--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have only one real shot at liberation…" description: "\"“We have only one real shot at liberation, and that is to emancipate ourselves from within”\" — Colette Dowling" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/colette-dowling-45069_freedom_we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation_958773.jpg" --- # We have only one real shot at liberation, and that is to… ![“We have only one real shot at liberation, and that is to emancipate ourselves from within” quote by Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/colette-dowling-45069_freedom_we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation_958773.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/colette-dowling-45069_freedom_we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation_958773.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/colette-dowling-45069_freedom_we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation_958773.jpg) > ““We have only one real shot at liberation, and that is to emancipate ourselves from within”” [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True freedom comes from inner emancipation, not external circumstances; self-liberation is essential. **In simple terms:** Freedom starts inside Key Takeaway Cultivate inner self-awareness and self-acceptance. Themes self‑growth freedom inner work psychology empowerment Mood hopeful inspired thoughtful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - personal development - spiritual practice - conflict resolution Key Concepts self‑actualization mindfulness personal sovereignty Questions to Reflect On - What internal barriers hold you back? - How can you nurture inner freedom? A Different Perspective Internal change can be difficult without external support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emancipate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emancipate-504531/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Liberation Emancipate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation-emancipate-1759798/) [Shot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shot/) [Shot Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shot-liberation-1759799/) ## Related quotes > [I was living out of my truck for a short while. My dad wanted to emancipate me at 16 and send me to music college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/synyster-gates/i-was-living-out-of-my-truck-for-a-short-while-my-dad-wanted-to/) [Synyster Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/synyster-gates/) > [If you look at any Muslim society and you make a scale of how developed they are, and how successful the economy is, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-you-look-at-any-muslim-society-and-you-make-a-scale-of-how/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Cyling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/cyling-has-done-more-to-emancipate-women-than-anything-else-in-the/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [There was no use in trying to emancipate a wife who had not the dimmest notion that she was not free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-was-no-use-in-trying-to-emancipate-a-wife-who-had-not-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Monk encouraged me to emancipate the drums from their subservient role as timekeepers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-roach/monk-encouraged-me-to-emancipate-the-drums-from-their-subservient/) [Max Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-roach/) > [No man can quite emancipate himself from his age and country, or produce a model in which the education, the religion, the politics, usages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-quite-emancipate-himself-from-his-age-and-country-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/emancipate-yourself-from-mental-slavery/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [The artist should once and forever emancipate himself from the bondage of appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ad-reinhardt/the-artist-should-once-and-forever-emancipate-himself-from-the/) [Ad Reinhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ad-reinhardt/) > [Nature is made to conspire with spirit to emancipate us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/nature-is-made-to-conspire-with-spirit-to-emancipate-us/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Lyndon Johnson wanted to emancipate the whites as much as people of color, because he knew how, particularly in the South, but not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-bird-johnson-robb/lyndon-johnson-wanted-to-emancipate-the-whites-as-much-as-people-of/) [Lynda Bird Johnson Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-bird-johnson-robb/) > [There, where neither your children nor your spouse shall accompany you, the Name of the Lord shall emancipate you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/there-where-neither-your-children-nor-your-spouse-shall-accompany-you/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/emancipate-yourselves-from-mental-slavery-none-but-ourselves-can-free/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [To emancipate woman is to refuse to confine her to the relations she bears to man, not to deny them to her; let her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/to-emancipate-woman-is-to-refuse-to-confine-her-to-the-relations-she/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/emancipate-yourself-from-mental-slavery-none-but-ourselves-can-free-2/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-grout/emancipate-yourself-from-mental-slavery-none-but-ourselves-can-free-3/) [Pam Grout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-grout/) ## More by Colette Dowling > [“While we avoid taking credit for success, women leap at the opportunity to take responsibility for failure. Men tend to externalize the reasons for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/while-we-avoid-taking-credit-for-success-women-leap-at-the/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [“(...) psychiatrists today recognize the contortionist's act that was required of women in an age when they were expected to stifle their own healthiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/psychiatrists-today-recognize-the-contortionist-s-act-that-was/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [“Given our socialization into dependency, women are also poor risk takers. (...) We avoid new situations, job changes, moves to different parts of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/given-our-socialization-into-dependency-women-are-also-poor-risk/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [Relationships are like a dance, with visible energy racing back and forth between the partners. Some relationships are the slow, dark dance of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/relationships-are-like-a-dance-with-visible-energy-racing-back-and/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [ “(...) performance anxiety \[in the worplace\] is connected to other, more general fears which have to do with feeling inadequate and defenseless in the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/performance-anxiety-in-the-worplace-is-connected-to-other-more/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [“Fear (...) that has no relation to capabilities or even to reality is epidemic among women today. Fear of being independent (that could mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/fear-that-has-no-relation-to-capabilities-or-even-to-reality-is/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [Without being conscious of it, she looks for a situation in which she can give up her façade of self-sufficiency and ease back into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/without-being-conscious-of-it-she-looks-for-a-situation-in-which-she/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) > [Once a man is on hand, a woman tends to stop believing in her own beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/once-a-man-is-on-hand-a-woman-tends-to-stop-believing-in-her-own/) [Colette Dowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) [Explore all 9 Colette Dowling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/) ## More Freedom quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We live in the greatest country in the world because of the veterans who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom and the security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-husted/we-live-in-the-greatest-country-in-the-world-because-of-the-veterans/) [Jon Husted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-husted/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“No one was more surprised than I to realize that my newfound freedom had been purchased by giving up on eternity and settling for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-jessop/no-one-was-more-surprised-than-i-to-realize-that-my-newfound-freedom/) [Carolyn Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-jessop/) > [“In a world of fixed future, there can be no right or wrong. Right and wrong demand freedom of choice, but if each action…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-of-fixed-future-there-can-be-no-right-or-wrong-right-and/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“In any case, white people, who had robbed black people of their liberty and who profited by this theft every hour that they lived,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/in-any-case-white-people-who-had-robbed-black-people-of-their-liberty/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“I have to blame myself for not finding any way of reaching him, but I can't feel that either Ruth or I had anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/i-have-to-blame-myself-for-not-finding-any-way-of-reaching-him-but-i/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) [Browse all 30,110 Freedom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have only one real shot at liberation, and that is to emancipate ourselves from within”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colette Dowling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation-and-that-is-to-emancipate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Freedom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation-and-that-is-to-emancipate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/colette-dowling-45069_freedom_we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation_958773.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/colette-dowling-45069_freedom_we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation_958773.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/colette-dowling-45069_freedom_we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation_958773.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have only one real shot at liberation, and that is to emancipate ourselves from within” — Colette Dowling", "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": "Colette Dowling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colette-dowling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“We have only one real shot...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation-and-that-is-to-emancipate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colette-dowling/we-have-only-one-real-shot-at-liberation-and-that-is-to-emancipate/#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 } } ] } ```