--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're all about pulling ourselves up by…" description: "\"We're all about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, et cetera - I think that's a harmful mythology, that the choices that we make and the things th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_we-re-all-about-pulling-ourselves-up-by_1007419.png" --- # We're all about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, et… ![“We're all about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, et cetera - I think that's a harmful mythology, that the choices that we make and the things that we do in our lives are not connected to anything else. So I'd like to help to debunk that.” quote by Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_we-re-all-about-pulling-ourselves-up-by_1007419.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_we-re-all-about-pulling-ourselves-up-by_1007419.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b0/jesmyn-ward-1426_anything_we-re-all-about-pulling-ourselves-up-by_1007419.png) > “We're all about pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, et cetera - I think that's a harmful mythology, that the choices that we make and the things that we do in our lives are not connected to anything else. So I'd like to help to debunk that.” [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The myth of self‑made success ignores systemic influences on personal choices and outcomes. **In simple terms:** Success isn’t only about personal effort. Key Takeaway Recognize external factors shaping life paths. Themes systemic inequality myth of meritocracy social responsibility Mood critical analytical Type social philosophical When to use this quote - education policy - career counseling - public health - community organizing Key Concepts sociology economics Questions to Reflect On - How do societal structures affect your choices? - What can be done to challenge the boot‑strap myth? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on individualism can blame victims. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anything/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Harmful Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harmful-mythology-2165445/) [Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help/) [Help Debunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-debunk-2165446/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Mythology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology/) [Mythology Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mythology-choices-2165447/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Think Harmful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-harmful-916362/) ## Related quotes > [But I think the most harmful change brought about by Victorian science in our attitude to nature lies in the demand that our relation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/but-i-think-the-most-harmful-change-brought-about-by-victorian/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [How long will you think about this painful life? 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When the events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-i-wrote-my-memoir-men-we-reaped-i-had-been-running-from/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was a teenager, I was the only black girl at a small, private Episcopal school, where my tuition was paid by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-a-teenager-i-was-the-only-black-girl-at-a-small-private/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [She was the murderous mother who cut us to the bone but left us alive, left us naked and bewildered as wrinkled newborn babies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/she-was-the-murderous-mother-who-cut-us-to-the-bone-but-left-us-alive/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [I hope people who read my books feel empathy for us and really see us as complicated people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-hope-people-who-read-my-books-feel-empathy-for-us-and-really-see-us/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When I was writing my first novel, 'Where the Line Bleeds,' which had young black men as its main characters, I was very invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-writing-my-first-novel-where-the-line-bleeds-which-had/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“Lot of folks was in there for stealing food because everybody was poor and starving, and even though White people couldn’t get your work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/lot-of-folks-was-in-there-for-stealing-food-because-everybody-was/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) [Explore all 242 Jesmyn Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) ## More Anything quotes > [I guess I've never really wanted to be anything else. 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