--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our lives are shaped not as much by our…" description: "\"Our lives are shaped not as much by our experiences as by our expectations.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/george-bernard-shaw-68_expectations_our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our_3205792.png" --- # Our lives are shaped not as much by our experiences as by… ![“Our lives are shaped not as much by our experiences as by our expectations.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/george-bernard-shaw-68_expectations_our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our_3205792.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/george-bernard-shaw-68_expectations_our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our_3205792.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/george-bernard-shaw-68_expectations_our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our_3205792.png) > “Our lives are shaped not as much by our experiences as by our expectations.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our expectations shape our reality more than the events themselves. **In simple terms:** Expectations influence how we experience life. Key Takeaway Adjust expectations to improve satisfaction. Themes expectations perception reality mindset Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career planning - relationship expectations - goal setting - daily routines Key Concepts cognitive psychology philosophy behavioral science Questions to Reflect On - What expectations are limiting you? - How can you set realistic yet inspiring expectations? A Different Perspective Overly high expectations can lead to disappointment; low ones may limit ambition. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Experiences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiences/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Our lives are shaped by those who love us as well as those who refuse to love us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-a-menninger/our-lives-are-shaped-by-those-who-love-us-as-well-as-those-who-refuse/) [Karl A. Menninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-a-menninger/) > [Everything that I do is shaped by the experiences that I've had with my family and that I've heard in families all across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-wu/everything-that-i-do-is-shaped-by-the-experiences-that-i-ve-had-with/) [Michelle Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-wu/) > [“The brain is shaped by the experiences of the body, and the body is shaped by the brain. Changing one part results in lethal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-farmer/the-brain-is-shaped-by-the-experiences-of-the-body-and-the-body-is/) [Nancy Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-farmer/) > [“Are we not all shaped by our experiences? Are we not the sum of our memories? The sages of the dwarves say that just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-moeller/are-we-not-all-shaped-by-our-experiences-are-we-not-the-sum-of-our/) [Jonathan Moeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-moeller/) > [ I have been shaped by the experiences of the people who are closest to me, by the things I've learned from \[my wife\] Martha,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-alito/i-have-been-shaped-by-the-experiences-of-the-people-who-are-closest/) [Samuel Alito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-alito/) > [“our lives are shaped for better or worse, to move forward along largely unmapped terrain. to what extent can you direct your own life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/our-lives-are-shaped-for-better-or-worse-to-move-forward-along/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [“we are shaped so much by the events in our lives, but even more than that, we’re shaped by the people that come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/we-are-shaped-so-much-by-the-events-in-our-lives-but-even-more-than/) [Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/) > [“Our lives are shaped as profoundly by personality as by gender or race.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/our-lives-are-shaped-as-profoundly-by-personality-as-by-gender-or-race/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“Our lives are shaped by our thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/our-lives-are-shaped-by-our-thoughts/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Wyrd is not your fate or destiny carved in stone, we are not trapped by Wyrd, but our lives are shaped by it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoghan-odinsson/wyrd-is-not-your-fate-or-destiny-carved-in-stone-we-are-not-trapped/) Eoghan Odinsson > [Our lives are shaped as much by those who leave us as they are by those who stay. Loss is our legacy. Insight is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-edelman/our-lives-are-shaped-as-much-by-those-who-leave-us-as-they-are-by/) [Hope Edelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-edelman/) > [Our lives are shaped by those who love us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-powell/our-lives-are-shaped-by-those-who-love-us/) [John Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-powell/) > [I think to try to understand human behavior and why people do what they do, and what in their lives have shaped them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haley-bennett/i-think-to-try-to-understand-human-behavior-and-why-people-do-what/) [Haley Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haley-bennett/) > [Failures . . . believe that their lives are shaped by circumstances ... by things that happen to them ... by exterior forces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/failures-believe-that-their-lives-are-shaped-by-circumstances-by/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [We all think we’re going to be great and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren’t met. But sometimes our expectations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/we-all-think-we-re-going-to-be-great-and-we-feel-a-little-bit-robbed/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Expectations quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I say this all the time: I've always been really good at managing my expectations so that I'm not let down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-young/i-say-this-all-the-time-i-ve-always-been-really-good-at-managing-my/) [Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-young/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Keeping up with everybody's expectation is soooo hard!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi/keeping-up-with-everybody-s-expectation-is-soooo-hard/) [Naomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Does your reality match your expectations? If not it's time to change either your expectations or your reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/does-your-reality-match-your-expectations-if-not-it-s-time-to-change/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Jesus' kingdom was not like the popular expectation. He used the phrase 'kingdom of God' with a different meaning. His kingdom was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-harpur/jesus-kingdom-was-not-like-the-popular-expectation-he-used-the-phrase/) [Tom Harpur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-harpur/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [It's a good place when all you have is hope and not expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/it-s-a-good-place-when-all-you-have-is-hope-and-not-expectations/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [When we give from a place of love, rather than from a place of expectation, more usually comes back to us than we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/when-we-give-from-a-place-of-love-rather-than-from-a-place-of/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol', but we're going to teach them how much hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/everybody-out-there-watches-the-show-and-has-expectations-of-wanting/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) [Browse all 4,210 Expectations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our lives are shaped not as much by our experiences as by our expectations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Bernard Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our-experiences-as-by-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expectations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our-experiences-as-by-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/george-bernard-shaw-68_expectations_our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our_3205792.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/george-bernard-shaw-68_expectations_our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our_3205792.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e3/george-bernard-shaw-68_expectations_our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our_3205792.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our lives are shaped not as much by our experiences as by our expectations.” — George Bernard Shaw", "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": "George Bernard Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our lives are shaped not as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our-experiences-as-by-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/our-lives-are-shaped-not-as-much-by-our-experiences-as-by-our/#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 } } ] } ```