--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We see what we want to see. We idealize…" description: "\"We see what we want to see. We idealize each other with our own fantasies.\" — Eric Jerome Dickey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_fantasies_we-see-what-we-want-to-see-we-idealize-e_163929.png" --- # We see what we want to see. We idealize each other with… ![“We see what we want to see. We idealize each other with our own fantasies.” quote by Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_fantasies_we-see-what-we-want-to-see-we-idealize-e_163929.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_fantasies_we-see-what-we-want-to-see-we-idealize-e_163929.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/105/eric-jerome-dickey-2982_fantasies_we-see-what-we-want-to-see-we-idealize-e_163929.png) > “We see what we want to see. We idealize each other with our own fantasies.” [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People project their desires onto others, creating idealized images that reflect personal fantasies rather than reality. **In simple terms:** We see what we want, not what is. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your projections. Themes perception idealization relationships Mood reflective cautious Type observational insightful When to use this quote - dating - friendship - teamwork - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology projection fantasy Questions to Reflect On - What fantasies are you imposing on others? - How can you see people more clearly? A Different Perspective Projections can blind us to genuine connection and lead to disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fantasies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasies/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Idealize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealize/) ## Related quotes > [In our culture, many of us idealize love. We see it as some lofty cure-all for all of life's problems. Our movies and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/in-our-culture-many-of-us-idealize-love-we-see-it-as-some-lofty-cure/) [Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/) > [“The Idealize phase is when manipulators and their new targets first meet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/the-idealize-phase-is-when-manipulators-and-their-new-targets-first/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [Never idealize others. They will never live up to your expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/never-idealize-others-they-will-never-live-up-to-your-expectations-3/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [We cannot idealize technology. Technology is only and always the reflection of our own imagination, and its uses must be conditioned by our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-cannot-idealize-technology-technology-is-only-and-always-the/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Every time you reject yourself, you idealize others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/every-time-you-reject-yourself-you-idealize-others/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [It's easy to idealize someone that you don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-bruce/it-s-easy-to-idealize-someone-that-you-don-t-know/) [Craig Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-bruce/) > [What is protecting me is that it is not a finality being an actress. I really think we tend to idealize this job a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-le-bon/what-is-protecting-me-is-that-it-is-not-a-finality-being-an-actress-i/) [Charlotte Le Bon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-le-bon/) > [It’s so dangerous to idealize anything, or anyone, or any place, because it gives that thing or person or place a kind of permission…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/it-s-so-dangerous-to-idealize-anything-or-anyone-or-any-place-because/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [It was easy to idealize someone you barely knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/it-was-easy-to-idealize-someone-you-barely-knew/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Maybe we adults idealize our own red-rover days, the hot afternoons spent playing games that required no coaches, eating foods that involved no nutrition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/maybe-we-adults-idealize-our-own-red-rover-days-the-hot-afternoons/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [What we need most, is not so much to realize the ideal as to idealize the real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-herbert-hedge/what-we-need-most-is-not-so-much-to-realize-the-ideal-as-to-idealize/) Francis Herbert Hedge > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Fictional worlds are a great place to indulge in unspoken fantasies. . . like writing the dad you never had. . . but desperately wanted growing up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jc-morrows/fictional-worlds-are-a-great-place-to-indulge-in-unspoken-fantasies/) Jc Morrows > [Fantasies were safe. It was a break from reality. A chance to act on desires for a short period of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/fantasies-were-safe-it-was-a-break-from-reality-a-chance-to-act-on/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [“Leaders spend time reviewing their mistakes rather than having fantasies over their achievements! They look for every way to do the undone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-spend-time-reviewing-their-mistakes-rather-than-having/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) ## More by Eric Jerome Dickey > [“Inside every pause lived a contemplation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/inside-every-pause-lived-a-contemplation/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“We'd had sex like we were whores to each other, and when it was done, we each moved to our side of the bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-d-had-sex-like-we-were-whores-to-each-other-and-when-it-was-done/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [love is a mental illness, an obsessive-compulsive disorder romanticized!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/love-is-a-mental-illness-an-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-romanticized/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“. . . Your hair--it's kind of wavy. Indian in your blood, or are you a hypocrite and texturize your hair?" He hesitated, appeared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/your-hair-it-s-kind-of-wavy-indian-in-your-blood-or-are-you-a/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Rainwater diluted redness, created a pink death, his matter mixing through mud and grass.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/rainwater-diluted-redness-created-a-pink-death-his-matter-mixing/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“. . . I had on . . . black jeggings under a fitted, sleeveless, flowered dress, so he could see my true shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/i-had-on-black-jeggings-under-a-fitted-sleeveless-flowered-dress-so/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“We disconnected. And I wondered if we had ever truly connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/we-disconnected-and-i-wondered-if-we-had-ever-truly-connected/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [For a lot of people, becoming an author is a change in occupation... they are coming from something that totally has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/for-a-lot-of-people-becoming-an-author-is-a-change-in-occupation-they/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [It’s scary telling someone you care about, someone you love who you really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/it-s-scary-telling-someone-you-care-about-someone-you-love-who-you/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Ownership, even in love, is an illusion. No woman owned any man and no man owned any woman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/ownership-even-in-love-is-an-illusion-no-woman-owned-any-man-and-no/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [hate isn't healthy, it damages the hater more than the one who's hated!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/hate-isn-t-healthy-it-damages-the-hater-more-than-the-one-who-s-hated/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Losing your job is like having your identity stolen, like having what defined you run through a paper shredder. After a while the despair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/losing-your-job-is-like-having-your-identity-stolen-like-having-what/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“you had to have happiness to miss happiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/you-had-to-have-happiness-to-miss-happiness/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“It is silent, an anagram for listen. That is what I do. Listen while she remains silent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/it-is-silent-an-anagram-for-listen-that-is-what-i-do-listen-while-she/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [“Preacher pulled her gun to her lap, the trigger aimed toward the stranger. . . . He stared at her like he was ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/preacher-pulled-her-gun-to-her-lap-the-trigger-aimed-toward-the/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) [Explore all 142 Eric Jerome Dickey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) ## More Fantasies quotes > [Fashion comes out of the world in which you live, your needs, hopes and fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurizio-gucci/fashion-comes-out-of-the-world-in-which-you-live-your-needs-hopes-and/) [Maurizio Gucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurizio-gucci/) > [“I set my glass down and met his eyes, feeling an overwhelming surge of affection for this man. "That ... makes sense," I said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lauren/i-set-my-glass-down-and-met-his-eyes-feeling-an-overwhelming-surge-of/) [Christina Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-lauren/) > [It turns out that the God whose word will stand forever does not exist to insure our fantasies that we will not have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-hauerwas/it-turns-out-that-the-god-whose-word-will-stand-forever-does-not/) [Stanley Hauerwas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-hauerwas/) > [“Leaders spend time reviewing their mistakes rather than having fantasies over their achievements! They look for every way to do the undone!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-spend-time-reviewing-their-mistakes-rather-than-having/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Oskar is the fruit of those fantasies -- the idea that what needed to be saved was not just lives but hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simon/oskar-is-the-fruit-of-those-fantasies-the-idea-that-what-needed-to-be/) Richard Simon > [Fantasies were safe. It was a break from reality. A chance to act on desires for a short period of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/fantasies-were-safe-it-was-a-break-from-reality-a-chance-to-act-on/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [“Fictional worlds are a great place to indulge in unspoken fantasies. . . like writing the dad you never had. . . but desperately wanted growing up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jc-morrows/fictional-worlds-are-a-great-place-to-indulge-in-unspoken-fantasies/) Jc Morrows > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [If truth be known, I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood which I felt I had to control, otherwise I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/if-truth-be-known-i-carried-some-rather-potent-messianic-fantasies/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Too busy chasing fantasies that you're blind to reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/too-busy-chasing-fantasies-that-you-re-blind-to-reality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A daydreamer is a writer just waiting for pen and paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-daydreamer-is-a-writer-just-waiting-for-pen-and-paper/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“The empty rooms always had a terribly depressing effect upon my father when he considered, he said, that the person who dwelt in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-empty-rooms-always-had-a-terribly-depressing-effect-upon-my/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Who you are is always enough. If your partner wants something different, it does not reflect upon you, but upon their needs and fantasies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-shoshanna/who-you-are-is-always-enough-if-your-partner-wants-something/) [Brenda Shoshanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-shoshanna/) > [I have a tendency to face my bad fantasies in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-have-a-tendency-to-face-my-bad-fantasies-in-my-books/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/fantasies-are-more-than-substitutes-for-unpleasant-reality-they-are/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) [Browse all 344 Fantasies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We see what we want to see. 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