--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I used to feel that everything I know I…" description: "\"I used to feel that everything I know I learned through my lifelong struggle with stuttering; I now feel this way about my damn back.\" — David Shields" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/david-shields-8815_back_i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i_2896847.jpg" --- # I used to feel that everything I know I learned through my… ![“I used to feel that everything I know I learned through my lifelong struggle with stuttering; I now feel this way about my damn back.” quote by David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/david-shields-8815_back_i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i_2896847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/david-shields-8815_back_i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i_2896847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/david-shields-8815_back_i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i_2896847.jpg) > “I used to feel that everything I know I learned through my lifelong struggle with stuttering; I now feel this way about my damn back.” [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal struggles shape knowledge, and the same applies to physical ailments, linking mental and bodily challenges. **In simple terms:** Our hardships teach us, both mental and physical. Key Takeaway Learn from both mental and physical challenges Themes self growth health Mood introspective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - fitness training - education - self‑help Key Concepts psychosomatic connection resilience Questions to Reflect On - How does your struggle inform your learning? - Can physical pain teach mental lessons? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize individual experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [Gerald Jonas's book about stuttering is called 'The Disorder of Many Theories.' Back theory seems to suffer from the same 'Rashomon' effect: as with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/gerald-jonas-s-book-about-stuttering-is-called-the-disorder-of-many/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“Why would someone for whom talking was torture want to talk all the time before thousands of Athenians? Because otherwise he’d have drown himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/why-would-someone-for-whom-talking-was-torture-want-to-talk-all-the/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I think I do become someone else. In real life, I’m very shy, but people think I’m this angry, sexy kind of... god knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-stone/i-think-i-do-become-someone-else-in-real-life-i-m-very-shy-but-people/) [Lara Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-stone/) > [“Before i could utter a word, my listeners had left me long ago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/before-i-could-utter-a-word-my-listeners-had-left-me-long-ago/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“The enigma of stuttering is profound. For in a moment, you would sound very fluent, and at other times, you would struggle to utter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-enigma-of-stuttering-is-profound-for-in-a-moment-you-would-sound/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“There is more to stuttering than the mere repetition of words and phrases. And more to anxiety than just being nervous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/there-is-more-to-stuttering-than-the-mere-repetition-of-words-and/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [For God's sake (I never was more serious) don't make me ridiculous any more by terming me gentle-hearted in print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/for-god-s-sake-i-never-was-more-serious-don-t-make-me-ridiculous-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [“While racial minorities across every civilized country in the world are still waiting for their break, our kind (stutterers) became emperors (i.e., Claudius) and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anas-hamshari/while-racial-minorities-across-every-civilized-country-in-the-world/) [Anas Hamshari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anas-hamshari/) > [“I-I have to go," she began, then bit her lip as she realized she was stuttering again-a habit she seemed to have developed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-i-have-to-go-she-began-then-bit-her-lip-as-she-realized-she-was/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“As much as Milly loved seeing Asa on that tractor, a part of her dreaded the days he came to mow, not only because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-rasmussen/as-much-as-milly-loved-seeing-asa-on-that-tractor-a-part-of-her/) [Rebecca Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-rasmussen/) > [I don't don't wanna hear you're sorry now, The-uh-uh best thing you can do for me is just spit it out. I don't don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fefe-dobson/i-don-t-don-t-wanna-hear-you-re-sorry-now-the-uh-uh-best-thing-you/) [Fefe Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fefe-dobson/) > [When I finally addressed my stuttering - I was almost through with medical school by the time that I finally sought therapy for speech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leana-s-wen/when-i-finally-addressed-my-stuttering-i-was-almost-through-with/) [Leana S. Wen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leana-s-wen/) > [ \[On George H.W. Bush:\] A man who wishes to lead the Western world should be able to find the right words, string them together… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mcgrory/on-george-h-w-bush-a-man-who-wishes-to-lead-the-western-world-should/) [Mary McGrory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mcgrory/) > [I'm not a smack talker. I have a speech impediment. So if I try to talk smack and I start stuttering, that ruins the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-blaydes/i-m-not-a-smack-talker-i-have-a-speech-impediment-so-if-i-try-to-talk/) [Curtis Blaydes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-blaydes/) > [I have struggled all my life with my stuttering. Not to mention all my other speech impediments. I think I have every language disorder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-forsyth/i-have-struggled-all-my-life-with-my-stuttering-not-to-mention-all-my/) [Kate Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-forsyth/) ## More by David Shields > [To be honest, there are parts of 'How Literature Saved My Life' that began as interviews. Someone was telling me that they think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/to-be-honest-there-are-parts-of-how-literature-saved-my-life-that/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I'm very drawn to the way in which a life lived can be an art of sorts or a failed art, and a life-lived-told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-m-very-drawn-to-the-way-in-which-a-life-lived-can-be-an-art-of/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [People like Ian McEwan and Jonathan Franzen completely bore me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/people-like-ian-mcewan-and-jonathan-franzen-completely-bore-me/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [You're one of 6.5 billion people now on the planet, and 99.9 percent of your genes are the same as everyone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/you-re-one-of-6-5-billion-people-now-on-the-planet-and-99-9-percent/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [We're completely confused about the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction. To me, the moment you compose, you're fictionalising; the moment you remember, you're dreaming.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/we-re-completely-confused-about-the-boundaries-between-fiction-and/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Your art is most alive and dangerous when you use it against yourself. That's why I pick at my scabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/your-art-is-most-alive-and-dangerous-when-you-use-it-against-yourself/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Everything I write, I believe instinctively, is to some extent collage. Meaning, ultimately, is a matter of adjacent data.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/everything-i-write-i-believe-instinctively-is-to-some-extent-collage/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [Swimming is by far the best tonic I've found for my back. I'm not a good swimmer - I do the breaststroke or elementary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/swimming-is-by-far-the-best-tonic-i-ve-found-for-my-back-i-m-not-a/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I've always liked this idea that writing should comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable to create trouble. The value of a work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-ve-always-liked-this-idea-that-writing-should-comfort-the-afflicted/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The beauty of reality-based art - art underwritten by reality hunger - is that it's perfectly situated between life itself and (unattainable) "life as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-beauty-of-reality-based-art-art-underwritten-by-reality-hunger-is/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [“A great book allows me to leap over that wall: in a deep, significant conversation with another consciousness, I feel human and unalone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/a-great-book-allows-me-to-leap-over-that-wall-in-a-deep-significant/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The novel is dead. Long live the antinovel, built from scraps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-novel-is-dead-long-live-the-antinovel-built-from-scraps/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I am exhausted by traditional memoir. I am exhausted by the architecture of the conventional novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-am-exhausted-by-traditional-memoir-i-am-exhausted-by-the/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [I couldn't tell a story if my life depended on it. I'm the world's worst joke-teller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-couldn-t-tell-a-story-if-my-life-depended-on-it-i-m-the-world-s/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) > [The absence of plot leaves the reader room to think about other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/the-absence-of-plot-leaves-the-reader-room-to-think-about-other-things/) [David Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) [Explore all 77 David Shields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/) ## More Back quotes > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [I honestly would like to get that Frankie fight back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/i-honestly-would-like-to-get-that-frankie-fight-back/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [Drumming's pretty physical. We sit at the back of the stage getting beat up like a workhorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/drumming-s-pretty-physical-we-sit-at-the-back-of-the-stage-getting/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [I never want to look back on any moment and say I could have done more. So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/) [Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [It's what the people wanted at the time, but the country could not be half-segregated and half-integrated, just as it could not be half-slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wallace/it-s-what-the-people-wanted-at-the-time-but-the-country-could-not-be/) [George Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wallace/) > [I've always stuck my arms behind my back anyway when trying to block a shot in the penalty area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/i-ve-always-stuck-my-arms-behind-my-back-anyway-when-trying-to-block/) [Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/) > [I'm sure at some point I will get back into coaching, but right now I need to focus completely on my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ewing/i-m-sure-at-some-point-i-will-get-back-into-coaching-but-right-now-i/) [Patrick Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ewing/) > [Any time someone achieves success before they've earned it, it always comes back to haunt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/any-time-someone-achieves-success-before-they-ve-earned-it-it-always/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [We're all painfully aware of how suddenly violence can occur, how crippling it is, and how survivors have to find a way back from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dini/we-re-all-painfully-aware-of-how-suddenly-violence-can-occur-how/) [Paul Dini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dini/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/) [Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/) > [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/) [Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/) Browse all 9,709 Back quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I used to feel that everything I know I learned through my lifelong struggle with stuttering; I now feel this way about my damn back.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Shields" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i-learned-through-my-lifelong/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Back" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i-learned-through-my-lifelong/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/david-shields-8815_back_i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i_2896847.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/david-shields-8815_back_i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i_2896847.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b64/david-shields-8815_back_i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i_2896847.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I used to feel that everything I know I learned through my lifelong struggle with stuttering; I now feel…” — David Shields", "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 Shields", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-shields/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I used to feel that everything...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i-learned-through-my-lifelong/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-shields/i-used-to-feel-that-everything-i-know-i-learned-through-my-lifelong/#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 } } ] } ```