--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...but before I can live with other folks…" description: "\"...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.\" — Harper Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/harper-lee-451_abiding_but-before-i-can-live-with-other-folks-i_826588.png" --- # ...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live… ![“...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/harper-lee-451_abiding_but-before-i-can-live-with-other-folks-i_826588.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/harper-lee-451_abiding_but-before-i-can-live-with-other-folks-i_826588.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d9/harper-lee-451_abiding_but-before-i-can-live-with-other-folks-i_826588.png) > “...but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself.” [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑reliance is essential before cohabiting with others. **In simple terms:** Know yourself before living with others. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑understanding first. Themes self‑knowledge independence relationships growth Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - roommates - family living - shared housing - personal boundaries Key Concepts existentialism personal development Questions to Reflect On - What does living with yourself mean? - How does self‑knowledge affect relationships? 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I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the folks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-m-gonna-be-a-new-kind-of-clown-i-m-gonna-stand-in-the-middle-of-the/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system -- that is no ideal to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-m-no-idealist-to-believe-firmly-in-the-integrity-of-our-courts-and-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I'm no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system - that is no ideal to me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-m-no-idealist-to-believe-firmly-in-the-integrity-of-our-courts-and/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“You just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/you-just-hold-your-head-high-and-keep-those-fists-down-no-matter-what-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness’ sake. But don’t make a production of it. Children are children, but they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/when-a-child-asks-you-something-answer-him-for-goodness-sake-but-don-2/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [One does not learn how to die by killing others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/one-does-not-learn-how-to-die-by-killing-others/) [François-René de Chateaubriand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-ren-de-chateaubriand/) > [Enlightened legislation or enlightened social activity of whatever kind, does play into the hands of people with agendas of their own. 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. 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It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Explore all 494 Harper Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More Abiding quotes > [If there is an abiding theme in 'The Pursuit of Happiness,' it is the idea that you come into the world already shaped by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-kennedy/if-there-is-an-abiding-theme-in-the-pursuit-of-happiness-it-is-the/) [Douglas Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-kennedy/) > [Why is it, my shadow-striding friend, that we don't fear dreams? 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