--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each of us may think we know exactly what…" description: "\"Each of us may think we know exactly what we need to make us happy, what will be good for us, what will ensure we have our happy ending, but life rarel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/jane-green-5965_be-good_each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-wha_2021771.png" --- # Each of us may think we know exactly what we need to make… ![“Each of us may think we know exactly what we need to make us happy, what will be good for us, what will ensure we have our happy ending, but life rarely works out in the way we expect, and our happy ending may have all sorts of unexpected twists and turns, be shaped in all sorts of unexpected ways” quote by Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/jane-green-5965_be-good_each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-wha_2021771.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/jane-green-5965_be-good_each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-wha_2021771.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/jane-green-5965_be-good_each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-wha_2021771.png) > “Each of us may think we know exactly what we need to make us happy, what will be good for us, what will ensure we have our happy ending, but life rarely works out in the way we expect, and our happy ending may have all sorts of unexpected twists and turns, be shaped in all sorts of unexpected ways” [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often assume we know the exact path to happiness, but life’s unpredictability reshapes our expectations and outcomes. **In simple terms:** Happiness plans often change unexpectedly. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility and adapt to life's surprises. Themes expectations happiness uncertainty adaptability growth Mood reflective hopeful realistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career decisions - relationships - personal goals - health journeys - financial planning Key Concepts psychology life planning resilience Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions about your future might need revisiting? - How can you stay open to unexpected opportunities? A Different Perspective Assuming certainty can lead to disappointment when reality diverges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-ending/) [Happy endings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-endings/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Twists and turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twists-and-turns/) [Work out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-out/) ## Related quotes > [Life is not what you expect: it is made up of the most unexpected twists and turns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/life-is-not-what-you-expect-it-is-made-up-of-the-most-unexpected/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) > [“always remember that on the path to happiness, sometimes there are unexpected twists and turns... but that doesn't mean they aren't the perfect twists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/always-remember-that-on-the-path-to-happiness-sometimes-there-are/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [Life is like a road it has it's twists and turns but you never know you will find a better person then him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-a-road-it-has-it-s-twists-and-turns-but-you-never-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is queer with its twists and turns,as every one of us sometimes learns. And many a failure turns about,when he might have won…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda/life-is-queer-with-its-twists-and-turns-as-every-one-of-us-sometimes/) [Linda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda/) > [“No story is worth telling without the twists and turns. Make them count instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/no-story-is-worth-telling-without-the-twists-and-turns-make-them/) [Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/) > [See, a villain takes the story forward. If everything centers around nice people, then there will be no twists and turns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saswata-chatterjee/see-a-villain-takes-the-story-forward-if-everything-centers-around/) [Saswata Chatterjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saswata-chatterjee/) > [“Life was filled with so many twists and turns, like the sides of a prism, giving off light; what seemed wrong before seemed almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-campisi/life-was-filled-with-so-many-twists-and-turns-like-the-sides-of-a/) [Mary Campisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-campisi/) > [Fate never sticks to a linear course, it twists and turns and bends the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/fate-never-sticks-to-a-linear-course-it-twists-and-turns-and-bends/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Life has many twists and turns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-baucus/life-has-many-twists-and-turns/) [Max Baucus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-baucus/) > [Sometimes God takes your life for some crazy twists and turns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-smith/sometimes-god-takes-your-life-for-some-crazy-twists-and-turns/) [Judah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-smith/) > [I know a lot of actors who have said to me, 'who'd have thought you could put a two-shot on screen for twenty minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-dunbar/i-know-a-lot-of-actors-who-have-said-to-me-who-d-have-thought-you/) [Adrian Dunbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-dunbar/) > [For sure, life takes many twists and turns, and one never knows what the future might hold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-di-maria/for-sure-life-takes-many-twists-and-turns-and-one-never-knows-what/) [Angel Di Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-di-maria/) > [I think of how life takes unexpected twists and turns, sometimes through sheer happenstance, sometimes through calculated decisions. In the end, it can all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-think-of-how-life-takes-unexpected-twists-and-turns-sometimes/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“Be prepared for twists and turns on the road to success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-stonestreet/be-prepared-for-twists-and-turns-on-the-road-to-success/) J.P. Stonestreet > [Normally, in a film with lots of twists and turns, half of them don't make sense; they're just there for their own sakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/domhnall-gleeson/normally-in-a-film-with-lots-of-twists-and-turns-half-of-them-don-t/) [Domhnall Gleeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/domhnall-gleeson/) ## More by Jane Green > [You are the best person I've met in years, and if I'd met you in a year's time, or maybe even a few months,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/you-are-the-best-person-i-ve-met-in-years-and-if-i-d-met-you-in-a/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“The woman on the bike raises her head and looks at the sky, sniffs, smiles to herself. A foggy day in Nantucket, but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/the-woman-on-the-bike-raises-her-head-and-looks-at-the-sky-sniffs/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“Forever feels a long time when you're eighteen. When you're away from home for the first time in your life, when you forge instant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/forever-feels-a-long-time-when-you-re-eighteen-when-you-re-away-from/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [That's how it is with relationships, it's a part of life, and all the great love songs and poems and films have been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/that-s-how-it-is-with-relationships-it-s-a-part-of-life-and-all-the/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“What he didn’t do was control me, or try to mold me into a little wife, some old-fashioned, muted version of who I was.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/what-he-didn-t-do-was-control-me-or-try-to-mold-me-into-a-little-wife/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“All those years of beauty, of a wonderful figure, and all I could think was that I was never pretty enough, never slim enough,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/all-those-years-of-beauty-of-a-wonderful-figure-and-all-i-could-think/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“To be honest, I'm not sure about this whole scared of commitment business. I think it's become too handy, a useful phrase that men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/to-be-honest-i-m-not-sure-about-this-whole-scared-of-commitment/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [I love getting out the house because writing is such a solitary business that even being at the library makes me feel part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/i-love-getting-out-the-house-because-writing-is-such-a-solitary/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“When it's just sex, you're allowed to be predatory, to make the first move, to entice them into bed, because it's not necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/when-it-s-just-sex-you-re-allowed-to-be-predatory-to-make-the-first/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“things have a habit of working out in life the way they are supposed to, if you are able to just relax and trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/things-have-a-habit-of-working-out-in-life-the-way-they-are-supposed/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“The bike crunches along the gravel path, weaving around the potholes that could present danger to someone who didn’t know the road like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/the-bike-crunches-along-the-gravel-path-weaving-around-the-potholes/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“I love the English language, playing with words, watching sentences fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/i-love-the-english-language-playing-with-words-watching-sentences-fit/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“As far as I’m concerned you have to give every relationship your all because if you’re going to get hurt, you’re going to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-you-have-to-give-every-relationship-your-all/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“Good. She is planning lunch on the deck today, is on her way into town via her neighbor’s house, where she has spent the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/good-she-is-planning-lunch-on-the-deck-today-is-on-her-way-into-town/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [“Alanna always says fine, even when Gabby can see the day hasn’t been”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/alanna-always-says-fine-even-when-gabby-can-see-the-day-hasn-t-been/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) [Explore all 100 Jane Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) ## More Be good quotes > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Peace is the result of love, and if love were easy we'd all be good at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colman-mccarthy/peace-is-the-result-of-love-and-if-love-were-easy-we-d-all-be-good-at/) [Colman McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colman-mccarthy/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Most of us want to live in harmony and peace and be good to others. Right now, however, the world is in a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hany-abu-assad/most-of-us-want-to-live-in-harmony-and-peace-and-be-good-to-others/) [Hany Abu-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hany-abu-assad/) > [I've never had any desire to be good. I don't like goodness particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanif-kureishi/i-ve-never-had-any-desire-to-be-good-i-don-t-like-goodness/) [Hanif Kureishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanif-kureishi/) > [To become a classical ballerina, you have to move to New York when you're 12 or 11 and that becomes your life. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-garner/to-become-a-classical-ballerina-you-have-to-move-to-new-york-when-you/) [Jennifer Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-garner/) > [The producers felt that 24 would be good for the audience, to really get to know who these 12 and 12 are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/the-producers-felt-that-24-would-be-good-for-the-audience-to-really/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [There's such cultural rot taking place, such a disintegration throughout our culture. Values, morality, you name it. Standards have been relaxed, and people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-s-such-cultural-rot-taking-place-such-a-disintegration/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [The difference in being good at some thing and being great at something is usually found in the little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-anderson/the-difference-in-being-good-at-some-thing-and-being-great-at/) Randy Anderson > [It doesn't matter if your lead character is good or bad. 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Why do you suppose His world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-marshall/living-in-the-middle-of-beauty-like-this-we-ve-no-call-to-have-puny/) [Catherine Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-marshall/) Browse all 1,747 Be good quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Each of us may think we know exactly what we need to make us happy, what will be good for us, what will ensure we have our happy ending, but life rarely works out in the way we expect, and our happy ending may have all sorts of unexpected twists and turns, be shaped in all sorts of unexpected ways", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-what-we-need-to-make-us-happy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be good" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-what-we-need-to-make-us-happy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/jane-green-5965_be-good_each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-wha_2021771.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/jane-green-5965_be-good_each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-wha_2021771.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ce/jane-green-5965_be-good_each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-wha_2021771.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Each of us may think we know exactly what we need to make us happy, what will be good for us, what will…” — Jane Green", "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": "Jane Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Each of us may think we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-what-we-need-to-make-us-happy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/each-of-us-may-think-we-know-exactly-what-we-need-to-make-us-happy/#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 } } ] } ```