--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being is a fiction invented by those who…" description: "\"Being is a fiction invented by those who suffer from becoming.\" — Coleman Dowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/coleman-dowell-54938_becoming_being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who_1944730.png" --- # Being is a fiction invented by those who suffer from… ![“Being is a fiction invented by those who suffer from becoming.” quote by Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/coleman-dowell-54938_becoming_being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who_1944730.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/coleman-dowell-54938_becoming_being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who_1944730.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/coleman-dowell-54938_becoming_being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who_1944730.png) > “Being is a fiction invented by those who suffer from becoming.” [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our sense of being is a story we tell ourselves to cope with change and suffering. **In simple terms:** Identity is a coping story. Key Takeaway Question your self‑narratives. Themes identity philosophy psychology existence Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative writing - personal reflection Key Concepts self‑concept narrative identity Questions to Reflect On - What parts of your identity feel constructed? - How does this view affect your actions? A Different Perspective Accepting fluid identity can cause discomfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-invented-389458/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Invented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented/) [Invented Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invented-suffer-3119927/) [Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [God is a fiction invented by people so they do not have to face the reality of their condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-onfray/god-is-a-fiction-invented-by-people-so-they-do-not-have-to-face-the/) [Michel Onfray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-onfray/) > [“One must not ask for sincere autobiographies from writers. Fiction was invented precisely to give men the possibility of expressing themselves freely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/one-must-not-ask-for-sincere-autobiographies-from-writers-fiction-was/) [Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/) > [The average family exists only on paper and its average budget is a fiction, invented by statisticians for the convenience of statisticians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-porter/the-average-family-exists-only-on-paper-and-its-average-budget-is-a/) [Sylvia Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-porter/) > [“Fiction was invented the day Jonah arrived home and told his wife that he was three days late because he had been swallowed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/fiction-was-invented-the-day-jonah-arrived-home-and-told-his-wife/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Alphabetical order had to be invented to help people organize the first dictionaries. On the other hand, we may have reached a point where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/alphabetical-order-had-to-be-invented-to-help-people-organize-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [The truth is nobody can own anything. That was an unheard-of concept among indigenous people. We invented that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-shadyac/the-truth-is-nobody-can-own-anything-that-was-an-unheard-of-concept/) [Tom Shadyac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-shadyac/) > [Football wasn't invented until the Premier League, we all know that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dunster/football-wasn-t-invented-until-the-premier-league-we-all-know-that/) [Phil Dunster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dunster/) > [“Anything invented before you were eighteen was there all along. Anything invented before you’re thirty is exciting and will change the world forever. Anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/anything-invented-before-you-were-eighteen-was-there-all-along/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Accursed be he that first invented war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marlowe/accursed-be-he-that-first-invented-war/) [Christopher Marlowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marlowe/) > [I don't think I really invented anybody. I have drawn on real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hailey/i-don-t-think-i-really-invented-anybody-i-have-drawn-on-real-life/) [Arthur Hailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hailey/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Congress as a whole is less popular than it's been since polling was invented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/congress-as-a-whole-is-less-popular-than-it-s-been-since-polling-was/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [Redemption is invented by the sinner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-hill/redemption-is-invented-by-the-sinner/) [Lawrence Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-hill/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I don't think I'm the one that invented glamour at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-lang/i-don-t-think-i-m-the-one-that-invented-glamour-at-all/) [Helmut Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-lang/) ## More by Coleman Dowell > [“You drive, walk, eat, look at television, read, and all the while, beyond you and the cozy circle created by your lady around herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/you-drive-walk-eat-look-at-television-read-and-all-the-while-beyond/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [It is extraordinary how the house and the simplest possessions of someone who has been left become so quickly sordid. . . . Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/it-is-extraordinary-how-the-house-and-the-simplest-possessions-of/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [Life is a series of diminishments. Each cessation of an activity either from choice or some variety of infirmity is a death, a putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/life-is-a-series-of-diminishments-each-cessation-of-an-activity/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“He's experienced. He has a mind. He seduced me and took his time doing it. He's good company. He makes me think. Knowing him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/he-s-experienced-he-has-a-mind-he-seduced-me-and-took-his-time-doing/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“All there is, is fragments, because a man, even the loneliest of the species, is divided among several persons, animals, worlds. To know a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/all-there-is-is-fragments-because-a-man-even-the-loneliest-of-the/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) [Explore all 6 Coleman Dowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) [Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being is a fiction invented by those who suffer from becoming.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Coleman Dowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who-suffer-from-becoming/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Becoming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who-suffer-from-becoming/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/coleman-dowell-54938_becoming_being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who_1944730.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/coleman-dowell-54938_becoming_being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who_1944730.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0a/coleman-dowell-54938_becoming_being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who_1944730.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Being is a fiction invented by those who suffer from becoming.” — Coleman Dowell", "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": "Coleman Dowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being is a fiction invented by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who-suffer-from-becoming/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/being-is-a-fiction-invented-by-those-who-suffer-from-becoming/#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 } } ] } ```