--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...it has crossed my mind that the key to…" description: "\"“...it has crossed my mind that the key to happiness should not be found in a man. That an independent, strong woman should feel fulfilled and whole on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/emily-giffin-938_contentment_it-has-crossed-my-mind-that-the-key-to-h_251714.png" --- # ...it has crossed my mind that the key to happiness should… ![“...it has crossed my mind that the key to happiness should not be found in a man. That an independent, strong woman should feel fulfilled and whole on her own. Those things might be true. And without Dex in my life, I like to think I could have somehow found contentment. But the truth is, I feel…” quote by Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/emily-giffin-938_contentment_it-has-crossed-my-mind-that-the-key-to-h_251714.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/emily-giffin-938_contentment_it-has-crossed-my-mind-that-the-key-to-h_251714.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/emily-giffin-938_contentment_it-has-crossed-my-mind-that-the-key-to-h_251714.png) > ““...it has crossed my mind that the key to happiness should not be found in a man. That an independent, strong woman should feel fulfilled and whole on her own. Those things might be true. And without Dex in my life, I like to think I could have somehow found contentment. But the truth is, I feel freer with Dex than I ever did when I was single. I feel more myself with him than without. Maybe true love does that.”” [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote explores how love can enhance personal freedom and self‑identity rather than diminish independence. **In simple terms:** Love can make you feel freer and more yourself. Key Takeaway Seek relationships that amplify your authentic self. Themes love identity freedom relationships Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - dating - long‑term partnership - self‑discovery - balancing independence and intimacy Key Concepts self‑actualization interdependence emotional fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - How does love change your sense of self? - Can partnership coexist with true independence? A Different Perspective It may overlook the risk of losing self‑reliance if dependence becomes excessive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Dex Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dex-life-1099716/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Key Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/key-happiness/) [Key to happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/key-to-happiness/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Strong woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-woman/) [Think Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-contentment-1099719/) ## Related quotes > [And without Dex in my life, I like to think I could have somehow found contentment. But the truth is, I feel freer with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/and-without-dex-in-my-life-i-like-to-think-i-could-have-somehow-found/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [When you're heartbroken, you're at your most creative - you have to channel all your energies into something else to not think about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/when-you-re-heartbroken-you-re-at-your-most-creative-you-have-to/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [ “I think it's contentment. Where you have everything you ever wanted, all together in one place. It's quieter than excitement, but, \[...\] maybe it's better.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-anastasiu/i-think-it-s-contentment-where-you-have-everything-you-ever-wanted/) [Heather Anastasiu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-anastasiu/) > [Maybe life involves the pairing of unsuitable people, those who wait and those who keep others waiting, and the key to happiness is finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-m-appel/maybe-life-involves-the-pairing-of-unsuitable-people-those-who-wait/) [Jacob M. Appel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-m-appel/) > [The key to happiness is achievable dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/the-key-to-happiness-is-achievable-dreams/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“Create enterprise, live on your own terms, and you’ll find the key to happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/create-enterprise-live-on-your-own-terms-and-you-ll-find-the-key-to/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [“But sometimes the key to happiness is just expecting a little bit less. That way, you'll never be disappointed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-sometimes-the-key-to-happiness-is-just-expecting-a-little-bit/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Happiness is a state of mind. The key to happiness is being able to disconnect your life from your perceptions. If you saw things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/happiness-is-a-state-of-mind-the-key-to-happiness-is-being-able-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The key to happiness is to listen to campy Parisian music and smile at a bird. It hinges on insanity, but it works.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-goros/the-key-to-happiness-is-to-listen-to-campy-parisian-music-and-smile/) [Erica Goros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-goros/) > [Sometimes he felt sure that the key to happiness was a poor memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/sometimes-he-felt-sure-that-the-key-to-happiness-was-a-poor-memory/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [The key to happiness is to get the spirit and keep it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-g-romney/the-key-to-happiness-is-to-get-the-spirit-and-keep-it/) [Marion G. Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-g-romney/) > [Sometimes the key to happiness is just expecting a little bit less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-the-key-to-happiness-is-just-expecting-a-little-bit-less/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy for yourself and yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-degeneres/the-thing-everyone-should-realize-is-that-the-key-to-happiness-is/) [Ellen DeGeneres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-degeneres/) > [“The key to happiness lies in a plant...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-agrawal/the-key-to-happiness-lies-in-a-plant/) [Ken Agrawal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-agrawal/) > [At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all of your experiences - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-key-to-happiness-is-taking-ultimate/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) ## More by Emily Giffin > [I try to have something in common with my protagonists, especially when I'm writing in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-have-something-in-common-with-my-protagonists-especially/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I think exercise is critical to my writing and an essential way to recharge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-think-exercise-is-critical-to-my-writing-and-an-essential-way-to/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“Grab his penis like this, and I guarantee, it’s a done deal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/grab-his-penis-like-this-and-i-guarantee-it-s-a-done-deal/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“Well, anyway… it’s over,” I say, realizing that those two words lump me right in with a hoard of naive women who say it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/well-anyway-it-s-over-i-say-realizing-that-those-two-words-lump-me/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [There are two kinds of sorry. There is the sorry imbued with regret. And a pure sorry. The kind that is merely asking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/there-are-two-kinds-of-sorry-there-is-the-sorry-imbued-with-regret/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [Throw in the intensity of emotions that come with that bittersweet summer sandwiched between high school graduation and the rest of your life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/throw-in-the-intensity-of-emotions-that-come-with-that-bittersweet/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“You can never be too sure when it comes to things that matter most”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/you-can-never-be-too-sure-when-it-comes-to-things-that-matter-most/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“It occurs to me that she is not unique--that all women compare lives. We are aware of whose husband works more, who helps more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/it-occurs-to-me-that-she-is-not-unique-that-all-women-compare-lives/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“I desperately want to feel that way again. To be in a relationship that I’m not trying to script or water down. It’s about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-desperately-want-to-feel-that-way-again-to-be-in-a-relationship/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I always find something in common with my protagonist, particularly when I write in the first person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-always-find-something-in-common-with-my-protagonist-particularly/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [There is no grief like heartbreak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/there-is-no-grief-like-heartbreak/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I find my voice and manage to say those three one-syllable words back to him. Words I haven't uttered in a very, very long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-find-my-voice-and-manage-to-say-those-three-one-syllable-words-back/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [i wish i could freeze this moment, somehow delay my final decision, and just hang here in the balance between two places, two worlds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-wish-i-could-freeze-this-moment-somehow-delay-my-final-decision-and/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I try to write about real women, real people - in other words flawed characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-write-about-real-women-real-people-in-other-words-flawed/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“never had a good gut feeling. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t have faith in my team, but that I maintained the truest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/never-had-a-good-gut-feeling-it-wasn-t-so-much-that-i-didn-t-have/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) [Explore all 324 Emily Giffin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) ## More Contentment quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/) [Jennie Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-rooney/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) [Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/) > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) [Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...it has crossed my mind that the key to happiness should not be found in a man. That an independent, strong woman should feel fulfilled and whole on her own. Those things might be true. And without Dex in my life, I like to think I could have somehow found contentment. But the truth is, I feel freer with Dex than I ever did when I was single. I feel more myself with him than without. 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