---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had in those days imagined himself…"
description: "\"“He had in those days imagined himself capable of extraordinary heroisms and endurances which would make the girl he loved forget the awkward hands and..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/graham-greene-441_daydreams_he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-ca_3034360.jpg"
---

#  He had in those days imagined himself capable of…

![“He had in those days imagined himself capable of extraordinary heroisms and endurances which would make the girl he loved forget the awkward hands and the spotty chin of adolescence. Everything had seemed possible. One could laugh at daydreams, but so long as you had the capacity to daydream there…” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/graham-greene-441_daydreams_he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-ca_3034360.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/graham-greene-441_daydreams_he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-ca_3034360.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/graham-greene-441_daydreams_he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-ca_3034360.jpg)

> ““He had in those days imagined himself capable of extraordinary heroisms and endurances which would make the girl he loved forget the awkward hands and the spotty chin of adolescence. Everything had seemed possible. One could laugh at daydreams, but so long as you had the capacity to daydream there was a chance that you might develop some of the qualities of which you dreamed. It was like the religious discipline: words however emptily repeated can in time form a habit, a kind of unnoticed sediment at the bottom of the mind, until one day to your own surprise you find yourself acting on the belief you thought you didn't believe in.””

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

## About This Quote

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

Imagining heroic deeds can shape one's mindset, turning daydreams into habits that eventually guide actions.

**In simple terms:** Dreaming of greatness can become a habit that drives real behavior.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate empowering daydreams to influence future actions.

Themes

self‑belief habit formation heroic aspiration

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- relationship building
- overcoming self‑doubt
- goal setting

Key Concepts

psychology self‑fulfilling prophecy neuroplasticity

Questions to Reflect On

- What small habit can you start today to embody your aspirations?
- How do you distinguish realistic goals from romantic fantasies?

A Different Perspective

Dreams may not translate into action without concrete effort.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Daydreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daydreams/) [Daydreams Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daydreams-long-4971697/) [Days Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/days-imagined-1356108/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Imagined Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagined-capable-4971698/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Qualities Dreamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities-dreamed-4971696/)

## Related quotes

> [“In those days I imagined racism as a tumor that could be isolated and removed from the body of America, not as a pervasive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/in-those-days-i-imagined-racism-as-a-tumor-that-could-be-isolated-and/)

[Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/)

> [In those days, we imagined ourselves as being kept in some kind of holding pen, waiting to be released into our lives. And when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-days-we-imagined-ourselves-as-being-kept-in-some-kind-of/)

[Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/)

> [“Is there any way that two people from faraway places can ever really understand each other's daydrems?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/is-there-any-way-that-two-people-from-faraway-places-can-ever-really/)

[Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/)

> [“Kuna ndoto za mchana na kuna ndoto za usiku. Ndoto za mchana ni maono ya kile ambacho roho inatamani kuwa. Ndoto za usiku ni…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/kuna-ndoto-za-mchana-na-kuna-ndoto-za-usiku-ndoto-za-mchana-ni-maono/)

[Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/)

> [“When it comes to dreams and fancies and castles in the air, I have the soul of a millionaire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-george/when-it-comes-to-dreams-and-fancies-and-castles-in-the-air-i-have-the/)

[Alex George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-george/)

> [“I recast myself in my own daydreams. I wondered what it would be like to change this. If I could ever collapse the space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-hepola/i-recast-myself-in-my-own-daydreams-i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like/)

[Sarah Hepola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-hepola/)

> [“She daydreams just as I do. She loves watching the raindrops fall slowly from the sky just as I do. She gets lost while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/she-daydreams-just-as-i-do-she-loves-watching-the-raindrops-fall/)

[Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/)

> [There is an unknown room in the soul that is constantly turning the stuff of daydreams into myths for us, helping us to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/there-is-an-unknown-room-in-the-soul-that-is-constantly-turning-the/)

[Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/)

> [The life I really want to live, only exists in my daydreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-i-really-want-to-live-only-exists-in-my-daydreams/)

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

> [“What do you think I live on, rainwater and daydreams?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/what-do-you-think-i-live-on-rainwater-and-daydreams/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [He is trying to decide which of two daydreams he will inhabit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hammill/he-is-trying-to-decide-which-of-two-daydreams-he-will-inhabit/)

[Peter Hammill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hammill/)

> [Exquisite nature, daydreams, and music say one thing, real life another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/exquisite-nature-daydreams-and-music-say-one-thing-real-life-another/)

[Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/)

> [“I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-often-think-in-music-i-live-my-daydreams-in-music/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Without its daydreams, the self is apt to shrink down to the size and shape of the estimation of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/without-its-daydreams-the-self-is-apt-to-shrink-down-to-the-size-and/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

## More by Graham Greene

> [“Time gives poetry to a battlefield...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/time-gives-poetry-to-a-battlefield/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“What is cowardice in the young is wisdom in the old, but all the same one can be ashamed of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/what-is-cowardice-in-the-young-is-wisdom-in-the-old-but-all-the-same/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Pity is cruel. Pity destroys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/pity-is-cruel-pity-destroys/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Hate is a lack of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/hate-is-a-lack-of-imagination/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Despair is the price one pays for setting oneself an impossible aim. It is, one is told, the unforgivable sin, but it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/despair-is-the-price-one-pays-for-setting-oneself-an-impossible-aim/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“Knowledge was the great thing--not abstract knowledge in which Dr. Forester had been so rich, the theories which lead one enticingly on with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/knowledge-was-the-great-thing-not-abstract-knowledge-in-which-dr/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [With Your great schemes, You ruin our happiness like a harvester ruins a mouse's nest: I hate You, God, I hate You as though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/with-your-great-schemes-you-ruin-our-happiness-like-a-harvester-ruins/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/heresy-is-only-another-word-for-freedom-of-thought/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“He had thought that home was something one possessed, but the things one had possessed were cursed with change; it was what one didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-thought-that-home-was-something-one-possessed-but-the-things/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Perhaps the comparison is closer to the Chinese cook who leaves hardly any part of a duck unserved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/perhaps-the-comparison-is-closer-to-the-chinese-cook-who-leaves/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“He said, ‘Oh god, help her. Damn me, I deserve it, but let her live forever.’ This was the love he should have felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-said-oh-god-help-her-damn-me-i-deserve-it-but-let-her-live-forever/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“A police photograph is like a passport photograph: the intelligence which casts a veil over the crude common shape is never recorded by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-police-photograph-is-like-a-passport-photograph-the-intelligence/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [Success is more dangerous than failure, the ripples break over a wider coastline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/success-is-more-dangerous-than-failure-the-ripples-break-over-a-wider/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

> [“But we do not love people for what they do for us. Love happens to us; it isn't created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/but-we-do-not-love-people-for-what-they-do-for-us-love-happens-to-us/)

[Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

[Explore all 550 Graham Greene quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/)

## More Daydreams quotes

> [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/)

[Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/)

> [Without its daydreams, the self is apt to shrink down to the size and shape of the estimation of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/without-its-daydreams-the-self-is-apt-to-shrink-down-to-the-size-and/)

[Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/)

> [“I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-often-think-in-music-i-live-my-daydreams-in-music/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Exquisite nature, daydreams, and music say one thing, real life another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/exquisite-nature-daydreams-and-music-say-one-thing-real-life-another/)

[Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/)

> [He is trying to decide which of two daydreams he will inhabit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hammill/he-is-trying-to-decide-which-of-two-daydreams-he-will-inhabit/)

[Peter Hammill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hammill/)

> [“What do you think I live on, rainwater and daydreams?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/what-do-you-think-i-live-on-rainwater-and-daydreams/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [The life I really want to live, only exists in my daydreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-life-i-really-want-to-live-only-exists-in-my-daydreams/)

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

> [There is an unknown room in the soul that is constantly turning the stuff of daydreams into myths for us, helping us to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/there-is-an-unknown-room-in-the-soul-that-is-constantly-turning-the/)

[Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/)

> [“She daydreams just as I do. She loves watching the raindrops fall slowly from the sky just as I do. She gets lost while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/she-daydreams-just-as-i-do-she-loves-watching-the-raindrops-fall/)

[Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/)

> [“I recast myself in my own daydreams. I wondered what it would be like to change this. If I could ever collapse the space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-hepola/i-recast-myself-in-my-own-daydreams-i-wondered-what-it-would-be-like/)

[Sarah Hepola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-hepola/)

> [“When it comes to dreams and fancies and castles in the air, I have the soul of a millionaire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-george/when-it-comes-to-dreams-and-fancies-and-castles-in-the-air-i-have-the/)

[Alex George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-george/)

> [“Kuna ndoto za mchana na kuna ndoto za usiku. Ndoto za mchana ni maono ya kile ambacho roho inatamani kuwa. Ndoto za usiku ni…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/kuna-ndoto-za-mchana-na-kuna-ndoto-za-usiku-ndoto-za-mchana-ni-maono/)

[Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/)

> [“Is there any way that two people from faraway places can ever really understand each other's daydrems?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-engle/is-there-any-way-that-two-people-from-faraway-places-can-ever-really/)

[Margarita Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-engle/)

> [“I survive on moments of make-believe happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/i-survive-on-moments-of-make-believe-happiness/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [“Josiah said he did not believe in daydreams, although it seemed to her that was all she had to keep hope alive, for reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tami-egonu/josiah-said-he-did-not-believe-in-daydreams-although-it-seemed-to-her/)

[Tami Egonu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tami-egonu/)

[Browse all 78 Daydreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daydreams/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“He had in those days imagined himself capable of extraordinary heroisms and endurances which would make the girl he loved forget the awkward hands and the spotty chin of adolescence. Everything had seemed possible. One could laugh at daydreams, but so long as you had the capacity to daydream there was a chance that you might develop some of the qualities of which you dreamed. It was like the religious discipline: words however emptily repeated can in time form a habit, a kind of unnoticed sediment at the bottom of the mind, until one day to your own surprise you find yourself acting on the belief you thought you didn't believe in.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Graham Greene"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-capable-of-extraordinary/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Daydreams"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-capable-of-extraordinary/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/graham-greene-441_daydreams_he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-ca_3034360.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/graham-greene-441_daydreams_he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-ca_3034360.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d98/graham-greene-441_daydreams_he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-ca_3034360.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“He had in those days imagined himself capable of extraordinary heroisms and endurances which would make the…” — Graham Greene",
                "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": "Graham Greene",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“He had in those days imagined...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-capable-of-extraordinary/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/he-had-in-those-days-imagined-himself-capable-of-extraordinary/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```