--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've decided that it's possible to LOVE…" description: "\"“I've decided that it's possible to LOVE someone for entirely SELFLESS reasons, for all of their flaw and weaknesses, and still NOT succeed in having t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/cammie-mcgovern-33081_books_i-ve-decided-that-it-s-possible-to-love_24434.jpg" --- # I've decided that it's possible to LOVE someone for… ![“I've decided that it's possible to LOVE someone for entirely SELFLESS reasons, for all of their flaw and weaknesses, and still NOT succeed in having them love you back. It's sad, perhaps, but not TRAGIC, unless you dwell forever in the PURSUIT of their elusive affections.” quote by Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/cammie-mcgovern-33081_books_i-ve-decided-that-it-s-possible-to-love_24434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/cammie-mcgovern-33081_books_i-ve-decided-that-it-s-possible-to-love_24434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/677/cammie-mcgovern-33081_books_i-ve-decided-that-it-s-possible-to-love_24434.jpg) > ““I've decided that it's possible to LOVE someone for entirely SELFLESS reasons, for all of their flaw and weaknesses, and still NOT succeed in having them love you back. It's sad, perhaps, but not TRAGIC, unless you dwell forever in the PURSUIT of their elusive affections.”” [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loving selflessly does not guarantee reciprocal affection; unrequited love can be painful but not necessarily tragic unless one becomes trapped in endless pursuit. **In simple terms:** Unrequited love can be painful without being tragic. Key Takeaway Selfless love may not be returned. Themes unrequited love selflessness expectations emotional resilience attachment Mood melancholy reflective Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - recovering from a breakup - supporting a friend without expectation - navigating a one-sided crush Key Concepts reciprocity pain personal growth Practical Applications - therapy counseling - self-help writing Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to love without expectation? - How can one maintain self-worth when love isn’t returned? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) ## Related quotes > [I've decided that it's possible to love someone for entirely selfless reasons, for all of their flaws and weaknesses, and still not succeed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/i-ve-decided-that-it-s-possible-to-love-someone-for-entirely-selfless-2/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [No love is entirely without worth, even when the frivolous calls to the frivolous and the base to the base.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/no-love-is-entirely-without-worth-even-when-the-frivolous-calls-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [A modest dose of self-love is entirely healthy - who would want to live in a world where everyone hated themselves? But taken too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-mulgan/a-modest-dose-of-self-love-is-entirely-healthy-who-would-want-to-live/) [Geoff Mulgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-mulgan/) > [Because love is so enormous, the only thing you can think of doing is swallowing the person that you love entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-sendak/because-love-is-so-enormous-the-only-thing-you-can-think-of-doing-is/) [Maurice Sendak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-sendak/) > [I love, but I am not entirely sure how to be loved: how to be seen and known for the utterly flawed woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-love-but-i-am-not-entirely-sure-how-to-be-loved-how-to-be-seen-and/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Lovers are the best and worst kind of thieves, you know. That’s the trick of love, you see. An entirely new invention, every time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-leblanc/lovers-are-the-best-and-worst-kind-of-thieves-you-know-that-s-the/) [Jeanette LeBlanc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-leblanc/) > [Loving yourself and being in love with yourself are two entirely different things. Differentiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-cervantes/loving-yourself-and-being-in-love-with-yourself-are-two-entirely/) [Andrew Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-cervantes/) > [“Because I can only love you entirely. With everything I am, and everything I ever will be. Body, mind, heart, soul.” - Victor Bramwell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/because-i-can-only-love-you-entirely-with-everything-i-am-and/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [You must know that I am, of all men who were ever born, the most inclined to love persons. Whenever I behold someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelangelo/you-must-know-that-i-am-of-all-men-who-were-ever-born-the-most/) [Michelangelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelangelo/) > [I don't know what to love more about you, and because I don't know how to itemize my love, I love you entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-fulger/i-don-t-know-what-to-love-more-about-you-and-because-i-don-t-know-how/) [Mariana Fulger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-fulger/) > [Surely love has nothing to do with the mind, it is not the product of the mind; love is entirely independent of calculation, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/surely-love-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-mind-it-is-not-the-product-of/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [No, Susanna, " he said. "I cannot love you just a little. If that's what you want, you must find a different man." His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-dare/no-susanna-he-said-i-cannot-love-you-just-a-little-if-that-s-what-you/) [Tessa Dare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-dare/) > [That's why I called it Dangerously In Love. It's basically all of the steps in a relationship from when you first meet a guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-s-why-i-called-it-dangerously-in-love-it-s-basically-all-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the hardest things in life is having love in your heart that you can't utter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-hardest-things-in-life-is-having-love-in-your-heart-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At the end of the day, everyone knows what it is to be loved and to aspire to love someone, to want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/at-the-end-of-the-day-everyone-knows-what-it-is-to-be-loved-and-to/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) ## More by Cammie McGovern > [I have learned that some people who look fine are more crippled than I am, by fears they can’t explain. Other people are held…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/i-have-learned-that-some-people-who-look-fine-are-more-crippled-than/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [“This feeling will pass. The fear is real but the danger is not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/this-feeling-will-pass-the-fear-is-real-but-the-danger-is-not/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [“He stood in front of her and told her he'd come, not to climb her tower but to shelter it. 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We find ourselves in the sacrifices we make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/this-is-what-we-do-my-mother-s-life-said-we-find-ourselves-in-the/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [“The real problem with his type of OCD--chronic fear of hurting other people--was that you thought so much about not running over children, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/the-real-problem-with-his-type-of-ocd-chronic-fear-of-hurting-other/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [Freakishness could happen to anyone at any time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/freakishness-could-happen-to-anyone-at-any-time/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [Scratch a female inmate, I've discovered, and you'll usually find a girl whose mother had terrible taste in men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/scratch-a-female-inmate-i-ve-discovered-and-you-ll-usually-find-a/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) > [“Don't worry. 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Let's be fearless for once and say, we can do this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cammie-mcgovern/let-s-don-t-wait-forever-for-our-lives-to-start-let-s-begin-them/) [Cammie McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) [Explore all 14 Cammie McGovern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cammie-mcgovern/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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