--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had never doubted my own abilities, but…" description: "\"I had never doubted my own abilities, but I was quite prepared to believe that \"the world\" would decline to recognize them.\" — Colin Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/colin-wilson-8331_ability_i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but_2657091.jpg" --- # I had never doubted my own abilities, but I was quite… ![“I had never doubted my own abilities, but I was quite prepared to believe that "the world" would decline to recognize them.” quote by Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/colin-wilson-8331_ability_i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but_2657091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/colin-wilson-8331_ability_i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but_2657091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/colin-wilson-8331_ability_i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but_2657091.jpg) > “I had never doubted my own abilities, but I was quite prepared to believe that "the world" would decline to recognize them.” [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑doubt fades when external validation is lacking; trust your own worth. **In simple terms:** Believe in yourself despite others. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑confidence. Themes self‑belief validation confidence Mood introspective determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career - artistic pursuits - personal goals Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What inner standards guide you? - How to handle criticism? A Different Perspective External opinions can still influence you. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I am a firm fan of shutting naysayers up; I've done it my whole life. People have doubted my abilities through different phases, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/braun-strowman/i-am-a-firm-fan-of-shutting-naysayers-up-i-ve-done-it-my-whole-life/) Braun Strowman > [We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to believe in the goodness of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/we-signal-that-good-can-be-achieved-amongst-human-beings-who-are/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [If there's a story I absolutely cannot tell without faster-than-light travel, then I am quite prepared to accept it - even though I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alastair-reynolds/if-there-s-a-story-i-absolutely-cannot-tell-without-faster-than-light/) [Alastair Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alastair-reynolds/) > [I say to people today, 'You must be prepared if you believe in something. If you believe in something, you have to go for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/i-say-to-people-today-you-must-be-prepared-if-you-believe-in/) [John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/) > [Audiences know what to expect, and that is all that they are prepared to believe in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/audiences-know-what-to-expect-and-that-is-all-that-they-are-prepared/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [ I am quite prepared to die here \[in NY\]. It doesn't matter at all. I don't know better places, or perhaps if I do… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/i-am-quite-prepared-to-die-here-in-ny-it-doesn-t-matter-at-all-i-don/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [You're never quite prepared for the inundation of stardom, or whatever you want to call it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-jourgensen/you-re-never-quite-prepared-for-the-inundation-of-stardom-or-whatever/) [Al Jourgensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-jourgensen/) > [“I was very pink and young and English; and quite prepared for a Continent complete with poisonous drains, roast frogs, bedbugs and vice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-isherwood/i-was-very-pink-and-young-and-english-and-quite-prepared-for-a/) [Christopher Isherwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-isherwood/) > [“Reality is whatever you are prepared to believe it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/reality-is-whatever-you-are-prepared-to-believe-it-is/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Life can be as easy as you wish to make it, or as difficult as you are prepared to believe it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/life-can-be-as-easy-as-you-wish-to-make-it-or-as-difficult-as-you-are/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [I am quite prepared, if we can do it without any disrespect to the Crown of England, to bring our titles to the marketplace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-laurier/i-am-quite-prepared-if-we-can-do-it-without-any-disrespect-to-the/) [Wilfrid Laurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-laurier/) > [I was given the gifts of the artist, and the trouble that goes with them: So I have that blessing, and there was never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-berliawsky-nevelson/i-was-given-the-gifts-of-the-artist-and-the-trouble-that-goes-with/) [Louise Berliawsky Nevelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-berliawsky-nevelson/) > [The purposes of the United States should not be doubted. The Security Council resolutions will be enforced - the just demands of peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/the-purposes-of-the-united-states-should-not-be-doubted-the-security/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [“For the longest time, Cinderella had doubted Friedrich was ever serious about her. Now, as she saw the way his fingers twitched with nervousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-shea/for-the-longest-time-cinderella-had-doubted-friedrich-was-ever/) [K.M. Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-shea/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Colin Wilson > [“Man is not a 'fixed and limited animal whose nature is absolutely constant'. He changed drastically when he developed 'divided consciousness' to cope with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/man-is-not-a-fixed-and-limited-animal-whose-nature-is-absolutely/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“As to Gurdjieff's power to renew his own energies, its essence had been understood by psychologists of the nineteenth century, decades before the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/as-to-gurdjieff-s-power-to-renew-his-own-energies-its-essence-had/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The mystical impulse in men is somehow a desire to possess the universe. In women, it's a desire to be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-mystical-impulse-in-men-is-somehow-a-desire-to-possess-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The exploration of oneself is usually also an exploration of the world at large, of other writers, a process of comparison with oneself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-exploration-of-oneself-is-usually-also-an-exploration-of-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [“There is in Shaw, as in Gurdjieff and Nietzsche, a recognition of the immense effort of Will that is necessary to express even a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/there-is-in-shaw-as-in-gurdjieff-and-nietzsche-a-recognition-of-the/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [I was aggressively nonpolitical. I believed that people who make a fuss about politics do so because their heads are too empty to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/i-was-aggressively-nonpolitical-i-believed-that-people-who-make-a/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Christianity was an epidemic rather than a religion. It appealed to fear, hysteria and ignorance. It spread across the Western world, not because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/christianity-was-an-epidemic-rather-than-a-religion-it-appealed-to/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [When I open my eyes in the morning, I am not confronted by a world, but by a million possible worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/when-i-open-my-eyes-in-the-morning-i-am-not-confronted-by-a-world-but/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Religion, mysticism and magic all spring from the same basic 'feeling' about the universe: a sudden feeling of meaning, which human beings sometimes 'pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/religion-mysticism-and-magic-all-spring-from-the-same-basic-feeling/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Man is brilliant at solving problems; but solving them only makes him the victim of his own childishness and laziness. It is this recognition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/man-is-brilliant-at-solving-problems-but-solving-them-only-makes-him/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [It was Rousseau who was largely responsible for the problem by giving currency to the idea that freedom can exist without responsibility and discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/it-was-rousseau-who-was-largely-responsible-for-the-problem-by-giving/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [If I'd stayed on in London and carried on going to literary parties, it would have wrecked me as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/if-i-d-stayed-on-in-london-and-carried-on-going-to-literary-parties/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [Imagination should be used, not to escape reality but to create it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/imagination-should-be-used-not-to-escape-reality-but-to-create-it/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [If you asked me what is the basis of all my work, it's the feeling there's something basically wrong with human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/if-you-asked-me-what-is-the-basis-of-all-my-work-it-s-the-feeling/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) > [The sheer volume of evidence for survival after death is so immense that to ignore it is like standing at the foot of Mount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/the-sheer-volume-of-evidence-for-survival-after-death-is-so-immense/) [Colin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) [Explore all 81 Colin Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had never doubted my own abilities, but I was quite prepared to believe that \"the world\" would decline to recognize them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Colin Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but-i-was-quite-prepared-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ability" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but-i-was-quite-prepared-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/colin-wilson-8331_ability_i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but_2657091.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/colin-wilson-8331_ability_i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but_2657091.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/colin-wilson-8331_ability_i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but_2657091.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had never doubted my own abilities, but I was quite prepared to believe that \"the world\" would decline to…” — Colin Wilson", "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": "Colin Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had never doubted my own...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but-i-was-quite-prepared-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-wilson/i-had-never-doubted-my-own-abilities-but-i-was-quite-prepared-to/#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 } } ] } ```