--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’m not gonna sit around and waste my…" description: "\"I’m not gonna sit around and waste my precious divine energy trying to explain and be ashamed of things you think are wrong with me.\" — Esperanza Spalding" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/esperanza-spalding-16609_ashamed_i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-pr_3009802.jpg" --- # I’m not gonna sit around and waste my precious divine… ![“I’m not gonna sit around and waste my precious divine energy trying to explain and be ashamed of things you think are wrong with me.” quote by Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/esperanza-spalding-16609_ashamed_i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-pr_3009802.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/esperanza-spalding-16609_ashamed_i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-pr_3009802.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/esperanza-spalding-16609_ashamed_i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-pr_3009802.jpg) > “I’m not gonna sit around and waste my precious divine energy trying to explain and be ashamed of things you think are wrong with me.” [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Refuse to waste energy defending oneself to others' judgments; focus on authentic self‑expression. **In simple terms:** Don't waste energy defending yourself. Key Takeaway Stay authentic, ignore critics. Themes self‑expression energy authenticity defensiveness confidence Mood defiant confident reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - social media - personal relationships - public speaking Key Concepts psychology self‑help empowerment Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your need for approval? - How can you protect your energy? A Different Perspective Criticism can still affect self‑esteem. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) [Ashamed Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed-things-302671/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divine Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-energy-327028/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Explain Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-ashamed-2682838/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-explain/) [Waste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waste/) ## Related quotes > [“I just feel so guilty.” Her stinging eyes burned with fresh tears. “I don't know why I can't ... 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"But of what? Psyche, they hadn't stripped you naked or anything?" "No, no, Maia. Ashamed of looking like a mortal --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-felt-ashamed-but-of-what-psyche-they-hadn-t-stripped-you-naked-or/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People see themselves on camera. They're ashamed of the things that they do, so they have a choice: Either they accept responsibility for it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-taffer/people-see-themselves-on-camera-they-re-ashamed-of-the-things-that/) [Jon Taffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-taffer/) > [Looking at the media today, I'm quite ashamed of myself, of things I've participated in. Everything is marketed to sex and gossip and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meshell-ndegeocello/looking-at-the-media-today-i-m-quite-ashamed-of-myself-of-things-i-ve/) [Meshell Ndegeocello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meshell-ndegeocello/) > [Guilty she might be. But what human being was not? There were things in her past she needn't be ashamed of, things to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jakes/guilty-she-might-be-but-what-human-being-was-not-there-were-things-in/) [John Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jakes/) > [So, you have to contemplate yourself surrounded by the conditions you wish to produce and know you can attract divine energy to help you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/so-you-have-to-contemplate-yourself-surrounded-by-the-conditions-you/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [The mystery of the universe, and the meaning of God's world, are shrouded in hopeless obscurity, until we learn to feel that all laws…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/the-mystery-of-the-universe-and-the-meaning-of-god-s-world-are/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [“divine energy, thus scattering”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-lombard/divine-energy-thus-scattering/) [Jay Lombard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-lombard/) > [“The praying mind, by its mere attitude of faith and earnest expectation, opens itself out to the tremendous inflow of Divine Energy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-mukerji/the-praying-mind-by-its-mere-attitude-of-faith-and-earnest/) [A. P. Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-mukerji/) > [If you take a single step toward positive change, that divine energy will take a hundred steps toward you. New worlds and unbelievable possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-z-borysenko/if-you-take-a-single-step-toward-positive-change-that-divine-energy/) [Joan Z. Borysenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-z-borysenko/) > [“Be careful what you wish for, be careful how you plan your dreams. Make sure you work out the details and are open to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thewolfmyinnersoul-arven/be-careful-what-you-wish-for-be-careful-how-you-plan-your-dreams-make/) [TheWolfmyinnerSoul - Arven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thewolfmyinnersoul-arven/) > [An exceptionally positive emotional response indicates that you're summoning the divine energy of intention and allowing that energy to flow to you in nonresistant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/an-exceptionally-positive-emotional-response-indicates-that-you-re/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) ## More by Esperanza Spalding > [Jazz music just resonates with the frequency of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/jazz-music-just-resonates-with-the-frequency-of-me/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [I think there's so much negative influence on children in school settings. It becomes learning by rote to pass a test. It's not contextualized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-think-there-s-so-much-negative-influence-on-children-in-school/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [On nights that I'm feeling a need to stretch personally and artistically, I tend to put together outfits that are very quirky, mismatched and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/on-nights-that-i-m-feeling-a-need-to-stretch-personally-and/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [Genre boundaries are good for marketing but they all but disappear when you're a player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/genre-boundaries-are-good-for-marketing-but-they-all-but-disappear/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [I like to read, and I like dance. I don't dance, but I like to see other people dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-like-to-read-and-i-like-dance-i-don-t-dance-but-i-like-to-see-other/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [The music that I make is pretty sincere; it's from my heart and I love it, and what just happened is more people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/the-music-that-i-make-is-pretty-sincere-it-s-from-my-heart-and-i-love/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [When I read, you know, a rough neighborhood of Portland, I'm like - what? - they didn't have kombucha bars there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/when-i-read-you-know-a-rough-neighborhood-of-portland-i-m-like-what/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [There's the juiciest music that makes me so happy, music that I need on that deserted island when I'm stranded for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/there-s-the-juiciest-music-that-makes-me-so-happy-music-that-i-need/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [For what I can imagine and feel and think and hear, I can hardly do anything on the acoustic bass. It used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/for-what-i-can-imagine-and-feel-and-think-and-hear-i-can-hardly-do/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [I love people, and I love to be with people and to make music with people, but my natural state is to revert back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-love-people-and-i-love-to-be-with-people-and-to-make-music-with/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [I just think music is so intrinsically linked with images in the culture that we live in that youll be hard-pressed to have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-just-think-music-is-so-intrinsically-linked-with-images-in-the/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [I grew up with an incredibly loving and supportive family that gave me the impression there were a lot of options for me out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-grew-up-with-an-incredibly-loving-and-supportive-family-that-gave/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [It's weird sometimes to have people not see me or see what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/it-s-weird-sometimes-to-have-people-not-see-me-or-see-what-i-do/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [Anything I do has to have integrity, so if you just want to make music, it's not difficult finding support. The hard part for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/anything-i-do-has-to-have-integrity-so-if-you-just-want-to-make-music/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [Jazz has always been a melting pot of influences and I plan to incorporate them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/jazz-has-always-been-a-melting-pot-of-influences-and-i-plan-to/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) [Explore all 39 Esperanza Spalding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) ## More Ashamed quotes > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I know what you're thinking... and you oughtta be ashamed of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-preston/i-know-what-you-re-thinking-and-you-oughtta-be-ashamed-of-yourself/) [Robert Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-preston/) > [You never meet the writer when you're making a TV movie in America - they're too ashamed to show up and see how their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-don-baker/you-never-meet-the-writer-when-you-re-making-a-tv-movie-in-america/) [Joe Don Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-don-baker/) > [I'm not ashamed of the things I believe and why I believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-huckabee/i-m-not-ashamed-of-the-things-i-believe-and-why-i-believe-them/) [Mike Huckabee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-huckabee/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [“with her own life. And I was ashamed.” Humiliated. Broken. Miserable. If Wilcher had stood by Jaymee, if her father hadn’t berated her, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-green/with-her-own-life-and-i-was-ashamed-humiliated-broken-miserable-if/) [Stacy Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-green/) > [You should avoid hedging, at least that's what I think. You should be ashamed to die until you've made some contribution to mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernon-johns/you-should-avoid-hedging-at-least-that-s-what-i-think-you-should-be/) [Vernon Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernon-johns/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [“When all are undressed, one is somehow not ashamed, but when one's the only one undressed and everybody is looking, it's degrading,' he kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/when-all-are-undressed-one-is-somehow-not-ashamed-but-when-one-s-the/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [I love him who is ashamed when the dice fall in his favour, and who then asketh: "Am I a dishonest player?" - for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-love-him-who-is-ashamed-when-the-dice-fall-in-his-favour-and-who/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/whoever-is-ashamed-of-me-and-my-words-the-son-of-man-will-be-ashamed/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [You were never created to live depressed, defeated, guilty, condemned, ashamed or unworthy. You were created to be victorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/you-were-never-created-to-live-depressed-defeated-guilty-condemned/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [“To survive during the Khmer Rouge, you had to steal, cheat, lie, point fingers at others, even kill. And now you are ashamed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-brinkley/to-survive-during-the-khmer-rouge-you-had-to-steal-cheat-lie-point/) [Joel Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-brinkley/) [Browse all 1,607 Ashamed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ashamed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I’m not gonna sit around and waste my precious divine energy trying to explain and be ashamed of things you think are wrong with me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Esperanza Spalding" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-precious-divine-energy-trying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ashamed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-precious-divine-energy-trying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/esperanza-spalding-16609_ashamed_i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-pr_3009802.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/esperanza-spalding-16609_ashamed_i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-pr_3009802.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3a6/esperanza-spalding-16609_ashamed_i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-pr_3009802.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I’m not gonna sit around and waste my precious divine energy trying to explain and be ashamed of things you…” — Esperanza Spalding", "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": "Esperanza Spalding", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I’m not gonna sit around and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-precious-divine-energy-trying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-m-not-gonna-sit-around-and-waste-my-precious-divine-energy-trying/#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 } } ] } ```