--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing out there tells us how we must…" description: "\"“Nothing out there tells us how we must live: we and we alone can now with confidence knowingly trust our own hearts, and admit that we do and must inv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/don-cupitt-31574_confidence_nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-l_2823102.png" --- # Nothing out there tells us how we must live: we and we… ![“Nothing out there tells us how we must live: we and we alone can now with confidence knowingly trust our own hearts, and admit that we do and must invent our own ethics.” quote by Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/don-cupitt-31574_confidence_nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-l_2823102.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/don-cupitt-31574_confidence_nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-l_2823102.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/don-cupitt-31574_confidence_nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-l_2823102.png) > ““Nothing out there tells us how we must live: we and we alone can now with confidence knowingly trust our own hearts, and admit that we do and must invent our own ethics.”” [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. No external authority dictates how we must live; we must trust our own hearts and invent our own ethics. **In simple terms:** Create personal ethics from within. Key Takeaway Rely on inner conviction to shape moral compass. Themes ethics individualism autonomy Mood introspective confident Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - artistic expression - community leadership - spiritual practice Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What values guide your life? - How do you resolve ethical dilemmas? A Different Perspective Lack of shared standards can cause conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Confidence Knowingly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence-knowingly-3604879/) [Invent Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent-ethics-3604877/) [Knowingly Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowingly-trust-3604878/) [Live Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-confidence-917003/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [You're always going to survive the pain of loss. I can live with that confidence inside of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-solo/you-re-always-going-to-survive-the-pain-of-loss-i-can-live-with-that/) [Hope Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-solo/) > [Sahara Shree has put a lot of faith in me and I'm hoping to live up to his confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boney-kapoor/sahara-shree-has-put-a-lot-of-faith-in-me-and-i-m-hoping-to-live-up/) [Boney Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boney-kapoor/) > [I will work towards ensuring that farmers do not face any crisis and live up to the confidence they have reposed in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-kumaraswamy/i-will-work-towards-ensuring-that-farmers-do-not-face-any-crisis-and/) [H. D. Kumaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-kumaraswamy/) > [People die of fright and live of confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/people-die-of-fright-and-live-of-confidence/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [My philosophy has always been to help women and men feel comfortable and confident through the clothes they wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-armani/my-philosophy-has-always-been-to-help-women-and-men-feel-comfortable/) [Giorgio Armani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-armani/) > [“The definition of a professional is one who does a job well even when they don't like it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-sheinwald/the-definition-of-a-professional-is-one-who-does-a-job-well-even-when/) [Alan Sheinwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-sheinwald/) > [“You will get your father's wealth one day but not his legacy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/you-will-get-your-father-s-wealth-one-day-but-not-his-legacy/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Take care of your costume and your confidence will take care of itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/take-care-of-your-costume-and-your-confidence-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [I am confident when I take the penalty otherwise I would pass for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-fernandes/i-am-confident-when-i-take-the-penalty-otherwise-i-would-pass-for/) [Bruno Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-fernandes/) > [I was just confident my work was good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bunny-yeager/i-was-just-confident-my-work-was-good/) [Bunny Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bunny-yeager/) > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) ## More by Don Cupitt > [To love is to be vulnerable: if God loves, then God is mortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/to-love-is-to-be-vulnerable-if-god-loves-then-god-is-mortal/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [“The reason why Jesus got into such severe trouble was that he tried to bring into the present a construction of the world, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/the-reason-why-jesus-got-into-such-severe-trouble-was-that-he-tried/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [To say that God is love is in effect to say simply that love is God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/to-say-that-god-is-love-is-in-effect-to-say-simply-that-love-is-god/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [The Servant who really studies his Master gradually becomes like his master; gradually learns that he himself is the one who in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/the-servant-who-really-studies-his-master-gradually-becomes-like-his/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [All life is dying life – including the life of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/all-life-is-dying-life-including-the-life-of-god/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [A God out there and values out there, if they existed, would be utterly useless and unintelligible to us. There is nothing to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/a-god-out-there-and-values-out-there-if-they-existed-would-be-utterly/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [I am suggesting that we can and do regain eternity when we are so immersed in life, in moral action, or in aesthetic contemplation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/i-am-suggesting-that-we-can-and-do-regain-eternity-when-we-are-so/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Capital T truth is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/capital-t-truth-is-dead/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [“For it was only via the idea of God that we were able to develop all our ideas about a unified self, reason, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/for-it-was-only-via-the-idea-of-god-that-we-were-able-to-develop-all/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Religious ideas such as the idea of God have functioned as regulative ideals for us to aspire after: we too could become unified and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/religious-ideas-such-as-the-idea-of-god-have-functioned-as-regulative/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [We should be empty of clutching, empty of self, empty of all the old ideas of substance. We should be ‘lost in the objectivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/we-should-be-empty-of-clutching-empty-of-self-empty-of-all-the-old/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [“Those who first acquired language and tried to think the human situation were utterly overwhelmed. They could cope only by imagining that there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/those-who-first-acquired-language-and-tried-to-think-the-human/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Remember that the past fifty years has been the age of the Big Bang cosmology. We have learnt to see all reality as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/remember-that-the-past-fifty-years-has-been-the-age-of-the-big-bang/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [A belief is made religious, not so much by its content, as rather by the way it is held.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/a-belief-is-made-religious-not-so-much-by-its-content-as-rather-by/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) > [Christmas is the Disneyfication of Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/christmas-is-the-disneyfication-of-christianity/) [Don Cupitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) [Explore all 16 Don Cupitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/) ## More Confidence quotes > [The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/the-cia-has-concluded-in-a-secret-assessment-that-russia-intervened/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [I was just confident my work was good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bunny-yeager/i-was-just-confident-my-work-was-good/) [Bunny Yeager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bunny-yeager/) > [I am confident when I take the penalty otherwise I would pass for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-fernandes/i-am-confident-when-i-take-the-penalty-otherwise-i-would-pass-for/) [Bruno Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-fernandes/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [My friend made me a leather dress for the MTV awards. It gives you confidence, wearing something you love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-deeley/my-friend-made-me-a-leather-dress-for-the-mtv-awards-it-gives-you/) [Cat Deeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cat-deeley/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-ball/i-would-rather-regret-the-things-that-i-have-done-than-the-things/) [Lucille Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-ball/) > [You want to remain hungry and stay in a good place as a competitor; at the same time, you want to be confident but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-odom/you-want-to-remain-hungry-and-stay-in-a-good-place-as-a-competitor-at/) [Lamar Odom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-odom/) > [Get to know yourself well enough to not only expect, but also control, your response to the unexpected challenges in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/get-to-know-yourself-well-enough-to-not-only-expect-but-also-control/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I look for someone who has confidence. Also someone whose energetic, cause I'm NOT that energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-jonas/i-look-for-someone-who-has-confidence-also-someone-whose-energetic/) [Nick Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-jonas/) > [Why shouldn't I be confident? I'm well educated, I can deliver a line, and I have more than three expressions. That's good right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonakshi-sinha/why-shouldn-t-i-be-confident-i-m-well-educated-i-can-deliver-a-line/) [Sonakshi Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonakshi-sinha/) > [I was very confident on the stage, and I stood out in a red gown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-johnson/i-was-very-confident-on-the-stage-and-i-stood-out-in-a-red-gown/) [Nicole Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-johnson/) > [If you go to any nunnery and ask them what the main obstacle is, they'll always say low self-esteem and lack of confidence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/if-you-go-to-any-nunnery-and-ask-them-what-the-main-obstacle-is-they/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) [Browse all 11,290 Confidence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Nothing out there tells us how we must live: we and we alone can now with confidence knowingly trust our own hearts, and admit that we do and must invent our own ethics.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don Cupitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-live-we-and-we-alone-can-now/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confidence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-live-we-and-we-alone-can-now/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/don-cupitt-31574_confidence_nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-l_2823102.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/don-cupitt-31574_confidence_nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-l_2823102.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/don-cupitt-31574_confidence_nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-l_2823102.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing out there tells us how we must live: we and we alone can now with confidence knowingly trust our own…” — Don Cupitt", "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": "Don Cupitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-cupitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Nothing out there tells us how...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-live-we-and-we-alone-can-now/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-cupitt/nothing-out-there-tells-us-how-we-must-live-we-and-we-alone-can-now/#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 } } ] } ```