--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I left myself out of humanity by focusing…" description: "\"“I left myself out of humanity by focusing on differences. This isolation only strengthened Ed” (17)”\" — Jenni Schaefer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/jenni-schaefer-22271_differences_i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusin_3057703.jpg" --- # I left myself out of humanity by focusing on differences… ![“I left myself out of humanity by focusing on differences. This isolation only strengthened Ed” (17)” quote by Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/jenni-schaefer-22271_differences_i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusin_3057703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/jenni-schaefer-22271_differences_i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusin_3057703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/jenni-schaefer-22271_differences_i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusin_3057703.jpg) > ““I left myself out of humanity by focusing on differences. This isolation only strengthened Ed” (17)”” [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She admits that focusing on differences isolated her, strengthening that isolation, implying a need for connection. **In simple terms:** Focusing on differences led to isolation. Key Takeaway Seek common ground, not division. Themes identity isolation differences Mood reflective hopeful Type personal psychological When to use this quote - personal development - community building - psychology Key Concepts social connection self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What differences separate you from others? - How can you bridge those gaps? A Different Perspective Isolation can be self‑imposed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Eating disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-disorder/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Recovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recovery/) ## Related quotes > [Oftentimes, especially during my recovery, I didn't need to think about everything I was doing wrong; instead, I needed to focus more on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/oftentimes-especially-during-my-recovery-i-didn-t-need-to-think-about/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“Why couldn’t I find one action that would make the need to binge automatically disappear? Because there is no magic action to make that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/why-couldn-t-i-find-one-action-that-would-make-the-need-to-binge/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“When we feel like giving up, like we are beyond help, we must remember that we are never beyond hope. Holding on to hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/when-we-feel-like-giving-up-like-we-are-beyond-help-we-must-remember/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Connect with supportive people who empower you. The more you jump into your life, the further away from Ed you can get. Don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/connect-with-supportive-people-who-empower-you-the-more-you-jump-into/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“Real hope combined with real action has always pulled me through difficult times. Real hope combined with doing nothing has never pulled me through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/real-hope-combined-with-real-action-has-always-pulled-me-through-2/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“All of it dust now, all of their precious humanoid civilization ground to junk under glaciers or weathered away by wind and spray and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/all-of-it-dust-now-all-of-their-precious-humanoid-civilization-ground/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [I believe if there is any place left where the humanity is still visible, it can not be anywhere else than in an Islamic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-jackson/i-believe-if-there-is-any-place-left-where-the-humanity-is-still/) [Jermaine Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-jackson/) > [When computers rule the world the only virus left is humanity .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-computers-rule-the-world-the-only-virus-left-is-humanity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hold yourself back, or heal yourself back together. You decide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-burgunder/hold-yourself-back-or-heal-yourself-back-together-you-decide/) [Brittany Burgunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-burgunder/) > [Recovery isn’t easy, at first. It takes time. It takes more work, sometimes, than you think you’re willing to do. But it is worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/recovery-isn-t-easy-at-first-it-takes-time-it-takes-more-work/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [“We take action when we have the honesty to admit that things are still broken, despite our best efforts otherwise. We take action when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-cutts/we-take-action-when-we-have-the-honesty-to-admit-that-things-are/) Shannon Cutts > [“Recovery is hard. Staying in your disorder is Hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-burgunder/recovery-is-hard-staying-in-your-disorder-is-hell/) [Brittany Burgunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-burgunder/) > [If we are ready to tear down the walls that confine us, break the cage that imprisons us, we will discover what our wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-elmore-meegan/if-we-are-ready-to-tear-down-the-walls-that-confine-us-break-the-cage/) Michael Elmore-Meegan > [“In the past, my brain could only compute perfection or failure—nothing in between. So words like competent, acceptable, satisfactory, and good enough fell into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/in-the-past-my-brain-could-only-compute-perfection-or-failure-nothing/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“anxiety becomes high energy when taken to the light. For me, it worked like this: I used to live in a constant state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/anxiety-becomes-high-energy-when-taken-to-the-light-for-me-it-worked/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) ## More by Jenni Schaefer > [In the past, I was a perpetual victim; how I was doing in any given moment depended on what happened to me. Today I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/in-the-past-i-was-a-perpetual-victim-how-i-was-doing-in-any-given/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Real hope combined with real action has always pulled me through difficult times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/real-hope-combined-with-real-action-has-always-pulled-me-through/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Oftentimes, especially during my recovery, I didn't need to think about everything I was doing wrong; instead, I needed to focus more on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/oftentimes-especially-during-my-recovery-i-didn-t-need-to-think-about/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“Why couldn’t I find one action that would make the need to binge automatically disappear? Because there is no magic action to make that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/why-couldn-t-i-find-one-action-that-would-make-the-need-to-binge/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“When we feel like giving up, like we are beyond help, we must remember that we are never beyond hope. Holding on to hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/when-we-feel-like-giving-up-like-we-are-beyond-help-we-must-remember/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Recovery is about making room for the real me to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/recovery-is-about-making-room-for-the-real-me-to-exist/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“Real hope combined with real action has always pulled me through difficult times. Real hope combined with doing nothing has never pulled me through.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/real-hope-combined-with-real-action-has-always-pulled-me-through-2/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Connect with supportive people who empower you. The more you jump into your life, the further away from Ed you can get. Don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/connect-with-supportive-people-who-empower-you-the-more-you-jump-into/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“In the past, my brain could only compute perfection or failure—nothing in between. So words like competent, acceptable, satisfactory, and good enough fell into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/in-the-past-my-brain-could-only-compute-perfection-or-failure-nothing/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“anxiety becomes high energy when taken to the light. For me, it worked like this: I used to live in a constant state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/anxiety-becomes-high-energy-when-taken-to-the-light-for-me-it-worked/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [I would not encourage you to go through the sweat, blood, and tears of the recovery process only to reach some kind of mediocre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/i-would-not-encourage-you-to-go-through-the-sweat-blood-and-tears-of/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“I wrote in my journal about how good I felt when I was not living under Ed’s control. Then, when I really felt like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/i-wrote-in-my-journal-about-how-good-i-felt-when-i-was-not-living/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“During the worst stages of my eating disorder, I was all-or-none with food—either bingeing or not eating. Much of my experience was, in fact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/during-the-worst-stages-of-my-eating-disorder-i-was-all-or-none-with/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [Replace perfectionism with persistence. After all, in recovery and life, it's persistence that really pays off. Forget about perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/replace-perfectionism-with-persistence-after-all-in-recovery-and-life/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) > [“When you feel like you would rather die than live another day with an eating disorder, know that I used to feel that way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/when-you-feel-like-you-would-rather-die-than-live-another-day-with-an/) [Jenni Schaefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) [Explore all 27 Jenni Schaefer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/) ## More Differences quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [There are those who open their hearts to others...who never think twice about giving of themselves. They are the wonderful warmhearted people who make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/there-are-those-who-open-their-hearts-to-others-who-never-think-twice/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [When the President starts talking about something, it makes a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/when-the-president-starts-talking-about-something-it-makes-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [In a world shaped and colored more and more by politicians, the nations meet politically, and hardly any other way to settle their differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-priestley/in-a-world-shaped-and-colored-more-and-more-by-politicians-the/) [J. B. Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-priestley/) [Browse all 8,110 Differences quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I left myself out of humanity by focusing on differences. This isolation only strengthened Ed” (17)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jenni Schaefer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusing-on-differences-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Differences" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusing-on-differences-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/jenni-schaefer-22271_differences_i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusin_3057703.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/jenni-schaefer-22271_differences_i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusin_3057703.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/jenni-schaefer-22271_differences_i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusin_3057703.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I left myself out of humanity by focusing on differences. This isolation only strengthened Ed” (17)” — Jenni Schaefer", "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": "Jenni Schaefer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenni-schaefer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I left myself out of humanity...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusing-on-differences-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenni-schaefer/i-left-myself-out-of-humanity-by-focusing-on-differences-this/#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 } } ] } ```