--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So long as we insist upon defining our…" description: "\"So long as we insist upon defining our identities only in terms of our work, so long as we try to blind ourselves to the needs of our children and hard..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/danielle-crittenden-76289_blind_so-long-as-we-insist-upon-defining-our-i_843020.jpg" --- # So long as we insist upon defining our identities only in… ![“So long as we insist upon defining our identities only in terms of our work, so long as we try to blind ourselves to the needs of our children and harden our hearts against them, we will continue to feel torn, dissatisfied, and exhausted…. The guilt we feel for neglecting our children is a…” quote by Danielle Crittenden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/danielle-crittenden-76289_blind_so-long-as-we-insist-upon-defining-our-i_843020.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/danielle-crittenden-76289_blind_so-long-as-we-insist-upon-defining-our-i_843020.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/932/danielle-crittenden-76289_blind_so-long-as-we-insist-upon-defining-our-i_843020.jpg) > “So long as we insist upon defining our identities only in terms of our work, so long as we try to blind ourselves to the needs of our children and harden our hearts against them, we will continue to feel torn, dissatisfied, and exhausted…. The guilt we feel for neglecting our children is a byproduct of our love for them. It keeps us from straying too far from them, for too long. Their cry should be more compelling than the call from the office.” [Danielle Crittenden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-crittenden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Defining ourselves solely by work neglects family needs, causing guilt and exhaustion; love for children should guide priorities over career demands. **In simple terms:** Work alone isn’t enough; family matters matter. Key Takeaway Prioritize family needs alongside career. Themes family work‑life balance guilt Mood thoughtful hopeful Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - daily scheduling - parenting decisions - career planning Key Concepts identity priorities emotional labor Questions to Reflect On - What small change can reduce work‑family conflict? - How does guilt motivate better choices? A Different Perspective Balancing both may feel impossible without support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Compelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compelling/) [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Defining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defining/) [Dissatisfied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissatisfied/) [Exhausted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausted/) [Exhausted Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exhausted-guilt-664229/) [Feel Neglecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-neglecting-664228/) [Feel Torn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-torn-483992/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Guilt Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt-feel-258047/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Neglect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neglect/) [Neglecting Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neglecting-children-664230/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Our children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-children/) [Our love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-love/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Too far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-far/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) [Torn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torn/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [If the composer withholds more than we anticipate, we experience a delicious falling sensation; we feel we have been torn from a stable point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levi-strauss/if-the-composer-withholds-more-than-we-anticipate-we-experience-a/) [Levi Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levi-strauss/) > [I saw you with your lover today and as I watched with my fake Smile I could hear my heart break and I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron/i-saw-you-with-your-lover-today-and-as-i-watched-with-my-fake-smile-i/) [AaRon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron/) > [I hate and I love. 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I don't feel torn and I think that is really important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethenny-frankel/i-always-know-that-i-am-where-i-am-supposed-to-be-i-don-t-feel-torn/) [Bethenny Frankel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethenny-frankel/) > [I saw you with him today. And as I watched with my fake smile,I could hear my heart break and I could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azgraybebly-joslan/i-saw-you-with-him-today-and-as-i-watched-with-my-fake-smile-i-could/) [Azgraybebly Joslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azgraybebly-joslan/) > [First time I seen your face, it took away my pain, I felted like it drove me right away,flashing lights and fancy cars, first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-terry/first-time-i-seen-your-face-it-took-away-my-pain-i-felted-like-it/) [Antonio Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-terry/) > [“People with options feel torn. People with options feel pulled, tugged - people who can move in multiple directions. Whereas those without homes are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/people-with-options-feel-torn-people-with-options-feel-pulled-tugged/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [Because I feel in my heart, that I'm done with you. How can you trust anyone When you have been lied to countless times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-nothing/because-i-feel-in-my-heart-that-i-m-done-with-you-how-can-you-trust/) [Im Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-nothing/) > [I would get fit after having each of my children but it was always slightly tainted with guilt because I would feel guilty if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-cox/i-would-get-fit-after-having-each-of-my-children-but-it-was-always/) [Sara Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-cox/) > [we are human beings, we are born full of guilt; we feel terrified when happiness becomes a real possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-are-human-beings-we-are-born-full-of-guilt-we-feel-terrified-when/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Whenever I feel mom-guilt, or I feel pressure to be a better mom - to cook salmon on a bed of quinoa for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-wong/whenever-i-feel-mom-guilt-or-i-feel-pressure-to-be-a-better-mom-to/) [Ali Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-wong/) > [No guilt can ever match the guilt you feel after hurting your parents knowingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/no-guilt-can-ever-match-the-guilt-you-feel-after-hurting-your-parents/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“Even in the miserable guilt we feel over our beastlike insensitivity, the glory of God shines. If God were not gloriously desirable, why would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/even-in-the-miserable-guilt-we-feel-over-our-beastlike-insensitivity/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) ## More by Danielle Crittenden > [“By spending years and years living entirely for yourself, thinking only about yourself, and having responsibility to no one but yourself, you end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-crittenden/by-spending-years-and-years-living-entirely-for-yourself-thinking/) [Danielle Crittenden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-crittenden/) > [A woman will not understand what true dependency is until she is cradling her own infant in her arms; nor will she likely achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-crittenden/a-woman-will-not-understand-what-true-dependency-is-until-she-is/) [Danielle Crittenden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-crittenden/) [Explore all 3 Danielle Crittenden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-crittenden/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So long as we insist upon defining our identities only in terms of our work, so long as we try to blind ourselves to the needs of our children and harden our hearts against them, we will continue to feel torn, dissatisfied, and exhausted…. 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