--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I know that I'm inadequate, but I never…" description: "\"I know that I'm inadequate, but I never thought that at seventeen. I thought I was doing the best I could. I thought I was being idealistic.\" — Eric Bo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/eric-bogosian-21631_idealistic_i-know-that-i-m-inadequate-but-i-never-t_1600426.png" --- # I know that I'm inadequate, but I never thought that at… ![“I know that I'm inadequate, but I never thought that at seventeen. I thought I was doing the best I could. I thought I was being idealistic.” quote by Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/eric-bogosian-21631_idealistic_i-know-that-i-m-inadequate-but-i-never-t_1600426.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/eric-bogosian-21631_idealistic_i-know-that-i-m-inadequate-but-i-never-t_1600426.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/eric-bogosian-21631_idealistic_i-know-that-i-m-inadequate-but-i-never-t_1600426.png) > “I know that I'm inadequate, but I never thought that at seventeen. I thought I was doing the best I could. I thought I was being idealistic.” [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on feeling inadequate yet recognizing youthful idealism and effort despite self‑doubt. **In simple terms:** Feeling inadequate yet trying your best as a teen. Key Takeaway Embrace effort, accept imperfection. Themes self‑esteem growth youth Mood reflective hopeful Type personal motivational When to use this quote - personal reflection - career decisions - creative projects - mental health discussions Key Concepts psychology identity idealism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance idealism with self‑critique? - What steps can you take when feeling inadequate? A Different Perspective Idealism may blind realistic self‑assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealistic/) [Inadequate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequate/) [Inadequate Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inadequate-thought-3821447/) [Seventeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventeen/) [Seventeen Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventeen-thought-2259872/) [Thought Idealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-idealistic-6084583/) [Thought Seventeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-seventeen-6084582/) ## Related quotes > [“When I was seventeen, I thought Jude was sent to me from heaven. When I was eighteen, I let him take me there. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarina-bowen/when-i-was-seventeen-i-thought-jude-was-sent-to-me-from-heaven-when-i/) [Sarina Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarina-bowen/) > [Met a girl at seventeen Thought she meant the world to me, So I gave her everything, She turned out to be a cheat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/met-a-girl-at-seventeen-thought-she-meant-the-world-to-me-so-i-gave-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Met a girl at seventeen Thought she meant the world to me, So I gave her everything, She turned out to be a cheat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sleeping-with-sirens/met-a-girl-at-seventeen-thought-she-meant-the-world-to-me-so-i-gave/) [Sleeping With Sirens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sleeping-with-sirens/) > [Since I was seventeen I thought I might be a star. I'd think about all my heroes, Charlie Parker, Jimi Hendrix... I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-michel-basquiat/since-i-was-seventeen-i-thought-i-might-be-a-star-i-d-think-about-all/) [Jean-Michel Basquiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-michel-basquiat/) > [I met a girl at seventeen Thought she meant the world to me So I gave her everything She turned out to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sleeping-with-sirens/i-met-a-girl-at-seventeen-thought-she-meant-the-world-to-me-so-i-gave/) [Sleeping With Sirens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sleeping-with-sirens/) > [Failures of perspective in decision-making can be due to aspects of the social utility paradox, but more often result from simple mistakes caused by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-kahn/failures-of-perspective-in-decision-making-can-be-due-to-aspects-of/) [Herman Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-kahn/) > [“I think the existential dilemma is: We're social animals, so we all wrestle with a sense of inadequacy. But when we realize that we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-strauss/i-think-the-existential-dilemma-is-we-re-social-animals-so-we-all/) [Neil Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-strauss/) > [“I don't like places or people either that haven't any faults. I think that a truly perfect person would be very uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-like-places-or-people-either-that-haven-t-any-faults-i-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Women are treated as unjustly in poetry as in life. The feminine ones are not idealistic, and the idealistic not feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-are-treated-as-unjustly-in-poetry-as-in-life-the-feminine-ones/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [For most of us, generosity is a quality that must be developed. We have to respect that it will grow gradually; otherwise our spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/for-most-of-us-generosity-is-a-quality-that-must-be-developed-we-have/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [The young and dynamic and idealistic people in the square do not have the chance to organise themselves politically, to be able to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-young-and-dynamic-and-idealistic-people-in-the-square-do-not-have/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Nationalism, on my opinion, is nothing more than an idealistic rationalization for militarism and aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nationalism-on-my-opinion-is-nothing-more-than-an-idealistic/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-do-honestly-think-that-if-women-were-running-the-world-there-would/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [An excessive preponderance of an idealistic mood is harmful to society: it creates daydreaming, political Don Quixotism, hope for heavenly intervention. This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) ## More by Eric Bogosian > [I'm not hip, I'm not cool, I'm not glib.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-m-not-hip-i-m-not-cool-i-m-not-glib/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [It's my duty as a human being to be pissed off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/it-s-my-duty-as-a-human-being-to-be-pissed-off/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [I'm always surprised by things that happen to my work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-m-always-surprised-by-things-that-happen-to-my-work/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [“I mean, what kind of literature do you think ants would make if they could read? Not F. Scott Fuckin’ Fitzgerald, not Joyce or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-mean-what-kind-of-literature-do-you-think-ants-would-make-if-they/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [I do write about people who are complex and are striving with something and can't quite get past their own stuff, which would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-do-write-about-people-who-are-complex-and-are-striving-with/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [I started acting when I was in high school, started writing when I got to New York in 1975.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-started-acting-when-i-was-in-high-school-started-writing-when-i-got/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [I write for an audience that likes what I like, reads what I read, thinks about the things I think about. In many ways,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-write-for-an-audience-that-likes-what-i-like-reads-what-i-read/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [“There is a larger lesson here, because the book encompasses not just the lives of prisoners in a Soviet prison camp, but every one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/there-is-a-larger-lesson-here-because-the-book-encompasses-not-just/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [If you say city to people, people have no problem thinking of the city as rife with problematic, screwed-up people, but if you say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/if-you-say-city-to-people-people-have-no-problem-thinking-of-the-city/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [If we all knew we were going to live to be 150 years old, we'd all approach our lives very differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/if-we-all-knew-we-were-going-to-live-to-be-150-years-old-we-d-all/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [From my perspective of a guy in his late forties, its becoming more and more clear to me that the right thing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/from-my-perspective-of-a-guy-in-his-late-forties-its-becoming-more/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [I was definitely surprised when Talk Radio took off as a play. As a film it has become somewhere between a popular thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-was-definitely-surprised-when-talk-radio-took-off-as-a-play-as-a/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [There is nothing more boring than people who love you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/there-is-nothing-more-boring-than-people-who-love-you/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [If all I ever wrote about was inner city freaks, I think it would be dishonest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/if-all-i-ever-wrote-about-was-inner-city-freaks-i-think-it-would-be/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) > [I'm not a light-hearted person, so I can't think light-hearted at work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bogosian/i-m-not-a-light-hearted-person-so-i-can-t-think-light-hearted-at-work/) [Eric Bogosian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) [Explore all 29 Eric Bogosian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bogosian/) ## More Idealistic quotes > [An excessive preponderance of an idealistic mood is harmful to society: it creates daydreaming, political Don Quixotism, hope for heavenly intervention. This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henryk-sienkiewicz/an-excessive-preponderance-of-an-idealistic-mood-is-harmful-to/) [Henryk Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henryk-sienkiewicz/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-do-honestly-think-that-if-women-were-running-the-world-there-would/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [Nationalism, on my opinion, is nothing more than an idealistic rationalization for militarism and aggression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/nationalism-on-my-opinion-is-nothing-more-than-an-idealistic/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The young and dynamic and idealistic people in the square do not have the chance to organise themselves politically, to be able to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-young-and-dynamic-and-idealistic-people-in-the-square-do-not-have/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [For most of us, generosity is a quality that must be developed. We have to respect that it will grow gradually; otherwise our spirituality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/for-most-of-us-generosity-is-a-quality-that-must-be-developed-we-have/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Women are treated as unjustly in poetry as in life. The feminine ones are not idealistic, and the idealistic not feminine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/women-are-treated-as-unjustly-in-poetry-as-in-life-the-feminine-ones/) [Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wilhelm-friedrich-schlegel/) > [“I don't like places or people either that haven't any faults. I think that a truly perfect person would be very uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/i-don-t-like-places-or-people-either-that-haven-t-any-faults-i-think/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Idealistic reformers are dangerous because their idealism has no roots in love, but is simply a hysterical and unbalanced rage for order amidst their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/idealistic-reformers-are-dangerous-because-their-idealism-has-no/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [To sleep around is absolutely wrong for a woman; it's degrading and it completely ruins her personality. Sooner or later it will destroy all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-cartland/to-sleep-around-is-absolutely-wrong-for-a-woman-it-s-degrading-and-it/) [Barbara Cartland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-cartland/) > [Without forgiveness, there is no future. Forgiveness is not nebulous, impractical and idealistic. It's thoroughly realistic. It's real political in the long run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/without-forgiveness-there-is-no-future-forgiveness-is-not-nebulous/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I guess maybe I'm idealistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cusack/i-guess-maybe-i-m-idealistic/) [John Cusack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cusack/) > [The House Of Commons has never been a tea-party. It consists of strong-minded, often very idealistic people, who are trying to accomplish something for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-fraser/the-house-of-commons-has-never-been-a-tea-party-it-consists-of-strong/) [John Allen Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-fraser/) > [I've always had an idealistic streak about storytelling in that I believe we owe more to audiences than repeatedly bludgeoning them over the head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-frost/i-ve-always-had-an-idealistic-streak-about-storytelling-in-that-i/) [Mark Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-frost/) > [My music is all about an idealistic human personality. I have 19th-century ideals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-getty/my-music-is-all-about-an-idealistic-human-personality-i-have-19th/) [Gordon Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-getty/) [Browse all 166 Idealistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I know that I'm inadequate, but I never thought that at seventeen. I thought I was doing the best I could. 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