--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We interact with others and we decide who…" description: "\"We interact with others and we decide who we are. Are we reclusive? Are we outgoing? Are we successful? Are we going to be a failure? We cast a role fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/frederick-lenz-8_awareness_we-interact-with-others-and-we-decide-wh_1112846.jpg" --- # We interact with others and we decide who we are. Are we… ![“We interact with others and we decide who we are. Are we reclusive? Are we outgoing? Are we successful? Are we going to be a failure? We cast a role for ourselves and we step into it.” quote by Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/frederick-lenz-8_awareness_we-interact-with-others-and-we-decide-wh_1112846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/frederick-lenz-8_awareness_we-interact-with-others-and-we-decide-wh_1112846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/frederick-lenz-8_awareness_we-interact-with-others-and-we-decide-wh_1112846.jpg) > “We interact with others and we decide who we are. Are we reclusive? Are we outgoing? Are we successful? Are we going to be a failure? We cast a role for ourselves and we step into it.” [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our self‑image is shaped by the roles we choose; we become what we act out. **In simple terms:** Roles define identity. Key Takeaway Choose empowering roles. Themes identity choice self‑concept Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - social interactions - personal growth Key Concepts role theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - Which role do you currently play? - Can you change a limiting role? A Different Perspective Self‑imposed roles can become restrictive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Casts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casts/) [Decide Reclusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decide-reclusive-2972362/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Interact Decide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interact-decide-2972365/) [Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives/) [Outgoing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outgoing/) [Reclusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reclusive/) [Reclusive Outgoing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reclusive-outgoing-2972363/) [Role Step](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-step-2972364/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Who we are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-we-are/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just like any other man. I understand why people become reclusive. One of my weaknesses is that I sometimes allow people in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-loftin/i-m-just-like-any-other-man-i-understand-why-people-become-reclusive/) [Peter Loftin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-loftin/) > [“I had reclusive tendencies for a reason, I couldn’t be trusted to live in the world and make decisions on my own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/i-had-reclusive-tendencies-for-a-reason-i-couldn-t-be-trusted-to-live/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) > [I'd say that I've been reclusive the last 34 years. That was my big thing as a kid, staying home from school. I've trained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-apple/i-d-say-that-i-ve-been-reclusive-the-last-34-years-that-was-my-big/) [Fiona Apple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-apple/) > [“Isabella Pasternak baked treats to bring to work every day: not as a way to endear herself to her co-workers, but as a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-d-roberts/isabella-pasternak-baked-treats-to-bring-to-work-every-day-not-as-a/) [Adam D. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-d-roberts/) > [I am such a reclusive person that, literally, when I am done shooting, at some level I sort of disassociate myself, and I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sobhita-dhulipala/i-am-such-a-reclusive-person-that-literally-when-i-am-done-shooting/) [Sobhita Dhulipala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sobhita-dhulipala/) > [“The problem with being, as I was then, and on some days continue to be, neither adventurous nor reclusive is that you want friends,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-heaney/the-problem-with-being-as-i-was-then-and-on-some-days-continue-to-be/) [Katie Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-heaney/) > [Back in the '80s, I was known for being reclusive, often shying away from media attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-astley/back-in-the-80s-i-was-known-for-being-reclusive-often-shying-away/) [Rick Astley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-astley/) > [“Indeed I do belong to that dreadful class of persons known as the reclusive writer – the existential writer. For the existential writer as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rotimi-ogunjobi/indeed-i-do-belong-to-that-dreadful-class-of-persons-known-as-the/) [Rotimi Ogunjobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rotimi-ogunjobi/) > [I suppose I do think I go out of my way to be a very normal person, and I just find it frustrating that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/i-suppose-i-do-think-i-go-out-of-my-way-to-be-a-very-normal-person/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [I am not reclusive. I just have a private life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enya/i-am-not-reclusive-i-just-have-a-private-life/) [Enya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enya/) > [I have a somewhat reclusive quality myself, and actually what's great about New York is that it pushes you to be social because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-sparks/i-have-a-somewhat-reclusive-quality-myself-and-actually-what-s-great/) [Paul Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-sparks/) > [I was an extremely reclusive and introverted boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-laughlin/i-was-an-extremely-reclusive-and-introverted-boy/) [Robert B. Laughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-laughlin/) > [The Manhattan district attorney has closed the well-publicized investigation of the handling of the $300 million fortune of reclusive heiress Huguette Clark - without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/the-manhattan-district-attorney-has-closed-the-well-publicized/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) > [I am just a quiet reclusive person who has managed to hang around for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/i-am-just-a-quiet-reclusive-person-who-has-managed-to-hang-around-for/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [I'm a reclusive weirdo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-dennings/i-m-a-reclusive-weirdo/) [Kat Dennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-dennings/) ## More by Frederick Lenz > [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You can draw power from everything in your life. In order to do that, everything has to be set up in a proper way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-can-draw-power-from-everything-in-your-life-in-order-to-do-that/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The sound man, immune as to a sacrifice of straw dogs, faces the passing human generations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-sound-man-immune-as-to-a-sacrifice-of-straw-dogs-faces-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Karma means changing planes of reality or changing fields of attention. There will be perhaps a resulting physical action stemming from the change of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-means-changing-planes-of-reality-or-changing-fields-of/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You and I are both life. There's just the experience of every moment. We like to call them moments. There isn't really such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/you-and-i-are-both-life-there-s-just-the-experience-of-every-moment/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Why waste your time being around people who drag you down? You don't live forever, at least in this life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/why-waste-your-time-being-around-people-who-drag-you-down-you-don-t/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Everybody here is so caught up in the game of life they don't see death. They don't see beyond their deaths. They are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everybody-here-is-so-caught-up-in-the-game-of-life-they-don-t-see/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Explore all 4,399 Frederick Lenz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More Awareness quotes > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [Listening is a very active awareness of the coming together of at least two lives. Listening, as far as I'm concerned, is certainly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-rogers/listening-is-a-very-active-awareness-of-the-coming-together-of-at/) [Fred Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-rogers/) > [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [I know the importance of highly trained awareness of the “moment” and the immediate and intuitive response of the photographer. It should be obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/i-know-the-importance-of-highly-trained-awareness-of-the-moment-and/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [The thing about living alone is that it gives you a lot of time to think. You don't necessarily reach any conclusions, because wisdom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/the-thing-about-living-alone-is-that-it-gives-you-a-lot-of-time-to/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“It is not so much about fighting against the ego; it is more about harmonizing with it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/it-is-not-so-much-about-fighting-against-the-ego-it-is-more-about/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [I'm part of a team that raises millions of dollars and raises awareness of HIV and AIDS all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-evangelista/i-m-part-of-a-team-that-raises-millions-of-dollars-and-raises/) [Linda Evangelista](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-evangelista/) > [“Don’t turn your face away. Once you’ve seen, you can no longer act like you don’t know. Open your eyes to the truth. 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