--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are only what we know, and I wished to…" description: "\"We are only what we know, and I wished to be so much more than I was, sorely.\" — David Mitchell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/david-mitchell-264_know_we-are-only-what-we-know-and-i-wished-to_591349.jpg" --- # We are only what we know, and I wished to be so much more… ![“We are only what we know, and I wished to be so much more than I was, sorely.” quote by David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/david-mitchell-264_know_we-are-only-what-we-know-and-i-wished-to_591349.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/david-mitchell-264_know_we-are-only-what-we-know-and-i-wished-to_591349.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/david-mitchell-264_know_we-are-only-what-we-know-and-i-wished-to_591349.jpg) > “We are only what we know, and I wished to be so much more than I was, sorely.” [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We are defined by our knowledge, yet we often desire to exceed our current self. **In simple terms:** Knowledge limits us; we want more. Key Takeaway Seek growth beyond current understanding. Themes self‑improvement knowledge aspiration Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - career advancement - creative writing Key Concepts personal development philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What knowledge would you like to acquire? - How can you appreciate your current self while striving for more? A Different Perspective Self‑improvement may cause dissatisfaction with present self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Know Wished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-wished-713347/) [Sorely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorely-2334454/) [Wished](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wished/) [Wished Sorely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wished-sorely-4839651/) ## Related quotes > [“You will never know how much I wished for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-proby/you-will-never-know-how-much-i-wished-for-you/) [Kristen Proby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-proby/) > [“We knew this well, in the years of our childhood, but our curse broke our will. 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Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-macaulay/) > [Sometimes the soul takes pictures of the little things it has wished for, but never seen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne/sometimes-the-soul-takes-pictures-of-the-little-things-it-has-wished/) [Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne/) > [“I should be sorry if I only entertained them. 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I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-ochocinco/last-night-i-felt-like-i-wished-i-wasn-t-chad-johnson-last-night-i/) [Chad Ochocinco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-ochocinco/) > [“I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/i-wished-as-it-were-to-procrastinate-all-that-related-to-my-feelings/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [It was an odd coincidence that my career took off the same decade as having babies. I often wished it had been different, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kaczmarek/it-was-an-odd-coincidence-that-my-career-took-off-the-same-decade-as/) [Jane Kaczmarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kaczmarek/) ## More by David Mitchell > [“In the next room a freckly girl Julia's age sat in a wheelchair. One of her legs wasn't there. She'd probably love to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/in-the-next-room-a-freckly-girl-julia-s-age-sat-in-a-wheelchair-one/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I envied my uncritical, unthinking sisters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-envied-my-uncritical-unthinking-sisters/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“... Ethical cyberexplorers are responsible, yeah? We are friendly ghosts in the machine, not poltergeists or hooligans. We are a growing breed. Over sixty-five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/ethical-cyberexplorers-are-responsible-yeah-we-are-friendly-ghosts-in/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“I succumbed. Late-fifteenth-century verb, Old French succomber or Latin succumbere, but a basic necessity of the human condition, especially mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-succumbed-late-fifteenth-century-verb-old-french-succomber-or-latin/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Your environment affects you wherever you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/your-environment-affects-you-wherever-you-are/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“The second tunnel’s a Ministry of Defence tunnel...dug for a nuclear bomb shelter. 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Better to strive to coexist than seek to disapprove . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/so-little-is-actually-worthy-of-belief-or-disbelief-better-to-strive/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I elbowed my way into the grubby café, bought a pie that tasted of shoe polish and a pot of tea with cork crumbs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-elbowed-my-way-into-the-grubby-caf-bought-a-pie-that-tasted-of-shoe/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“A classical LP was playing... ... Jealous and sweet, this music was, sobbing and gorgeous, muddy and crystal. But if the right words existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-classical-lp-was-playing-jealous-and-sweet-this-music-was-sobbing/) [david mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [How lazily "xperts" dismiss what they fail to understand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/how-lazily-xperts-dismiss-what-they-fail-to-understand/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“Writing poetry's,' I looked around the solarium, but Madame Crommelynck's got a tractor beam, 'sort of . . . gay.' '"Gay"? A merry activity?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/writing-poetry-s-i-looked-around-the-solarium-but-madame-crommelynck/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) [Explore all 748 David Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More Know quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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A circus baby. I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [“Take your time to find and understand what you don’t know and in the end, you shall know that it is not all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/take-your-time-to-find-and-understand-what-you-don-t-know-and-in-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. 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