--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have this thing called a life. It’s…" description: "\"“You have this thing called a life. It’s only you that gets to live it and you only get to do it one time.”\" — Cecily Paterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/cecily-paterson-57003_life_you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-o_1682059.jpg" --- # You have this thing called a life. It’s only you that gets… ![“You have this thing called a life. It’s only you that gets to live it and you only get to do it one time.” quote by Cecily Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/cecily-paterson-57003_life_you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-o_1682059.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/cecily-paterson-57003_life_you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-o_1682059.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/cecily-paterson-57003_life_you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-o_1682059.jpg) > ““You have this thing called a life. It’s only you that gets to live it and you only get to do it one time.”” [Cecily Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-paterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is singular and fleeting, urging personal responsibility for how we live it. **In simple terms:** You alone live your life once. Key Takeaway Own your choices and act now. Themes responsibility individuality carpe diem Mood reflective motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - health choices - creative projects Key Concepts existentialism personal agency Questions to Reflect On - What single action will honor your life today? - How do you balance personal freedom with social obligations? A Different Perspective Life’s brevity can cause anxiety, leading to indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“What did it mean to her, this thing she called life? Oh, it was very queer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-did-it-mean-to-her-this-thing-she-called-life-oh-it-was-very/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The cost of a thing is something called life which is given in exchange for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-cost-of-a-thing-is-something-called-life-which-is-given-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Are you ready for this thing called life? 'Cause I can't do it without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-aleo/are-you-ready-for-this-thing-called-life-cause-i-can-t-do-it-without/) [Toni Aleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-aleo/) > [What was that thing that could make two people promise one another to spend every day of the rest of their lives together? Ah,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/what-was-that-thing-that-could-make-two-people-promise-one-another-to/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [What is this thing called a kiss? French, tongue, soul, chaste, motherly, fatherly, brotherly, sisterly, ass, genital, Judas, trembling, rough, hesitant, sweet, soft, wet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-sorrentino/what-is-this-thing-called-a-kiss-french-tongue-soul-chaste-motherly/) [Gilbert Sorrentino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-sorrentino/) > [Crazy little thing called love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan/crazy-little-thing-called-love/) Ethan > [This thing called the camera, that takes everything in equally, taught me a lot about how to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-viola/this-thing-called-the-camera-that-takes-everything-in-equally-taught/) [Bill Viola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-viola/) > [What goes around comes around. It's a little thing called you should have known better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-goes-around-comes-around-it-s-a-little-thing-called-you-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Artists tend to get this thing called demo-itis, and I'm extremely guilty of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-lennox/artists-tend-to-get-this-thing-called-demo-itis-and-i-m-extremely/) [Ari Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-lennox/) > [This thing called love, it cries like a baby in a cradle all night. It swings, it jives, it shakes all over like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-thing-called-love-it-cries-like-a-baby-in-a-cradle-all-night-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Growing up, I never thought about the thing called money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-wolf/growing-up-i-never-thought-about-the-thing-called-money/) [Patrick Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-wolf/) > [Trying this new thing, its called being positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-this-new-thing-its-called-being-positive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a little thing called love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/it-is-a-little-thing-called-love/) Unkown > [Before you assume, there's this thing called asking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/before-you-assume-there-s-this-thing-called-asking/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“Behind the door lies the question: Have you ever heard of a thing called knocking?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/behind-the-door-lies-the-question-have-you-ever-heard-of-a-thing/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by Cecily Paterson > [“When I’m invisible I don’t have to feel anything. The pain and grief and fear goes away. I go numb and quiet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/when-i-m-invisible-i-don-t-have-to-feel-anything-the-pain-and-grief/) [Cecily Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-paterson/) > [“And I think that if I started to tell someone how I felt I’d never be able to stop so it’s easier just to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/and-i-think-that-if-i-started-to-tell-someone-how-i-felt-i-d-never-be/) [Cecily Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-paterson/) > [“feeling of when you think you can never stop laughing and you think if you don't stop, you'll burst in half and that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/feeling-of-when-you-think-you-can-never-stop-laughing-and-you-think/) [Cecily Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-paterson/) > [“I’m scared of being seen. I’m scared of doing anything. I’m scared of losing another person who loves me. I’d rather just drift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/i-m-scared-of-being-seen-i-m-scared-of-doing-anything-i-m-scared-of/) [Cecily Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-paterson/) [Explore all 5 Cecily Paterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-paterson/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You have this thing called a life. It’s only you that gets to live it and you only get to do it one time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cecily Paterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-only-you-that-gets-to-live-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-only-you-that-gets-to-live-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/cecily-paterson-57003_life_you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-o_1682059.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/cecily-paterson-57003_life_you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-o_1682059.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91c/cecily-paterson-57003_life_you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-o_1682059.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have this thing called a life. It’s only you that gets to live it and you only get to do it one time.” — Cecily Paterson", "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": "Cecily Paterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-paterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You have this thing called a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-only-you-that-gets-to-live-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-paterson/you-have-this-thing-called-a-life-it-s-only-you-that-gets-to-live-it/#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 } } ] } ```