone else than to become complete yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-through-someone-else-than-to-become-complete/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [There are few things easier than to live badly and die well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/there-are-few-things-easier-than-to-live-badly-and-die-well/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Its immeasurably easier to live in a world that's all surfaces, that means nothing and demands nothing of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/its-immeasurably-easier-to-live-in-a-world-that-s-all-surfaces-that/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [It's easier to live within a dream, than it is to live within reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabian-mark-s-henry-de-long/it-s-easier-to-live-within-a-dream-than-it-is-to-live-within-reality/) [Sabian Mark S Henry De Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabian-mark-s-henry-de-long/) > [To die for a religion is easier than to live it absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/to-die-for-a-religion-is-easier-than-to-live-it-absolutely/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [It is so much easier to live placidly and complacently. Of course, to live placidly and complacently is not to live at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/it-is-so-much-easier-to-live-placidly-and-complacently-of-course-to/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [Their faith will make it easier for them to live and die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wislawa-szymborska/their-faith-will-make-it-easier-for-them-to-live-and-die/) [Wislawa Szymborska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wislawa-szymborska/) > [It's much easier to have nothing to live up to. You surprise people when you form a full sentence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-s-much-easier-to-have-nothing-to-live-up-to-you-surprise-people/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [Property damage is so much easier to live with than murder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/property-damage-is-so-much-easier-to-live-with-than-murder/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [What we live with is ourselves. And when you have your own identity you are much easier to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/what-we-live-with-is-ourselves-and-when-you-have-your-own-identity/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [“Are you easier to live with or easier to live without?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-budzinski/are-you-easier-to-live-with-or-easier-to-live-without/) [Karen Budzinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-budzinski/) > [“So many things were easier to live with if you didn’t give them much thought. p. 28”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/so-many-things-were-easier-to-live-with-if-you-didn-t-give-them-much/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [It's easier to live with disappointment than regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-agassi/it-s-easier-to-live-with-disappointment-than-regret/) [Andre Agassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-agassi/) > [I think I find it easier to live on the stage than in life,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rylance/i-think-i-find-it-easier-to-live-on-the-stage-than-in-life/) [Mark Rylance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rylance/) ## More by Betty Friedan > [This idea that the employment of women, the movement of women outside the home into the work world, and their demand for equality is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/this-idea-that-the-employment-of-women-the-movement-of-women-outside/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [A good woman is one who loves passionately, has guts, seriousness and passionate convictions, takes responsibility, and shapes society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/a-good-woman-is-one-who-loves-passionately-has-guts-seriousness-and/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [...women who 'adjust' as housewives, who grow up wanting to be 'just a housewife,' are in as much danger as the millions who walked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/women-who-adjust-as-housewives-who-grow-up-wanting-to-be-just-a/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [You can have it all, just not all at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/you-can-have-it-all-just-not-all-at-the-same-time/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [It is easier to live through someone else than to complete yourself. The freedom to lead and plan your own life is frightening if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-through-someone-else-than-to-complete-yourself/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [Protectiveness has often muffled the sound of doors closing against women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/protectiveness-has-often-muffled-the-sound-of-doors-closing-against/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“The problem is always being the children’s mommy, or the minister’s wife and never being myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-problem-is-always-being-the-children-s-mommy-or-the-minister-s/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-problem-lay-buried-unspoken-for-many-years-in-the-minds-of/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [The man who is extremely and dangerously hungry has no other interest but food. Capacities not useful for the satisfying of hunger are pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-man-who-is-extremely-and-dangerously-hungry-has-no-other-interest/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [Who knows what women can be when they are finally free to become themselves? Who knows what women's intelligence will contribute when it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/who-knows-what-women-can-be-when-they-are-finally-free-to-become/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [If women’s role in life is limited solely to housewife/mother, it clearly ends when she can no longer bear more children and the children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/if-women-s-role-in-life-is-limited-solely-to-housewife-mother-it/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [The feminine mystique has succeeded in burying millions of American women alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-feminine-mystique-has-succeeded-in-burying-millions-of-american/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [I can't point to any major episodes of sexual discrimination in my early life. But I was so aware of the crime, the shame…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/i-can-t-point-to-any-major-episodes-of-sexual-discrimination-in-my/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“The feminine mystique, elevated by Freudian theory into a scientific religion, sounded a single, overprotective, life-restricting, future-denying note for women. Girls who grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-feminine-mystique-elevated-by-freudian-theory-into-a-scientific/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“Why should women accept this picture of a half-life, instead of a share in the whole of human destiny?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/why-should-women-accept-this-picture-of-a-half-life-instead-of-a/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) [Explore all 137 Betty Friedan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) ## More Easier quotes > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [I think hair gel was invented to make it easier to identify assholes from a distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-hair-gel-was-invented-to-make-it-easier-to-identify-assholes/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [It is easier to say you're mad, rather than admitting you're hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-easier-to-say-you-re-mad-rather-than-admitting-you-re-hurt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Nothing is easier than yesterday's solutions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-sperry/nothing-is-easier-than-yesterday-s-solutions/) Roger Sperry > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [It's funny, everything is so much easier when you do it yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carine-roitfeld/it-s-funny-everything-is-so-much-easier-when-you-do-it-yourself/) [Carine Roitfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carine-roitfeld/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I'm truly, 100% guided by the characters and my Muse. If one of the characters suddenly decided to do something very different, I'd just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/i-m-truly-100-guided-by-the-characters-and-my-muse-if-one-of-the/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“it is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didnt”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-van-buren/it-is-easier-to-do-a-job-right-than-to-explain-why-you-didnt/) [Martin Van Buren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-van-buren/) > [“Often we find it easier to think our way around things rather than to feel our way through them:”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/often-we-find-it-easier-to-think-our-way-around-things-rather-than-to/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [I know it is easier said than done, but you have to find a way to surround yourself with positivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/i-know-it-is-easier-said-than-done-but-you-have-to-find-a-way-to/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) Browse all 5,480 Easier quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is easier to live life through someone else than to become complete yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Betty Friedan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someone-else-than-to-become/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Easier" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someone-else-than-to-become/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/betty-friedan-3185_easier_it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someon_22826.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/betty-friedan-3185_easier_it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someon_22826.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/betty-friedan-3185_easier_it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someon_22826.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is easier to live life through someone else than to become complete yourself.” — Betty Friedan", "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": "Betty Friedan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is easier to live life...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someone-else-than-to-become/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/it-is-easier-to-live-life-through-someone-else-than-to-become/#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 } } ] } ```