--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before you save anyone else, you have to…" description: "\"Before you save anyone else, you have to save yourself. otherwise, you'rejust a bundle of tics, a stringed puppet manipulated by the chance and the ins..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/gregory-maguire-547_bundles_before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to_1370365.jpg" --- # Before you save anyone else, you have to save yourself… ![“Before you save anyone else, you have to save yourself. otherwise, you'rejust a bundle of tics, a stringed puppet manipulated by the chance and the insensible wind.” quote by Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/gregory-maguire-547_bundles_before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to_1370365.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/gregory-maguire-547_bundles_before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to_1370365.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/gregory-maguire-547_bundles_before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to_1370365.jpg) > “Before you save anyone else, you have to save yourself. otherwise, you'rejust a bundle of tics, a stringed puppet manipulated by the chance and the insensible wind.” [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑care is essential before helping others; neglecting personal well‑being leads to being controlled by external forces. **In simple terms:** Save yourself first, or you become a puppet of circumstance. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal healing. Themes self‑care boundaries personal agency Mood reflective serious Type psychological motivational When to use this quote - therapy - stress management - leadership training - emergency response Key Concepts autonomy mental health self‑preservation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑care with helping others? - What boundaries protect you from manipulation? 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That used to scare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dash-mihok/i-ve-have-a-number-of-violent-tics-with-tourette-syndrome-there-s-not/) [Dash Mihok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dash-mihok/) > [I knew it was going to be important that if I had an audience understand who she was, then all those things had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-knew-it-was-going-to-be-important-that-if-i-had-an-audience/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Wa-wa-wa watch bikinis no top. See my sex sex sex sexy bikinis would drop. Tic-tac-toe don't play me I'll stop. Tonight I will make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-stan/wa-wa-wa-watch-bikinis-no-top-see-my-sex-sex-sex-sexy-bikinis-would/) [Alexandra Stan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-stan/) > [ SADNESSES OF THE INTELLECT: Sadness of being misunderstood \[sic\]; Humor sadness; Sadness of love wit\[hou\]t release; Sadne\[ss of be\]ing smart; Sadness of not knowing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/sadnesses-of-the-intellect-sadness-of-being-misunderstood-sic-humor/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I have a lot of tics and phobias. I hate to travel. I hate to go to festivals. I hate it when somebody gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingmar-bergman/i-have-a-lot-of-tics-and-phobias-i-hate-to-travel-i-hate-to-go-to/) [Ingmar Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingmar-bergman/) > [The only one that's appeared in my dreams is the one from Aliens. H.R. 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That to me is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/even-the-best-of-us-have-certain-psychological-mechanisms-that-can/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) ## More by Gregory Maguire > [“By so giving up, of course, it renews itself- that is the secret”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/by-so-giving-up-of-course-it-renews-itself-that-is-the-secret/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Forgive us our trespasses," says Margarethe, "and get out of our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/forgive-us-our-trespasses-says-margarethe-and-get-out-of-our-way/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“There are two kinds of anger: hot and cold. 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She armed herself with two thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/old-flossie-settle-down-on-the-other-side-of-what-the-dickens-and/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [I shall pray for your soul,' promised Nessarose. I shall wait for your shoes,' Elphie answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/i-shall-pray-for-your-soul-promised-nessarose-i-shall-wait-for-your/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [My first job was scooping ice cream at Friendly's in Albany, New York. I hated the work, most of my colleagues, and the uniform,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/my-first-job-was-scooping-ice-cream-at-friendly-s-in-albany-new-york/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“At its most elemental, a spell is no more than a recipe for change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/at-its-most-elemental-a-spell-is-no-more-than-a-recipe-for-change/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [I write because I admire the act of rationalization, of seeking clarity in one's understanding of the complexities of life, and I'm bad at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/i-write-because-i-admire-the-act-of-rationalization-of-seeking/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“Do good though, will you?" She blinked brightly at the green girl. "If not for your parents or your grandmother, then for me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/do-good-though-will-you-she-blinked-brightly-at-the-green-girl-if-not/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“You always had an eye for the fellow with a decent helping of sausage and hard-boiled eggs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/you-always-had-an-eye-for-the-fellow-with-a-decent-helping-of-sausage/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“You need my help? What for? Bread, cash, a fake identity to help you slip sideways through the cracks? Tell me what you need,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/you-need-my-help-what-for-bread-cash-a-fake-identity-to-help-you-slip/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) [Explore all 470 Gregory Maguire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) ## More Bundles quotes > [Critics are biased, and so are readers. (Indeed, a critic is a bundle of biases held loosely together by a sense of taste.) But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-balliett/critics-are-biased-and-so-are-readers-indeed-a-critic-is-a-bundle-of/) Whitney Balliett > [The male dares to be different to the degree that he accepts his passivity and his desire to be female, his fagginess. The farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-solanas/the-male-dares-to-be-different-to-the-degree-that-he-accepts-his/) [Valerie Solanas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-solanas/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. 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The birth of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-remember-that-the-christmas-heart-is-a-giving-heart-a-wide/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When I get honest I admit that I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and I get discouraged.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/when-i-get-honest-i-admit-that-i-am-a-bundle-of-paradoxes-i-believe/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [ In 1975, ... \[speaking with Shiing Shen Chern\], I told him I had finally learned ... the beauty of fiber-bundle theory and the profound… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-ning-yang/in-1975-speaking-with-shiing-shen-chern-i-told-him-i-had-finally/) Chen-Ning Yang > [. . . 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Each item unearthed dust, tears, laughter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/his-entired-life-bundled-into-wenty-refuse-sacks-his-and-her-memories/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) Browse all 181 Bundles quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Before you save anyone else, you have to save yourself. otherwise, you'rejust a bundle of tics, a stringed puppet manipulated by the chance and the insensible wind.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gregory Maguire" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to-save-yourself-otherwise-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bundles" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to-save-yourself-otherwise-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/gregory-maguire-547_bundles_before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to_1370365.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/gregory-maguire-547_bundles_before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to_1370365.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/gregory-maguire-547_bundles_before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to_1370365.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Before you save anyone else, you have to save yourself. otherwise, you'rejust a bundle of tics, a stringed…” — Gregory Maguire", "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": "Gregory Maguire", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Before you save anyone else, you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to-save-yourself-otherwise-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/before-you-save-anyone-else-you-have-to-save-yourself-otherwise-you/#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 } } ] } ```