--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If anyone would have been paying serious…" description: "\"If anyone would have been paying serious attention to my puppet shows, I would have been sent to therapy very young.\" — Bob Balaban" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/bob-balaban-24940_attention_if-anyone-would-have-been-paying-serious_560538.png" --- # If anyone would have been paying serious attention to my… ![“If anyone would have been paying serious attention to my puppet shows, I would have been sent to therapy very young.” quote by Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/bob-balaban-24940_attention_if-anyone-would-have-been-paying-serious_560538.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/bob-balaban-24940_attention_if-anyone-would-have-been-paying-serious_560538.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2f/bob-balaban-24940_attention_if-anyone-would-have-been-paying-serious_560538.png) > “If anyone would have been paying serious attention to my puppet shows, I would have been sent to therapy very young.” [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker suggests that their unconventional art would have been seen as pathological early on. **In simple terms:** Their art was misunderstood as a sign of illness. Key Takeaway Embrace uniqueness despite misunderstanding. Themes creativity misunderstanding mental health artistic expression Mood reflective defiant Type observational personal When to use this quote - performing arts - education - therapy - public speaking Key Concepts psychology social perception artistic identity Questions to Reflect On - Do you hide aspects of yourself to fit in? - How can you reframe criticism as validation? A Different Perspective Society may label nonconformity as abnormal, limiting support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Puppet shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppet-shows/) [Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy/) ## Related quotes > [I always loved putting on shows - when you're the youngest of seven and five are older sisters, you've got to get noticed somehow!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wenham/i-always-loved-putting-on-shows-when-you-re-the-youngest-of-seven-and/) [David Wenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wenham/) > [For me the world has always been more of a puppet show. But when one looks behind the curtain and traces the strings upward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/for-me-the-world-has-always-been-more-of-a-puppet-show-but-when-one/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [I'm surprised I wasn't sent to therapy in the childhood to be honest. I think my parents must have gotten a kick out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-dippold/i-m-surprised-i-wasn-t-sent-to-therapy-in-the-childhood-to-be-honest/) [Katie Dippold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-dippold/) > [I used to do puppet shows as a kid - me and my brother would do them - and then any poor soul who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/i-used-to-do-puppet-shows-as-a-kid-me-and-my-brother-would-do-them/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [My granddad was very funny and I really loved making people laugh. I used to do puppet shows and I really liked seeing people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-herring/my-granddad-was-very-funny-and-i-really-loved-making-people-laugh-i/) [Richard Herring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-herring/) > [The history of the past is a mere puppet-show. A little man comes out and blows a little trumpet, and goes in again. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-history-of-the-past-is-a-mere-puppet-show-a-little-man-comes-out/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Who's in or out, who moves the grand machine, Nor stirs my curiosity, or spleen; Secrets of state no more I wish to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/who-s-in-or-out-who-moves-the-grand-machine-nor-stirs-my-curiosity-or/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [In my early childhood, I was a performer by nature. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/i-produced-and-directed-a-movie-a-couple-years-ago-that-won-some/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [I always think that a director who knows about the technical side, but cares about the acting performances and casting as well, is ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/i-always-think-that-a-director-who-knows-about-the-technical-side-but/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [I was born on Wellington Avenue and my family that remains lives in the Lake Shore Drive area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/i-was-born-on-wellington-avenue-and-my-family-that-remains-lives-in/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [I think some of the special effects in Close Encounters hold up better than the new more expensive special effects is because they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/i-think-some-of-the-special-effects-in-close-encounters-hold-up/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [I?m from Chicago, my family started a chain of movie theaters in Chicago that were around for 70 years and then one of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/i-m-from-chicago-my-family-started-a-chain-of-movie-theaters-in/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [God, I'd love to do a big commercial movie that made a lot of money and whose plot was interesting too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/god-i-d-love-to-do-a-big-commercial-movie-that-made-a-lot-of-money/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [My dad was born in Chicago in 1908... his parents came from Russia. They settled in Chicago, where they lived in a little tiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/my-dad-was-born-in-chicago-in-1908-his-parents-came-from-russia-they/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) [Explore all 23 Bob Balaban quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. 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They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. 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