--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I’m just now getting myself together to…" description: "\"“I’m just now getting myself together to start living, not just surviving; laughing and not pretending, learning and not running away from my problems...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/jenifer-lewis-9983_painful_i-m-just-now-getting-myself-together-to_2904407.jpg" --- # I’m just now getting myself together to start living, not… ![“I’m just now getting myself together to start living, not just surviving; laughing and not pretending, learning and not running away from my problems. The process is painful.” quote by Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/jenifer-lewis-9983_painful_i-m-just-now-getting-myself-together-to_2904407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/jenifer-lewis-9983_painful_i-m-just-now-getting-myself-together-to_2904407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/123/jenifer-lewis-9983_painful_i-m-just-now-getting-myself-together-to_2904407.jpg) > ““I’m just now getting myself together to start living, not just surviving; laughing and not pretending, learning and not running away from my problems. The process is painful.”” [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal growth requires confronting pain, embracing joy, and facing problems directly rather than merely surviving. **In simple terms:** Growth needs honesty and courage. Key Takeaway Face problems, seek joy. Themes self‑development authenticity pain joy Mood reflective hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - daily life - career transition - relationship building Key Concepts psychology resilience mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What are you avoiding? - How can you balance joy and responsibility? A Different Perspective Pain may persist despite effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Start Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-living/) [Surviving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surviving/) ## Related quotes > [“instead of just surviving, we can choose to thrive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-adair/instead-of-just-surviving-we-can-choose-to-thrive/) [Bobby Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-adair/) > [I've passed the age of consciousness and righteous rage. I found that just surviving was a noble fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/i-ve-passed-the-age-of-consciousness-and-righteous-rage-i-found-that/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [I'm not living. I'm just surviving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-living-i-m-just-surviving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There's a difference between living and just surviving. Do something you love, and find someone to love who loves that you love what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-connolly/there-s-a-difference-between-living-and-just-surviving-do-something/) [John Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-connolly/) > [Sometimes, you just feel like you're just surviving for parts of the season.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-zobrist/sometimes-you-just-feel-like-you-re-just-surviving-for-parts-of-the/) [Ben Zobrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-zobrist/) > [A lot of life is just surviving what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/a-lot-of-life-is-just-surviving-what-happens/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [Every single thing I do... is just me surviving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadya-suleman/every-single-thing-i-do-is-just-me-surviving/) [Nadya Suleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadya-suleman/) > [Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-dennett/human-consciousness-is-just-about-the-last-surviving-mystery/) [Daniel Dennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-dennett/) > [Tax Day is often a source of frustration for taxpayers, so anything that can make the process less painful is appreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brady/tax-day-is-often-a-source-of-frustration-for-taxpayers-so-anything/) [Kevin Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brady/) > [ \[The Rum Diary\] is a prestigious movie and it's got a great, talented cast, so they wanted to make sure they had the right… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/the-rum-diary-is-a-prestigious-movie-and-it-s-got-a-great-talented/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [When I begin to write a story, I usually know how things will end. It's the journey toward that point I must discover. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-willis-holt/when-i-begin-to-write-a-story-i-usually-know-how-things-will-end-it-s/) [Kimberly Willis Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-willis-holt/) > [The actor becomes an emotional athlete. The process is painful - my personal life suffers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/the-actor-becomes-an-emotional-athlete-the-process-is-painful-my/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [The thought of writing was always pleasant, but the process was painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-thought-of-writing-was-always-pleasant-but-the-process-was-painful/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are extremely vulnerable because we take too much time to implement the necessary measures. This is a painful process. When you go through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-rutte/we-are-extremely-vulnerable-because-we-take-too-much-time-to/) [Mark Rutte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-rutte/) > [My songwriting process is painful. Songwriting is brilliant. It's a load of fun - when it works. It's really difficult as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bay/my-songwriting-process-is-painful-songwriting-is-brilliant-it-s-a/) [James Bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bay/) ## More by Jenifer Lewis > [“And, I want other women to know they can stand up and MUST stand up to your persecutors. Feel the fear, and do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/and-i-want-other-women-to-know-they-can-stand-up-and-must-stand-up-to/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [“Every now and then I would still fuck up with the people I loved the most. And they loved me enough to tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/every-now-and-then-i-would-still-fuck-up-with-the-people-i-loved-the/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [Love yourself, so that love will not be a stranger when it comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/love-yourself-so-that-love-will-not-be-a-stranger-when-it-comes/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [I've been burn when it comes to my hair that it ain't no joke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-ve-been-burn-when-it-comes-to-my-hair-that-it-ain-t-no-joke/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [Creativity does not stop just because you're over 50. Hollywood spits female actresses out after age 29, but you don't stop creating. If anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/creativity-does-not-stop-just-because-you-re-over-50-hollywood-spits/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [“I go inside. I become Ruby Johnson. I deliver my first line. Within seconds, I hear the sound I’d been listening for all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-go-inside-i-become-ruby-johnson-i-deliver-my-first-line-within/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [I sang in church at 5. When I saw the reaction, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-sang-in-church-at-5-when-i-saw-the-reaction-i-knew-what-i-wanted-to/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [If you just want to be a star, go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/if-you-just-want-to-be-a-star-go-away/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [I never gave up. I never quit. I've been a leader all my life, from elementary school to president of my class to excelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-never-gave-up-i-never-quit-i-ve-been-a-leader-all-my-life-from/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [I still go to a salon where a gal does my hair, and I don't know if it's because I'm a celebrity but by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-still-go-to-a-salon-where-a-gal-does-my-hair-and-i-don-t-know-if-it/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [It's important to e alive in those moment, especially when you're doing something you love to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/it-s-important-to-e-alive-in-those-moment-especially-when-you-re/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [Sometimes I think I take on a lot of work but that's me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/sometimes-i-think-i-take-on-a-lot-of-work-but-that-s-me/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [You are a black goddess when you come out the salon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/you-are-a-black-goddess-when-you-come-out-the-salon/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [I don't have any beauty shop memories. I remember the barber shop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-don-t-have-any-beauty-shop-memories-i-remember-the-barber-shop/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) > [I was gifted at birth with this talent, and I've tried to honor it all my life. And I did - through hell and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenifer-lewis/i-was-gifted-at-birth-with-this-talent-and-i-ve-tried-to-honor-it-all/) [Jenifer Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) [Explore all 68 Jenifer Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenifer-lewis/) ## More Painful quotes > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hate watching myself speak German, it's painful!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-marsch/i-hate-watching-myself-speak-german-it-s-painful/) [Jesse Marsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-marsch/) > [My parents are divorced, and seeing that was really painful for me. Really painful for me. But that's also a big part of why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/my-parents-are-divorced-and-seeing-that-was-really-painful-for-me/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [Funny how 90% of the songs is based on something that's so painful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/funny-how-90-of-the-songs-is-based-on-something-that-s-so-painful/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most painful thing in life is losing yourself in the process of valuing someone too much & forgetting that you are special too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-painful-thing-in-life-is-losing-yourself-in-the-process-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am sorry to upset my colleagues by saying we wasted four years in opposition, but if you do get so badly defeated as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/i-am-sorry-to-upset-my-colleagues-by-saying-we-wasted-four-years-in/) [Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/) > [My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [In life, grief was a journey through a forest of razor blades. I walked through every painful inch of it no shortcuts and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-life-grief-was-a-journey-through-a-forest-of-razor-blades-i-walked/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most painful moral struggles are not those between good and evil, but between the good and the lesser good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/the-most-painful-moral-struggles-are-not-those-between-good-and-evil/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [You are quite, quite wrong if you think that ... I find your happiness painful. What matters is that happiness - the golden day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/you-are-quite-quite-wrong-if-you-think-that-i-find-your-happiness/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [“If you love someone, losing them is one of the most painful experiences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sorensen/if-you-love-someone-losing-them-is-one-of-the-most-painful-experiences/) [Jessica Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sorensen/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [If it is written and read with serious attention, a novel, like a myth or any great work of art, can become an initiation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/if-it-is-written-and-read-with-serious-attention-a-novel-like-a-myth/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) Browse all 2,741 Painful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I’m just now getting myself together to start living, not just surviving; laughing and not pretending, learning and not running away from my problems. 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