---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But then, I am always being overwhelmed…"
description: "\"But then, I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life.\" — Everett Ruess"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/everett-ruess-21906_being-overwhelmed_but-then-i-am-always-being-overwhelmed-i_2655968.jpg"
---

#  But then, I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to…

![“But then, I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life.” quote by Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/everett-ruess-21906_being-overwhelmed_but-then-i-am-always-being-overwhelmed-i_2655968.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/everett-ruess-21906_being-overwhelmed_but-then-i-am-always-being-overwhelmed-i_2655968.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f0/everett-ruess-21906_being-overwhelmed_but-then-i-am-always-being-overwhelmed-i_2655968.jpg)

> “But then, I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life.”

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Feeling constantly overwhelmed by essential demands can erode wellbeing and effectiveness.

**In simple terms:** Being overwhelmed by necessities harms health.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize and set boundaries.

Themes

stress overwhelm self‑care

Mood

anxious determined

Type

advice reflective

When to use this quote

- daily chores
- workload
- family obligations
- health maintenance

Key Concepts

sustainability mental health resource management

Questions to Reflect On

- What can you delegate or simplify?
- How does saying no protect you?

A Different Perspective

Sustaining life requires balance, not relentless pressure.

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## Related quotes

> [“I am always being overwhelmed. I require it to sustain life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-reuss/i-am-always-being-overwhelmed-i-require-it-to-sustain-life/)

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> [“It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/it-s-the-sides-of-the-mountain-which-sustain-life-not-the-top/)

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> [You have to be able to sustain life. So moments are going to be lighter, but moments are also going to be heavier. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-ventimiglia/you-have-to-be-able-to-sustain-life-so-moments-are-going-to-be/)

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> [“Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are all noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dead-poet-s-society/medicine-law-business-engineering-these-are-all-noble-pursuits-and/)

Dead Poet's Society

> [I foresee myself being overwhelmed at University, yet I'm attending regardless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-foresee-myself-being-overwhelmed-at-university-yet-i-m-attending/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The stream of passing years is like a river with people being carried along in the current. Some are swept along, protesting, fighting all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/the-stream-of-passing-years-is-like-a-river-with-people-being-carried/)

[Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/)

> [Has anyone seen my brain? It ran off flailing and screaming about being overwhelmed this morning. I'd really like it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/has-anyone-seen-my-brain-it-ran-off-flailing-and-screaming-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The overwhelming joy of conversion or a new calling is often followed by feelings of being overwhelmed with duties and doctrines. The first joyous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/the-overwhelming-joy-of-conversion-or-a-new-calling-is-often-followed/)

[Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/)

> [People always talk about being overwhelmed in a supermarket. I've never felt that feeling. I like lots of choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-always-talk-about-being-overwhelmed-in-a-supermarket-i-ve/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's nothing worse than going on a huge food shopping trip, then being overwhelmed of the endless possibilities you can make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-going-on-a-huge-food-shopping-trip-then/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It is a fact of history that those who seek to withdraw from its great experiments usually end up being overwhelmed by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/it-is-a-fact-of-history-that-those-who-seek-to-withdraw-from-its/)

[Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/)

> [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and/)

[Queen Noor of Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-noor-of-jordan/)

## More by Everett Ruess

> [I don't think I could ever settle down. I have known too much of the depths of life already, and I would prefer anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-don-t-think-i-could-ever-settle-down-i-have-known-too-much-of-the/)

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> [I must pack my short lifer full of interesting events and creative activity. Philosophy and aesthetic contemplation are not enough. I intend to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-must-pack-my-short-lifer-full-of-interesting-events-and-creative/)

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> [I thought that there were two rules in life - never count the cost, and never do anything unless you can do it wholeheartedly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-thought-that-there-were-two-rules-in-life-never-count-the-cost-and/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I have seen almost more beauty than I can bear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-seen-almost-more-beauty-than-i-can-bear/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I have not tired of the wilderness; rather I enjoy its beauty and the vagrant life I lead, more keenly all the time. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-not-tired-of-the-wilderness-rather-i-enjoy-its-beauty-and-the/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I have been in many beautiful places, and did not wish to taste, but to drink deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-been-in-many-beautiful-places-and-did-not-wish-to-taste-but-to/)

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> [“I like to be perfectly open and sincere, and yet it is impossible to be sincere to all of one's self at once, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-like-to-be-perfectly-open-and-sincere-and-yet-it-is-impossible-to/)

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> [Happiness lies in a large measure of self-forgetfulness, either in work . . . or in the love of others. ♥](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/happiness-lies-in-a-large-measure-of-self-forgetfulness-either-in/)

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> [Say that I starved; that I was lost and weary; That I was burned and blinded by the desert sun; Footsore, thirsty, sick with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/say-that-i-starved-that-i-was-lost-and-weary-that-i-was-burned-and/)

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> [I prefer the saddle to the streetcar and star-sprinkled sky to a roof, the obscure and difficult trail, leading into the unknown, to any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-prefer-the-saddle-to-the-streetcar-and-star-sprinkled-sky-to-a-roof-2/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [Always I shall be one who loves the wilderness: Swaggers and softly creeps between the mountain peaks; I shall listen long to the sea's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/always-i-shall-be-one-who-loves-the-wilderness-swaggers-and-softly/)

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> [“I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-have-always-been-unsatisfied-with-life-as-most-people-live-it/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

> [I'm drunk on the fiery elixer of beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-m-drunk-on-the-fiery-elixer-of-beauty/)

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> [“I suppose a great and soul filling love is perhaps the greatest experience a man may have, but it is such a rarity as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-ruess/i-suppose-a-great-and-soul-filling-love-is-perhaps-the-greatest/)

[Everett Ruess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

[Explore all 26 Everett Ruess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-ruess/)

## More Being overwhelmed quotes

> [I have been a long-time advocate for a just Arab-Israeli peace and for Palestinian refugees. Today, as you are aware, Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-noor-of-jordan/i-have-been-a-long-time-advocate-for-a-just-arab-israeli-peace-and/)

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> [It is a fact of history that those who seek to withdraw from its great experiments usually end up being overwhelmed by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/it-is-a-fact-of-history-that-those-who-seek-to-withdraw-from-its/)

[Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/)

> [I cannot fathom how people stand Blackberry phones. I cannot hold one for a minute without being overwhelmed with the urge to smash it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cannot-fathom-how-people-stand-blackberry-phones-i-cannot-hold-one/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's nothing worse than going on a huge food shopping trip, then being overwhelmed of the endless possibilities you can make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-going-on-a-huge-food-shopping-trip-then/)

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[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [People always talk about being overwhelmed in a supermarket. I've never felt that feeling. I like lots of choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-always-talk-about-being-overwhelmed-in-a-supermarket-i-ve/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Being overwhelmed with sadness but not really knowing why your lonely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-overwhelmed-with-sadness-but-not-really-knowing-why-your-lonely/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The overwhelming joy of conversion or a new calling is often followed by feelings of being overwhelmed with duties and doctrines. The first joyous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/the-overwhelming-joy-of-conversion-or-a-new-calling-is-often-followed/)

[Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/)

> [Has anyone seen my brain? It ran off flailing and screaming about being overwhelmed this morning. I'd really like it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/has-anyone-seen-my-brain-it-ran-off-flailing-and-screaming-about/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The stream of passing years is like a river with people being carried along in the current. Some are swept along, protesting, fighting all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ingalls-wilder/the-stream-of-passing-years-is-like-a-river-with-people-being-carried/)

[Laura Ingalls Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ingalls-wilder/)

> [I foresee myself being overwhelmed at University, yet I'm attending regardless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-foresee-myself-being-overwhelmed-at-university-yet-i-m-attending/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's a difference between being overwhelmed and being stressed. Haven't ever clung to the Lord this much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-difference-between-being-overwhelmed-and-being-stressed/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's this emotion we all feel of being overwhelmed at times, feeling that you can't get ahead. For me it's self-imposed because I'm so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-chesney/there-s-this-emotion-we-all-feel-of-being-overwhelmed-at-times/)

[Kenny Chesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-chesney/)

> [It is experiences of being overwhelmed, nearly destroyed, & surprisingly given life that empower us to pray & sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/it-is-experiences-of-being-overwhelmed-nearly-destroyed-surprisingly/)

[Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/)

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