--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: i know what it's like to wake up thinking…" description: "\"i know what it's like to wake up thinking you will be able to cast the people who play the starring roles in your life, only to realize that you have t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/jodi-picoult-45_able_i-know-what-it-s-like-to-wake-up-thinkin_2377529.jpg" --- # i know what it's like to wake up thinking you will be able… ![“i know what it's like to wake up thinking you will be able to cast the people who play the starring roles in your life, only to realize that you have to watch it from the audience.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/jodi-picoult-45_able_i-know-what-it-s-like-to-wake-up-thinkin_2377529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/jodi-picoult-45_able_i-know-what-it-s-like-to-wake-up-thinkin_2377529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/jodi-picoult-45_able_i-know-what-it-s-like-to-wake-up-thinkin_2377529.jpg) > “i know what it's like to wake up thinking you will be able to cast the people who play the starring roles in your life, only to realize that you have to watch it from the audience.” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## 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 imagine controlling others' roles in our lives, only to see we are mere observers. **In simple terms:** We think we can direct others, but we are spectators. Key Takeaway Accept your role as observer, not director. Themes control expectations life roles Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - career planning - family dynamics Key Concepts agency detachment self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you shift from watching to influencing? - What does being in the audience teach you? A Different Perspective It can be disempowering to feel passive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wake up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wake-up/) ## Related quotes > [I love to star in movies, but I want to have good roles. It doesn't help to get starring roles in something that's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pesci/i-love-to-star-in-movies-but-i-want-to-have-good-roles-it-doesn-t/) [Joe Pesci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-pesci/) > ['I Was There Too' talks to people who played non-starring roles in big movies. That means the likes of comedian Jimmy Pardo, who didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hepworth/i-was-there-too-talks-to-people-who-played-non-starring-roles-in-big/) [David Hepworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hepworth/) > [In this theatre that I call my soul, I always play the starring role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-police/in-this-theatre-that-i-call-my-soul-i-always-play-the-starring-role/) [The Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-police/) > [ I was cast in a movie \[originally\] called Mr. Spreckman's Boat, starring Marcia Gay Harden and Jennifer Connelly. I felt like an "actress." Both… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/i-was-cast-in-a-movie-originally-called-mr-spreckman-s-boat-starring/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) > [I've been offered starring roles in horrible movies, but I just didn't want to do it. I don't see why you would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/i-ve-been-offered-starring-roles-in-horrible-movies-but-i-just-didn-t/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [“We can either choose to cling to starring roles in the little-bitty stories of us or opt to exchange our fleeting moment in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/we-can-either-choose-to-cling-to-starring-roles-in-the-little-bitty/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [I like doing films and I wish that I could do more but I still have to audition. I don't get offered starring roles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-meadows/i-like-doing-films-and-i-wish-that-i-could-do-more-but-i-still-have/) [Tim Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-meadows/) > [I can't be in a film that I wouldn't like to watch as audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sobhita-dhulipala/i-can-t-be-in-a-film-that-i-wouldn-t-like-to-watch-as-audience/) [Sobhita Dhulipala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sobhita-dhulipala/) > [At the premieres, I always watch the audience. If a child asks to go to the bathroom, I know I've failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-carlo-menotti/at-the-premieres-i-always-watch-the-audience-if-a-child-asks-to-go-to/) [Gian Carlo Menotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-carlo-menotti/) > [“Have you seen people in a theater looking at a movie, how different they are there? 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I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bruckheimer/i-can-stand-at-the-back-of-the-theater-and-watch-an-audience-laugh/) [Jerry Bruckheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bruckheimer/) > [When I watch a film, I watch only as an audience and only later I might analyse it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nandita-das/when-i-watch-a-film-i-watch-only-as-an-audience-and-only-later-i/) [Nandita Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nandita-das/) > [When the movie's on, I usually watch more of the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-sawa/when-the-movie-s-on-i-usually-watch-more-of-the-audience/) [Devon Sawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-sawa/) ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. 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I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Able quotes > [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/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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