--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All that I've done, thought or been is a…" description: "\"“All that I've done, thought or been is a series of submissions, either to a false self that I assumed belonged to me because I expressed myself throug..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/fernando-pessoa-177_identity_all-that-i-ve-done-thought-or-been-is-a_2693097.jpg" --- # All that I've done, thought or been is a series of… ![“All that I've done, thought or been is a series of submissions, either to a false self that I assumed belonged to me because I expressed myself through it to the outside, or to a weight of circumstances that I supposed was the air I breathed. In this moment of seeing, I suddenly find myself…” quote by Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/fernando-pessoa-177_identity_all-that-i-ve-done-thought-or-been-is-a_2693097.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/fernando-pessoa-177_identity_all-that-i-ve-done-thought-or-been-is-a_2693097.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b67/fernando-pessoa-177_identity_all-that-i-ve-done-thought-or-been-is-a_2693097.jpg) > ““All that I've done, thought or been is a series of submissions, either to a false self that I assumed belonged to me because I expressed myself through it to the outside, or to a weight of circumstances that I supposed was the air I breathed. In this moment of seeing, I suddenly find myself isolated, an exile where I'd always thought I was a citizen. At the heart of my thoughts I wasn't I.”” [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑identity is fragmented; external expectations and circumstances shape a false self, leading to isolation. **In simple terms:** Identity feels fragmented and isolated. Key Takeaway Explore authentic self beyond external pressures. Themes identity existentialism isolation Mood introspective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career pressure - social expectations - creative work Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself feel false? - How can you reconcile inner and outer selves? A Different Perspective Finding authenticity can be unsettling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exile Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exile-thought-2674045/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Isolated Exile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolated-exile-2674046/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Thought Citizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-citizen-2507452/) [Ve Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-thought/) ## Related quotes > [Although I held public office for a total of sixteen years, I also thought of myself as a citizen-politician, not a career one. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/although-i-held-public-office-for-a-total-of-sixteen-years-i-also/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“While the government is "studying" and funding and organizing its Big Thought, nothing is being done. But the citizen who is willing to Think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/while-the-government-is-studying-and-funding-and-organizing-its-big/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“You too are an exile, I thought. You morn for the broad open steppes where you have room to spread your icy wings. 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I am a writer, and there comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-have-a-sense-of-exile-from-thought-a-nostalgia-of-the-quiet-room/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [I've never thought in terms of 'men do this' and 'women do that.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-ve-never-thought-in-terms-of-men-do-this-and-women-do-that/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [I’ve always thought of myself as shy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-shy/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Well, I’ve had my fun; I’ve had it, he thought, looking up at the swinging baskets of pale geraniums. And it was smashed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/well-i-ve-had-my-fun-i-ve-had-it-he-thought-looking-up-at-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I've never thought there was anything I could hope to get by praying for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-ve-never-thought-there-was-anything-i-could-hope-to-get-by-praying/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I've always thought I could shoot from the outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-kemp/i-ve-always-thought-i-could-shoot-from-the-outside/) [Shawn Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-kemp/) > [I've always thought I'd have kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gok-wan/i-ve-always-thought-i-d-have-kids/) [Gok Wan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gok-wan/) > [Everything I've ever thought about doing has been, in some sense, about helping people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacinda-ardern/everything-i-ve-ever-thought-about-doing-has-been-in-some-sense-about/) [Jacinda Ardern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacinda-ardern/) > [If you've raged, if you've mistreated somebody, if you've ever thought only about yourself - these are things that all human beings struggle with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/if-you-ve-raged-if-you-ve-mistreated-somebody-if-you-ve-ever-thought/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) > [Now you see me now you don't. You must've thought I'd never go. Thanks to you I'm taking back my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fefe-dobson/now-you-see-me-now-you-don-t-you-must-ve-thought-i-d-never-go-thanks/) [Fefe Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fefe-dobson/) > [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. I've never even thought about having another job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-farrell/i-guess-i-ve-never-really-wanted-to-be-anything-else-i-ve-never-even/) [Owen Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-farrell/) ## More by Fernando Pessoa > [Everything interests me, but nothing holds me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-interests-me-but-nothing-holds-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“If only, I feel now, if only I could be someone able to see all this as if he had no other relation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/if-only-i-feel-now-if-only-i-could-be-someone-able-to-see-all-this-as/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Smell is a strange sight. It evokes sentimental landscapes through a sudden sketching of the subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/smell-is-a-strange-sight-it-evokes-sentimental-landscapes-through-a/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Tudo vale a pena quando a alma não é pequena”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/tudo-vale-a-pena-quando-a-alma-n-o-pequena/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“no nostalgia hurts as much as nostalgia for things that never existed!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-nostalgia-hurts-as-much-as-nostalgia-for-things-that-never-existed/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“The feelings that hurt most, the motions that sting most, are those that are absurd; the longing for impossible things, precisely because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/the-feelings-that-hurt-most-the-motions-that-sting-most-are-those/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“I try to say what I feel Without thinking about what I feel. I try to place words right next to my idea So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-try-to-say-what-i-feel-without-thinking-about-what-i-feel-i-try-to/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Have you ever considered, beloved other, how invisible we are to each other? We look at each other without seeing. We listen to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/have-you-ever-considered-beloved-other-how-invisible-we-are-to-each/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“To associate is to die. Only my consciousness of myself is real for me; other people are hazy phenomena in this consciousness, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/to-associate-is-to-die-only-my-consciousness-of-myself-is-real-for-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“When it comes to dreams, I’m no different from the errand boy and the seamstress. The only thing that distinguishes me from them is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/when-it-comes-to-dreams-i-m-no-different-from-the-errand-boy-and-the/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“No intelligent idea can gain general acceptance unless some stupidity is mixed in with it. Collective thought is stupid because it’s collective. Nothing passes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/no-intelligent-idea-can-gain-general-acceptance-unless-some-stupidity/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [“Everything that surrounds us becomes part of us, it seeps into us with every experience of the flesh and of life and, like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/everything-that-surrounds-us-becomes-part-of-us-it-seeps-into-us-with/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) [Explore all 781 Fernando Pessoa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More Identity quotes > [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/) [Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/) [Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/) > [Family over friends, because real friends are family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/family-over-friends-because-real-friends-are-family/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. 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