--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Because our culture so highly values an…" description: "\"“Because our culture so highly values an illusion of self-control and control of circumstance, we become abject when contemplating mentation that seems..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/ethan-watters-54548_discipline_because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an_1395634.jpg" --- # Because our culture so highly values an illusion of… ![“Because our culture so highly values an illusion of self-control and control of circumstance, we become abject when contemplating mentation that seems more changeable, less restrained and less controllable, more open to outside influence, than we imagine our own to be. — Judi McGruder” quote by Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/ethan-watters-54548_discipline_because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an_1395634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/ethan-watters-54548_discipline_because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an_1395634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/ethan-watters-54548_discipline_because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an_1395634.jpg) > ““Because our culture so highly values an illusion of self-control and control of circumstance, we become abject when contemplating mentation that seems more changeable, less restrained and less controllable, more open to outside influence, than we imagine our own to be. — Judi McGruder”” [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We overestimate our own self‑control and see others as more influenced by external forces, leading to feelings of inadequacy. **In simple terms:** We think we control ourselves more than we actually do. Key Takeaway Accept that external influences shape us. Themes self‑perception control humility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - relationships - mental health - leadership Key Concepts psychology social comparison cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does believing you lack control affect your decisions? - What can you do to balance self‑control with external influence? A Different Perspective People can develop agency despite external factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abject Contemplating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abject-contemplating-4877161/) [Control Circumstance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control-circumstance-984336/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Illusion Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion-self-473861/) [Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power/) [Self control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-control/) [Values Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values-illusion-4877160/) ## Related quotes > [“God is in control in every circumstance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/god-is-in-control-in-every-circumstance/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Control your thoughts and you control your circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/control-your-thoughts-and-you-control-your-circumstance/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Well, I kind of think that the opposite is true. The customer is rarely right. And that is why you must seize the control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-trotter/well-i-kind-of-think-that-the-opposite-is-true-the-customer-is-rarely/) [Charlie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-trotter/) > [“If you do not control your circumstance, you will be controlled by your circumstance. The choice is yours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tami-b-harriott/if-you-do-not-control-your-circumstance-you-will-be-controlled-by/) [Tami B Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tami-b-harriott/) > [“God is control of every circumstance, so be of good cheer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/god-is-control-of-every-circumstance-so-be-of-good-cheer/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The illusion of self-awareness. Happy automatons, running on trivial programs. I'll bet you never guess. From the inside, how can you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vernor-vinge/the-illusion-of-self-awareness-happy-automatons-running-on-trivial/) [Vernor Vinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vernor-vinge/) > [“When the light of God's truth begins to find its way through the mists of illusion and self-deception with which we have unconsciously surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/when-the-light-of-god-s-truth-begins-to-find-its-way-through-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“My outsides are precise and unreliable. The illusion of self is increasingly purposeful. A sort of erasure. Inside of me, a flex. A fervor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kidd/my-outsides-are-precise-and-unreliable-the-illusion-of-self-is/) [Kris Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kidd/) > [According to the Buddha, the failure to recognize the illusion of the self is the source of all ignorance and unhappiness. It is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neel-burton/according-to-the-buddha-the-failure-to-recognize-the-illusion-of-the/) [Neel Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neel-burton/) > [“Have you ever died before? It’s a serious question. When the illusion of self is shattered, you simply cease to be. Though it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tameem-antoniades/have-you-ever-died-before-it-s-a-serious-question-when-the-illusion/) [Tameem Antoniades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tameem-antoniades/) > [Our self illusion is so interwoven with personal memories that when we recall an event, we believe we are retrieving a reliable episode from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-hood/our-self-illusion-is-so-interwoven-with-personal-memories-that-when/) [Bruce Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-hood/) > [As always, the illusion of self-transcendence is far more facile and available than self-transcendence itself: in the vast majority of cases what human consciousness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/as-always-the-illusion-of-self-transcendence-is-far-more-facile-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [Free will and consciousness is an illusion, and the self is a complex of memes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-blackmore/free-will-and-consciousness-is-an-illusion-and-the-self-is-a-complex/) [Susan Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-blackmore/) > [“This willful, compulsive, moralistic approach to man’s transformation always obstructs it—for it still implies that very illusion of self-mastery which stands in the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/this-willful-compulsive-moralistic-approach-to-man-s-transformation/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [“What is called family pride is often founded on the illusion of self-love. A man wishes to perpetuate and immortalize himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-is-called-family-pride-is-often-founded-on-the-illusion-of-self/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) ## More by Ethan Watters > [“Shorter believes that psychosomatic illnesses (such as leg paralysis at the turn of the twentieth century or multiple personality disorder at the turn of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/shorter-believes-that-psychosomatic-illnesses-such-as-leg-paralysis/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [“Looking at ourselves through the eyes of those living in places where human tragedy is still embedded in complex religious and cultural narratives, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/looking-at-ourselves-through-the-eyes-of-those-living-in-places-where/) [Ethan Watters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/) > [“Behind the promotion of Western ideas of mental health and healing lies a variety of cultural assumptions about human nature itself. 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Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) [Browse all 5,597 Discipline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Because our culture so highly values an illusion of self-control and control of circumstance, we become abject when contemplating mentation that seems more changeable, less restrained and less controllable, more open to outside influence, than we imagine our own to be. — Judi McGruder”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ethan Watters" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an-illusion-of-self-control-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Discipline" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an-illusion-of-self-control-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/ethan-watters-54548_discipline_because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an_1395634.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/ethan-watters-54548_discipline_because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an_1395634.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99d/ethan-watters-54548_discipline_because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an_1395634.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Because our culture so highly values an illusion of self-control and control of circumstance, we become…” — Ethan Watters", "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": "Ethan Watters", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-watters/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Because our culture so highly values...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an-illusion-of-self-control-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-watters/because-our-culture-so-highly-values-an-illusion-of-self-control-and/#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 } } ] } ```