--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spend more time being confused than…" description: "\"“I spend more time being confused than not,” I answered.”\" — Haruki Murakami" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/haruki-murakami-21_answered_i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-no_2632373.jpg" --- # I spend more time being confused than not,” I answered. ![“I spend more time being confused than not,” I answered.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/haruki-murakami-21_answered_i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-no_2632373.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/haruki-murakami-21_answered_i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-no_2632373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/haruki-murakami-21_answered_i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-no_2632373.jpg) > ““I spend more time being confused than not,” I answered.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges that confusion dominates his mental life, suggesting a preference for uncertainty over false certainty. **In simple terms:** He spends most of his time feeling confused. Key Takeaway Accept confusion as a sign of curiosity. Themes uncertainty curiosity mindset learning existence Mood thoughtful introspective philosophical Type interview literary When to use this quote - creative work - decision making - personal development Key Concepts cognitive dissonance philosophical inquiry existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What does confusion teach you about yourself? - How can you turn uncertainty into insight? A Different Perspective Confusion may hinder decisive action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Answered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answered/) [Confused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused/) [Confused Answered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confused-answered-1377052/) [Spend time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Confused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-confused-1794127/) ## Related quotes > [“Tell me,” said Sumire, “have you ever felt confused about what you’re doing, like it’s not right?” “I spend more time being confused than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/tell-me-said-sumire-have-you-ever-felt-confused-about-what-you-re/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Dont waste my time...if you're confused & don't know what you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dont-waste-my-time-if-you-re-confused-don-t-know-what-you-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The last time I was this confused I was watching a Fassbinder film.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-o-neill/the-last-time-i-was-this-confused-i-was-watching-a-fassbinder-film/) [Ken O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-o-neill/) > [I only do one thing at a time; otherwise, I get confused and then I can't trick you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-sheindlin/i-only-do-one-thing-at-a-time-otherwise-i-get-confused-and-then-i-can/) [Judy Sheindlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-sheindlin/) > [“that time when you confused a lesson for a soulmate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dream-hampton/that-time-when-you-confused-a-lesson-for-a-soulmate/) [dream hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dream-hampton/) > [“The true ‘fall into Time’ begins with the secularization of work. It is only in modern societies that man feels himself to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marty-glass/the-true-fall-into-time-begins-with-the-secularization-of-work-it-is/) [Marty Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marty-glass/) > [“I’m not trying to imply I can keep up this silent, isolated facade all the time. Sometimes the wall I’ve erected around me comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-m-not-trying-to-imply-i-can-keep-up-this-silent-isolated-facade-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Anytime someone has said to me, 'You can't do that,' I have answered, 'Watch me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-pressly/anytime-someone-has-said-to-me-you-can-t-do-that-i-have-answered/) [Jaime Pressly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-pressly/) > [“You may ask any question. Some, however, must be answered by silence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/you-may-ask-any-question-some-however-must-be-answered-by-silence/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [“I answered, concealed in the storm cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalm-81-7-grail-translation/i-answered-concealed-in-the-storm-cloud/) [Psalm 81 7 Grail translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psalm-81-7-grail-translation/) > [“If you had not answered the call, it wouldn't have become a conversation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/if-you-had-not-answered-the-call-it-wouldn-t-have-become-a/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [It is my fate that some of my questions will never be answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-my-fate-that-some-of-my-questions-will-never-be-answered/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I am your queen,” the woman answered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-am-your-queen-the-woman-answered/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“She answered that she liked standing up and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-answered-that-she-liked-standing-up-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“Obama answered, “Yes. I’m no peacenik.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/obama-answered-yes-i-m-no-peacenik/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Answered quotes > [“Obama answered, “Yes. I’m no peacenik.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/obama-answered-yes-i-m-no-peacenik/) [Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/) > [“She answered that she liked standing up and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/she-answered-that-she-liked-standing-up-and/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“I am your queen,” the woman answered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-am-your-queen-the-woman-answered/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [It is my fate that some of my questions will never be answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-my-fate-that-some-of-my-questions-will-never-be-answered/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you had not answered the call, it wouldn't have become a conversation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/if-you-had-not-answered-the-call-it-wouldn-t-have-become-a/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [“I answered, concealed in the storm cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psalm-81-7-grail-translation/i-answered-concealed-in-the-storm-cloud/) [Psalm 81 7 Grail translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psalm-81-7-grail-translation/) > [“You may ask any question. Some, however, must be answered by silence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/you-may-ask-any-question-some-however-must-be-answered-by-silence/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Anytime someone has said to me, 'You can't do that,' I have answered, 'Watch me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-pressly/anytime-someone-has-said-to-me-you-can-t-do-that-i-have-answered/) [Jaime Pressly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-pressly/) > [until the end of the world,all whys will be answered,but now,you can only ask!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/until-the-end-of-the-world-all-whys-will-be-answered-but-now-you-can/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [“Sometimes prayers are answered.” Jon”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/sometimes-prayers-are-answered-jon/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Some questions are too stupid to be answered”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ria-tumimomor/some-questions-are-too-stupid-to-be-answered/) [Ria Tumimomor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ria-tumimomor/) > [I really liked the idea of creating a journal myself. It's like the way I clear my throat. I write a page every day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-really-liked-the-idea-of-creating-a-journal-myself-it-s-like-the/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > ['Help' is a prayer that is always answered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/help-is-a-prayer-that-is-always-answered/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Come on! I just answered, like, eight questions!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/come-on-i-just-answered-like-eight-questions/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“An owl is born with all his questions answered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-h-smith/an-owl-is-born-with-all-his-questions-answered/) [A.C.H. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-h-smith/) [Browse all 99 Answered quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/answered/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I spend more time being confused than not,” I answered.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-not-i-answered/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answered" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-not-i-answered/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/haruki-murakami-21_answered_i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-no_2632373.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/haruki-murakami-21_answered_i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-no_2632373.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/haruki-murakami-21_answered_i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-no_2632373.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I spend more time being confused than not,” I answered.” — Haruki Murakami", "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": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I spend more time being confused...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-not-i-answered/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-spend-more-time-being-confused-than-not-i-answered/#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 } } ] } ```