--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not primarily our physical selves…" description: "\"“It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.”\" — Ellen J. Langer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ellen-j-langer-35884_quote_it-is-not-primarily-our-physical-selves_1727622.jpg" --- # It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but… ![“It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.” quote by Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ellen-j-langer-35884_quote_it-is-not-primarily-our-physical-selves_1727622.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ellen-j-langer-35884_quote_it-is-not-primarily-our-physical-selves_1727622.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/ellen-j-langer-35884_quote_it-is-not-primarily-our-physical-selves_1727622.jpg) > ““It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.”” [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Physical limits are often self‑imposed; changing mindset expands capabilities. **In simple terms:** Mindset controls physical limits. Key Takeaway Shift thinking to expand abilities. Themes mindset self‑efficacy growth Mood educational inspirational Type psychological motivational When to use this quote - sports - education - health - career Key Concepts psychology performance Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs limit your performance? - How can you reframe physical challenges? A Different Perspective Mindset change alone may not overcome physiological constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Limit Mindset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limit-mindset-1400465/) [Mindset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindset/) [Mindset Physical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindset-physical-1400466/) [Physical Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-limits-1378909/) [Physical Selves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-selves-1400467/) ## Related quotes > [The world has physical limits that we are already encountering, but our economy operates as if no physical limits exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-martenson/the-world-has-physical-limits-that-we-are-already-encountering-but/) [Christopher Martenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-martenson/) > [When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/when-you-examine-the-lives-of-the-most-influential-people-who-have/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The columnist gives these words to the longings of an 11-year-old he meets with Tourette's syndrome: "Wisdom is encoded in our common language. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-columnist-gives-these-words-to-the-longings-of-an-11-year-old-he/) [George will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [What musical performers bring to straight characterizations is that physical flexibility that comes with knowing your body so well. A lot of actors are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/what-musical-performers-bring-to-straight-characterizations-is-that/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [Books, books, books in all their aspects, in form and spirit, their physical selves and what reading releases from their hieroglyphic pages, in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/books-books-books-in-all-their-aspects-in-form-and-spirit-their/) [Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/) > [You are facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/you-are-facing-death-and-danger-and-competition-but-at-any-moment-you/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [We all have prejudices to dispel: the need to get away from thinking that 'I' am important and special and 'you' are not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/we-all-have-prejudices-to-dispel-the-need-to-get-away-from-thinking/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [“‎..:When we don't have the have the right mindset, we only see a dim and blurry picture of things. It is as if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-garcia/when-we-don-t-have-the-have-the-right-mindset-we-only-see-a-dim-and/) [Rafael Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-garcia/) > [Having a dope mindset and good energy is rare, and you just putting a little bit of your light into someone else can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordae/having-a-dope-mindset-and-good-energy-is-rare-and-you-just-putting-a/) [Cordae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordae/) > [My mindset as a running back is to go no matter what. You've got to have a fight in you, something extra in you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-kamara/my-mindset-as-a-running-back-is-to-go-no-matter-what-you-ve-got-to/) [Alvin Kamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-kamara/) > [My whole thing when I got in the NBA was I want to win a championship. The mindset hasn't changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bam-adebayo/my-whole-thing-when-i-got-in-the-nba-was-i-want-to-win-a-championship/) [Bam Adebayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bam-adebayo/) > [When you feel you have good although incomplete expertise, start trying things. If it's not working, try something else; maintain an experimental mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/when-you-feel-you-have-good-although-incomplete-expertise-start/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [I think you can get, as a player, stuck in the mindset of trying too hard to prove yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-rodman/i-think-you-can-get-as-a-player-stuck-in-the-mindset-of-trying-too/) [Trinity Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-rodman/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) ## More by Ellen J. Langer > [“If we examine what is behind our desires, we can usually get what we want without compromising: love, caring, confidence, respectability, excitement. Compromising is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/if-we-examine-what-is-behind-our-desires-we-can-usually-get-what-we/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“Most tasks are not inherently pleasant or unpleasant, but an evaluation imposed on a task carries such a presumption. Virtually any activity can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/most-tasks-are-not-inherently-pleasant-or-unpleasant-but-an/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“The hefty price for accepting information uncritically is that we go through life unaware that what we’ve accepted as impossible may in fact be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/the-hefty-price-for-accepting-information-uncritically-is-that-we-go/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“Our life is what our thoughts make it. —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/our-life-is-what-our-thoughts-make-it-marcus-aurelius-meditations/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“the promise of a big payoff diminishes our appreciation of the present situation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/the-promise-of-a-big-payoff-diminishes-our-appreciation-of-the/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“The way we first take in information (that is, mindfully or mindlessly) determines how we will use it later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/the-way-we-first-take-in-information-that-is-mindfully-or-mindlessly/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“It is by logic that we prove. It is by intuition that we discover," said the mathematician Henri Poincare.l”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/it-is-by-logic-that-we-prove-it-is-by-intuition-that-we-discover-said/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“When we notice new things, we become mindful, and mindfulness begets more mindfulness. The more mindful we become, the more we see ourselves as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/when-we-notice-new-things-we-become-mindful-and-mindfulness-begets/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“mindful approach to any activity has three characteristics: the continuous creation of new categories; openness to new information; and an implicit awareness of more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/mindful-approach-to-any-activity-has-three-characteristics-the/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“If we describe someone we dislike intensely, a single state-ment usually does it. But if, instead, we are forced to describe the person in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/if-we-describe-someone-we-dislike-intensely-a-single-state-ment/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“An awareness of alternatives at the early stages of learning a skill gives a conditional quality to the learning, which, again, increases mindfulness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/an-awareness-of-alternatives-at-the-early-stages-of-learning-a-skill/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) > [“Florida Scott-Maxwell, a Jungian analyst who did not begin her training until midlife, began writing a private notebook at the age of eighty-two, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-langer/florida-scott-maxwell-a-jungian-analyst-who-did-not-begin-her/) [Ellen J. Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) [Explore all 13 Ellen J. Langer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-langer/) ## More Mindset quotes > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [I think you can get, as a player, stuck in the mindset of trying too hard to prove yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trinity-rodman/i-think-you-can-get-as-a-player-stuck-in-the-mindset-of-trying-too/) [Trinity Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trinity-rodman/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [When you feel you have good although incomplete expertise, start trying things. If it's not working, try something else; maintain an experimental mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/when-you-feel-you-have-good-although-incomplete-expertise-start/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [My whole thing when I got in the NBA was I want to win a championship. The mindset hasn't changed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bam-adebayo/my-whole-thing-when-i-got-in-the-nba-was-i-want-to-win-a-championship/) [Bam Adebayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bam-adebayo/) > [My mindset as a running back is to go no matter what. You've got to have a fight in you, something extra in you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-kamara/my-mindset-as-a-running-back-is-to-go-no-matter-what-you-ve-got-to/) [Alvin Kamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-kamara/) > [Having a dope mindset and good energy is rare, and you just putting a little bit of your light into someone else can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordae/having-a-dope-mindset-and-good-energy-is-rare-and-you-just-putting-a/) [Cordae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordae/) > [“‎..:When we don't have the have the right mindset, we only see a dim and blurry picture of things. It is as if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-garcia/when-we-don-t-have-the-have-the-right-mindset-we-only-see-a-dim-and/) [Rafael Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-garcia/) > [We all have prejudices to dispel: the need to get away from thinking that 'I' am important and special and 'you' are not, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-newkirk/we-all-have-prejudices-to-dispel-the-need-to-get-away-from-thinking/) [Ingrid Newkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-newkirk/) > [You are facing death and danger and competition, but at any moment, you can decide to have a fearless mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/you-are-facing-death-and-danger-and-competition-but-at-any-moment-you/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“Stop focusing on your past mistakes. Don’t be ashamed of the things that you’ve done. We ALL have made mistakes. Don’t you see? All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lahart/stop-focusing-on-your-past-mistakes-don-t-be-ashamed-of-the-things/) [Stephanie Lahart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lahart/) > [“In fact, living with the mindset “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” may get you there quite a bit faster!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-de-sena/in-fact-living-with-the-mindset-i-ll-sleep-when-i-m-dead-may-get-you/) [Joe De Sena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-de-sena/) > [I chose Juventus for their winning mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wojciech-szczesny/i-chose-juventus-for-their-winning-mindset/) [Wojciech Szczesny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wojciech-szczesny/) > [I think at the end of the day, when you talk about going across the middle, it's just a mindset. And trust between quarterback…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandin-cooks/i-think-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-you-talk-about-going-across-the/) [Brandin Cooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandin-cooks/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) [Browse all 1,554 Mindset quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindset/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen J. 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