---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes one who thinks himself…"
description: "\"Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete is merely young.\" — Italo Calvino"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/italo-calvino-402_incomplete_sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incompl_1074193.jpg"
---

#  Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete is merely young.

![“Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete is merely young.” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/italo-calvino-402_incomplete_sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incompl_1074193.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/italo-calvino-402_incomplete_sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incompl_1074193.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/italo-calvino-402_incomplete_sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incompl_1074193.jpg)

> “Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete is merely young.”

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

## About This Quote

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

Feeling incomplete often signals youth and the potential for growth rather than a permanent flaw.

**In simple terms:** Incompleteness is a sign of youth and growth potential.

Key Takeaway

Embrace incompleteness as a chance to grow.

Themes

youth growth self-awareness

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- adolescence
- career beginnings
- learning new skills

Key Concepts

psychological development identity formation

Questions to Reflect On

- What does feeling incomplete teach you about yourself?
- How can you channel youthful energy into growth?

A Different Perspective

Youthful incompleteness can be mistaken for inadequacy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/)

## Related quotes

> [“Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete is merely young. —Italo Calvino”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brockmeier/sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incomplete-is-merely-young-italo/)

[Kevin Brockmeier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brockmeier/)

> [Though it be a thrilling and marvellous thing to be merely young and gifted in such times, it is doubly so - doubly dynamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-hansberry/though-it-be-a-thrilling-and-marvellous-thing-to-be-merely-young-and/)

[Lorraine Hansberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-hansberry/)

> [It was so nice just to live in the moment, to enjoy holding him so closely, to pretend for a little while that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-de-la-cruz/it-was-so-nice-just-to-live-in-the-moment-to-enjoy-holding-him-so/)

[Melissa de la Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-de-la-cruz/)

> [Blackouts can be fun if approached with the right mindset. You just can't sweat the fact that you've lost a small portion of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-kilmer-purcell/blackouts-can-be-fun-if-approached-with-the-right-mindset-you-just/)

[Josh Kilmer-Purcell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-kilmer-purcell/)

> [Of course, we knew that the official reports were sketchy, if not falsified. But, in terms of information theory, this is precisely where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-zuse/of-course-we-knew-that-the-official-reports-were-sketchy-if-not/)

[Konrad Zuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-zuse/)

> [Some of the greatest moments in life come from moments that are incomplete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-reed/some-of-the-greatest-moments-in-life-come-from-moments-that-are/)

[Nikki Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-reed/)

> [A wife is like a children's movie; always under-appreciated and without either, life would be incomplete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/a-wife-is-like-a-children-s-movie-always-under-appreciated-and/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [An incomplete sketch superbly executed is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schmid/an-incomplete-sketch-superbly-executed-is-power/)

[Richard Schmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schmid/)

> [Many men build as cathedrals are built-the part nearest the ground finished, but that part which soars toward heaven, the turrets and the spires,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/many-men-build-as-cathedrals-are-built-the-part-nearest-the-ground/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [I don't think we have all the words in a single vocabulary to explain what we are or why we are. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-don-t-think-we-have-all-the-words-in-a-single-vocabulary-to-explain/)

[Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/)

> [if you get married they think you're finished and if you are without a woman they think you're incomplete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/if-you-get-married-they-think-you-re-finished-and-if-you-are-without/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/)

[David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/)

> [Miss You In Every Beat Of My Heart In Every Blink Of My Eyes In Every Second Of Time In Every Moment Of A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xashif-shah/miss-you-in-every-beat-of-my-heart-in-every-blink-of-my-eyes-in-every/)

[Xashif Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xashif-shah/)

> [When you feel you have good although incomplete expertise, start trying things. If it's not working, try something else; maintain an experimental mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/when-you-feel-you-have-good-although-incomplete-expertise-start/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/)

[Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/)

## More by Italo Calvino

> [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“The Great Khan tried to concentrate on the game: but now it was the game’s reason that eluded him. The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

> [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/)

[Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

[Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/)

## More Incomplete quotes

> [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/)

[Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/)

> [When you feel you have good although incomplete expertise, start trying things. If it's not working, try something else; maintain an experimental mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/when-you-feel-you-have-good-although-incomplete-expertise-start/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [Miss You In Every Beat Of My Heart In Every Blink Of My Eyes In Every Second Of Time In Every Moment Of A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xashif-shah/miss-you-in-every-beat-of-my-heart-in-every-blink-of-my-eyes-in-every/)

[Xashif Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xashif-shah/)

> [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/)

[David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/)

> [if you get married they think you're finished and if you are without a woman they think you're incomplete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/if-you-get-married-they-think-you-re-finished-and-if-you-are-without/)

[Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/)

> [I don't think we have all the words in a single vocabulary to explain what we are or why we are. I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/i-don-t-think-we-have-all-the-words-in-a-single-vocabulary-to-explain/)

[Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/)

> [Many men build as cathedrals are built-the part nearest the ground finished, but that part which soars toward heaven, the turrets and the spires,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/many-men-build-as-cathedrals-are-built-the-part-nearest-the-ground/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [An incomplete sketch superbly executed is power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schmid/an-incomplete-sketch-superbly-executed-is-power/)

[Richard Schmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schmid/)

> [A wife is like a children's movie; always under-appreciated and without either, life would be incomplete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/a-wife-is-like-a-children-s-movie-always-under-appreciated-and/)

[John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/)

> [Some of the greatest moments in life come from moments that are incomplete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-reed/some-of-the-greatest-moments-in-life-come-from-moments-that-are/)

[Nikki Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-reed/)

> [Of course, we knew that the official reports were sketchy, if not falsified. But, in terms of information theory, this is precisely where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-zuse/of-course-we-knew-that-the-official-reports-were-sketchy-if-not/)

[Konrad Zuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-zuse/)

> [Blackouts can be fun if approached with the right mindset. You just can't sweat the fact that you've lost a small portion of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-kilmer-purcell/blackouts-can-be-fun-if-approached-with-the-right-mindset-you-just/)

[Josh Kilmer-Purcell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-kilmer-purcell/)

> [When established identities become outworn or unfinished ones threaten to remain incomplete, special crises compel men to wage holy wars, by the cruelest means,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-established-identities-become-outworn-or-unfinished-ones/)

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

> [“What if everything was unfinished? What if everything was made incomplete?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-vann/what-if-everything-was-unfinished-what-if-everything-was-made/)

[David Vann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-vann/)

> [No matter where i go, i still end up me. What's missing never changes. The scenery may change, but i'm still the same incomplete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/no-matter-where-i-go-i-still-end-up-me-what-s-missing-never-changes/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

Browse all 408 Incomplete quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete is merely young.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Italo Calvino"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incomplete-is-merely-young/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Incomplete"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incomplete-is-merely-young/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/italo-calvino-402_incomplete_sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incompl_1074193.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/italo-calvino-402_incomplete_sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incompl_1074193.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/italo-calvino-402_incomplete_sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incompl_1074193.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete is merely young.” — Italo Calvino",
                "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": "Italo Calvino",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Sometimes one who thinks himself incomplete...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incomplete-is-merely-young/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/sometimes-one-who-thinks-himself-incomplete-is-merely-young/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
