--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I even used the excuse when I was alone…" description: "\"“I even used the excuse when I was alone, as if I were somehow fooling myself with the ruse. You know your life is going off the rails when you tell yo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-ellis-71098_life_i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone_1877075.jpg" --- # I even used the excuse when I was alone, as if I were… ![“I even used the excuse when I was alone, as if I were somehow fooling myself with the ruse. You know your life is going off the rails when you tell yourself the lie you've created for everyone else, and you believe it.” quote by David Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-ellis-71098_life_i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone_1877075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-ellis-71098_life_i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone_1877075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-ellis-71098_life_i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone_1877075.jpg) > ““I even used the excuse when I was alone, as if I were somehow fooling myself with the ruse. You know your life is going off the rails when you tell yourself the lie you've created for everyone else, and you believe it.”” [David Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ellis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑deception can mask reality, but eventually the truth surfaces, causing personal crisis. **In simple terms:** Lying to yourself leads to chaos. Key Takeaway Confront personal truths early. Themes psychology selfdeception truth identity crisis Mood introspective serious Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - therapy - personal journaling - relationship honesty - career decisions Key Concepts cognitive dissonance self‑awareness personal integrity Questions to Reflect On - What lies are you telling yourself? - How can you safely confront uncomfortable truths? A Different Perspective Denial may protect short‑term comfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Excuse Fooling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excuse-fooling-2627755/) [Fooling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fooling/) [Fooling Ruse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fooling-ruse-2627756/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Tell Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-lie-271653/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Used Excuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-excuse-1004253/) ## Related quotes > [The world used us as an excuse to go mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/the-world-used-us-as-an-excuse-to-go-mad/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [I tried--I swear I tried. But you didn't want to hear what I was saying, and I used that as an excuse to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-tried-i-swear-i-tried-but-you-didn-t-want-to-hear-what-i-was-saying/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The world went mad and used us as an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/the-world-went-mad-and-used-us-as-an-excuse/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [There is only one sin. and that is theft... when you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-only-one-sin-and-that-is-theft-when-you-tell-a-lie-you-steal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A dead Zhuge scares away a living Zhongda.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luo-guanzhong/a-dead-zhuge-scares-away-a-living-zhongda/) [Luo Guanzhong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luo-guanzhong/) > [The only good in pretending is the fun we get out of fooling ourselves that we fool somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booth-tarkington/the-only-good-in-pretending-is-the-fun-we-get-out-of-fooling/) [Booth Tarkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booth-tarkington/) > [“But that’s the thing about narcissists. They can try to fool you, with all their heart, but in the end, they’re just fooling themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-fox/but-that-s-the-thing-about-narcissists-they-can-try-to-fool-you-with/) [Ellie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-fox/) > [Your job as a scientist is to figure out how you're fooling yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-perlmutter/your-job-as-a-scientist-is-to-figure-out-how-you-re-fooling-yourself/) [Saul Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-perlmutter/) > [If you constantly post about something or someon...99.9% you still miss it . Stop fooling yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-constantly-post-about-something-or-someon-99-9-you-still-miss/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm fooling down with no one else, you falling in love with someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faqdil/i-m-fooling-down-with-no-one-else-you-falling-in-love-with-someone/) [Faqdil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faqdil/) > [“He enjoyed the lying and the fooling of those around him. It made him feel in control, like his true self was not here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cuervonegro/he-enjoyed-the-lying-and-the-fooling-of-those-around-him-it-made-him/) [Daniel Cuervonegro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cuervonegro/) > [We do not know it because we are fooling away our time with outward and perishing things, and are asleep in regard to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/we-do-not-know-it-because-we-are-fooling-away-our-time-with-outward/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [A friend is someone who can see the truth & ain in you even when you are fooling everyone else!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norden/a-friend-is-someone-who-can-see-the-truth-ain-in-you-even-when-you/) [Norden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norden/) > [“I was wise enough never to grow up, while fooling people into believing I had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-was-wise-enough-never-to-grow-up-while-fooling-people-into/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I think the easiest people to fool are ourselves. Fooling ourselves may even be a necessary precondition for fooling others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-think-the-easiest-people-to-fool-are-ourselves-fooling-ourselves/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) ## More by David Ellis > [“A clearheaded man might think that his body is telling him something. But clarity of thought is not something with which I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellis/a-clearheaded-man-might-think-that-his-body-is-telling-him-something/) [David Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ellis/) > [“disappointed when I pulled the plug.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellis/disappointed-when-i-pulled-the-plug/) [David Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ellis/) > [“Day has turned into night has turned into day, the movement of the hands on the clock nothing but a signal that we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellis/day-has-turned-into-night-has-turned-into-day-the-movement-of-the/) [David Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ellis/) [Explore all 4 David Ellis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ellis/) ## More Fooling quotes > [The only good in pretending is the fun we get out of fooling ourselves that we fool somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booth-tarkington/the-only-good-in-pretending-is-the-fun-we-get-out-of-fooling/) [Booth Tarkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booth-tarkington/) > [“But that’s the thing about narcissists. They can try to fool you, with all their heart, but in the end, they’re just fooling themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-fox/but-that-s-the-thing-about-narcissists-they-can-try-to-fool-you-with/) [Ellie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-fox/) > [We do not know it because we are fooling away our time with outward and perishing things, and are asleep in regard to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/we-do-not-know-it-because-we-are-fooling-away-our-time-with-outward/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [“A dead Zhuge scares away a living Zhongda.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luo-guanzhong/a-dead-zhuge-scares-away-a-living-zhongda/) [Luo Guanzhong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luo-guanzhong/) > [“I was wise enough never to grow up, while fooling people into believing I had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-was-wise-enough-never-to-grow-up-while-fooling-people-into/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [A friend is someone who can see the truth & ain in you even when you are fooling everyone else!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norden/a-friend-is-someone-who-can-see-the-truth-ain-in-you-even-when-you/) [Norden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norden/) > [I think the easiest people to fool are ourselves. Fooling ourselves may even be a necessary precondition for fooling others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/i-think-the-easiest-people-to-fool-are-ourselves-fooling-ourselves/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [“He enjoyed the lying and the fooling of those around him. It made him feel in control, like his true self was not here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-cuervonegro/he-enjoyed-the-lying-and-the-fooling-of-those-around-him-it-made-him/) [Daniel Cuervonegro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-cuervonegro/) > [“I'm fooling down with no one else, you falling in love with someone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faqdil/i-m-fooling-down-with-no-one-else-you-falling-in-love-with-someone/) [Faqdil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faqdil/) > [If you constantly post about something or someon...99.9% you still miss it . Stop fooling yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-constantly-post-about-something-or-someon-99-9-you-still-miss/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Your job as a scientist is to figure out how you're fooling yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-perlmutter/your-job-as-a-scientist-is-to-figure-out-how-you-re-fooling-yourself/) [Saul Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-perlmutter/) > [You can lie to yourself and pretend like they're into you, but if they only want sex or money from you then you're only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-can-lie-to-yourself-and-pretend-like-they-re-into-you-but-if-they/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“Lie to yourself if you want, but you’re not fooling me. Your excuses tell me that you didn’t really want it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/lie-to-yourself-if-you-want-but-you-re-not-fooling-me-your-excuses/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [You know, they are fooling us, there is no God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/you-know-they-are-fooling-us-there-is-no-god/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [You're in high school, you don't have 'haters' or a 'reputation' that actually means something, so stop fooling yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-in-high-school-you-don-t-have-haters-or-a-reputation-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 102 Fooling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fooling/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I even used the excuse when I was alone, as if I were somehow fooling myself with the ruse. You know your life is going off the rails when you tell yourself the lie you've created for everyone else, and you believe it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Ellis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellis/i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone-as-if-i-were-somehow-fooling/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fooling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellis/i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone-as-if-i-were-somehow-fooling/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-ellis-71098_life_i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone_1877075.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-ellis-71098_life_i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone_1877075.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/685/david-ellis-71098_life_i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone_1877075.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I even used the excuse when I was alone, as if I were somehow fooling myself with the ruse. You know your…” — David Ellis", "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": "David Ellis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ellis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I even used the excuse when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellis/i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone-as-if-i-were-somehow-fooling/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellis/i-even-used-the-excuse-when-i-was-alone-as-if-i-were-somehow-fooling/#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 } } ] } ```