--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I should coldly, clinically think of…" description: "\"I should coldly, clinically think of myself and stop worrying about other people, as though I'm a necessary woman, indispensable to their happiness and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/helen-van-slyke-30593_firsts_i-should-coldly-clinically-think-of-myse_685127.jpg" --- # I should coldly, clinically think of myself and stop… ![“I should coldly, clinically think of myself and stop worrying about other people, as though I'm a necessary woman, indispensable to their happiness and well-being. Self-preservation is the first law. I must start trying to obey the law.” quote by Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/helen-van-slyke-30593_firsts_i-should-coldly-clinically-think-of-myse_685127.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/helen-van-slyke-30593_firsts_i-should-coldly-clinically-think-of-myse_685127.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/helen-van-slyke-30593_firsts_i-should-coldly-clinically-think-of-myse_685127.jpg) > “I should coldly, clinically think of myself and stop worrying about other people, as though I'm a necessary woman, indispensable to their happiness and well-being. Self-preservation is the first law. I must start trying to obey the law.” [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She urges prioritizing self-care and personal boundaries over overextending for others. **In simple terms:** Put yourself first before helping others. Key Takeaway Set firm personal limits. Themes self-care boundaries individualism Mood introspective motivational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal health - relationship dynamics - work‑life balance Key Concepts psychology ethical self‑interest Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries do you need to establish? - How does self‑preservation affect those around you? A Different Perspective Neglecting others can harm relationships and community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preservation/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self preservation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-preservation/) [Stop worrying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-worrying/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Well being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well-being/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) ## Related quotes > [It has become necessary for me to have this woman, so as to save myself from the ridicule of being in love with her:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-has-become-necessary-for-me-to-have-this-woman-so-as-to-save/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The secret of human happiness is not in self-seeking but in self-forgetting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-reik/the-secret-of-human-happiness-is-not-in-self-seeking-but-in-self/) [Theodor Reik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-reik/) > [“Where there is no falsely attributed happiness at all, where there is innate (natural) happiness of the Self; there liberation exists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-no-falsely-attributed-happiness-at-all-where-there-is/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Happiness is self-generated. It depends on one's attitude of mind. The basis of happiness, is the simple fact that the deepest reality of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goswami-kriyananda/happiness-is-self-generated-it-depends-on-one-s-attitude-of-mind-the/) [Goswami Kriyananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goswami-kriyananda/) > [“euphoria as a state of intense happiness and self-confidence, a blissful self-clarity if you will, and most people throughout their lives search and strive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-noelle/euphoria-as-a-state-of-intense-happiness-and-self-confidence-a/) [Erin Noelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-noelle/) > [Since ancient times, philosophers have maintained that to strive too hard for one's own happiness is self-defeating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/since-ancient-times-philosophers-have-maintained-that-to-strive-too/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Happiness is self-generated as the mind becomes still. As we become involved with the desires of the world, we lose that centering, that stillness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/happiness-is-self-generated-as-the-mind-becomes-still-as-we-become/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The process of finding happiness within one's own Self may be difficult and slow but it cannot be found anywhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-parthasarathy/the-process-of-finding-happiness-within-one-s-own-self-may-be/) [Swami Parthasarathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-parthasarathy/) > [“in our seat, every bite of food, every pleasant daydream—is designed to avoid pain or seek pleasure. But if we can drop all that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harris/in-our-seat-every-bite-of-food-every-pleasant-daydream-is-designed-to/) [Dan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harris/) > [A lot of people say there is no happiness in this life and certainly there's no permanent happiness. But self-sufficiency creates happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/a-lot-of-people-say-there-is-no-happiness-in-this-life-and-certainly/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 'If a man will let himself be lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-world-looks-for-happiness-through-self-assertion-the-christian-2/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 'If a man will let himself be lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-world-looks-for-happiness-through-self-assertion-the-christian/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [People don't care about being duped as long as they're happy, which is the shortest form of happiness; hence 'self-duprication' becomes a habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/people-don-t-care-about-being-duped-as-long-as-they-re-happy-which-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Truly lasting happiness is ours when we have the self awareness to choose the criteria in our mind and change it at will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/truly-lasting-happiness-is-ours-when-we-have-the-self-awareness-to/) Senoraroy > [“retreat, with nothing to look forward to, nowhere to be, nothing to do, we are forced to confront the “wound of existence” head-on, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harris/retreat-with-nothing-to-look-forward-to-nowhere-to-be-nothing-to-do/) [Dan Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harris/) ## More by Helen Van Slyke > [Isn't it boring ... how people always want to tell you their own stories instead of listening to yours? I suppose that's why psychiatrists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/isn-t-it-boring-how-people-always-want-to-tell-you-their-own-stories/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Fear is for the old. Lack of it is one of the joys of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/fear-is-for-the-old-lack-of-it-is-one-of-the-joys-of-youth/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Emotion seemed more valid than experience, for I had so much of the former and so little of the latter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/emotion-seemed-more-valid-than-experience-for-i-had-so-much-of-the/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Mail from home was so important when you were traveling. 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I could recite a litany of little pinpricks that finally produce a gaping wound. That's how marriages and friendships…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/vanity-wounded-pride-rejection-self-delusion-i-could-recite-a-litany/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Living would be a terribly pedestrian business without the impatient ones. The seekers. Always searching for something new, something relevant to leave their mark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/living-would-be-a-terribly-pedestrian-business-without-the-impatient/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Never doubt love ... Never question it when it comes onstage, but be happy for its entrance. And do not weep when it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/never-doubt-love-never-question-it-when-it-comes-onstage-but-be-happy/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [If arrogance is the heady wine of youth, then humility must be its eternal hangover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/if-arrogance-is-the-heady-wine-of-youth-then-humility-must-be-its/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Timing. We give it many names: Destiny, Fate, Kismet, the will of God. Whatever we call it, lives are changed and molded by it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/timing-we-give-it-many-names-destiny-fate-kismet-the-will-of-god/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [ \[On parents:\] They're not gods to be pleased or devils to be exorcised. They're just there, and we can only hope they understand when… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-van-slyke/on-parents-they-re-not-gods-to-be-pleased-or-devils-to-be-exorcised/) [Helen Van Slyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-van-slyke/) > [Eighty's a landmark and people treat you differently than they do when you're seventy-nine. 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Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) Browse all 32,432 Firsts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I should coldly, clinically think of myself and stop worrying about other people, as though I'm a necessary woman, indispensable to their happiness and well-being. Self-preservation is the first law. 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