--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you can not find someone, it is…" description: "\"When you can not find someone, it is because you've been misdirected to look elsewhere\" — Jodi Picoult" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/jodi-picoult-45_can-not_when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-beca_212604.jpg" --- # When you can not find someone, it is because you've been… ![“When you can not find someone, it is because you've been misdirected to look elsewhere” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/jodi-picoult-45_can-not_when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-beca_212604.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/jodi-picoult-45_can-not_when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-beca_212604.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/jodi-picoult-45_can-not_when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-beca_212604.jpg) > “When you can not find someone, it is because you've been misdirected to look elsewhere” [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. When we cannot locate a solution, it may be because we are searching in the wrong direction. **In simple terms:** Misguided searches lead to dead ends. Key Takeaway Reevaluate assumptions and explore alternatives. Themes problem‑solving search mindset misdirection clarity Mood reflective hopeful Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - career decisions - relationship issues - research projects - personal growth Key Concepts cognitive psychology decision theory philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions are you overlooking? - How can you broaden your perspective? A Different Perspective Stubbornly persisting on a false path wastes time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Can not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-not/) [Elsewhere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elsewhere/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Misdirected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misdirected-123212/) [Misdirected Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misdirected-look-2190351/) [Ve Misdirected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-misdirected-2190350/) ## Related quotes > [Neighborhoods infected then misdirected. It ain't no cure and it's hard to correct it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barrington-levy/neighborhoods-infected-then-misdirected-it-ain-t-no-cure-and-it-s/) [Barrington Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barrington-levy/) > [Nothing could be more misdirected than a self-directed life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-sperry-chafer/nothing-could-be-more-misdirected-than-a-self-directed-life/) [Lewis Sperry Chafer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-sperry-chafer/) > [“Due north’ on my compass is largely ‘due’ to the fact that in ‘due’ time I have been ‘unduly’ lax in recalibrating my compass.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/due-north-on-my-compass-is-largely-due-to-the-fact-that-in-due-time-i/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [ “Someone misdirected you \[...\] Most writers in New York don't do much writing. They spend their time talking and drinking bootleg liquor. That's what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-misdirected-you-most-writers-in-new-york-don-t-do-much/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Crime is naught but misdirected energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/crime-is-naught-but-misdirected-energy/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“If there’s one thing that’s irrefutably absurd, it’s believing that we can separate intelligence from wisdom and still have it be intelligence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-there-s-one-thing-that-s-irrefutably-absurd-it-s-believing-that-we/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“If I scan the expanse of my heart and find it empty of everything except emptiness, it is because I ‘poured’ the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-i-scan-the-expanse-of-my-heart-and-find-it-empty-of-everything/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“Imagination envisions what could be. Reality states what is. And when my journey is shaped by one of these at the exclusion of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/imagination-envisions-what-could-be-reality-states-what-is-and-when/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [You can not have significance in this life if it is all about you. You get your significance, you find your joy in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/you-can-not-have-significance-in-this-life-if-it-is-all-about-you-you/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [Yes I try to do everything I can not to fail hideously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/yes-i-try-to-do-everything-i-can-not-to-fail-hideously/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [You can not kill that which is already dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-undertaker/you-can-not-kill-that-which-is-already-dead/) [The Undertaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-undertaker/) > [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [ He \[Moliere\] pleases all the world, but cannot please himself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/he-moliere-pleases-all-the-world-but-cannot-please-himself/) [Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/) > [… Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists & turns of fate. Time falls away, but these small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thomas/our-lives-are-made-in-these-small-hours-these-little-wonders-these/) [Rob Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thomas/) > [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) ## 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. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I love feeling loved. I don't love knowing that I will always come in second place. 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 Can not quotes > [Our beliefs are like the unquestioned commands, telling us how things are, what's possible and what's impossible, what we can and can not do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-beliefs-are-like-the-unquestioned-commands-telling-us-how-things/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [… Our lives are made in these small hours, these little wonders, these twists & turns of fate. Time falls away, but these small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thomas/our-lives-are-made-in-these-small-hours-these-little-wonders-these/) [Rob Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thomas/) > [ He \[Moliere\] pleases all the world, but cannot please himself. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/he-moliere-pleases-all-the-world-but-cannot-please-himself/) [Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-boileau-despreaux/) > [Our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. Surely they can not separate from our consciousness, shall follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/our-great-thoughts-our-great-affections-the-truths-of-our-life-never/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) > [You can not kill that which is already dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-undertaker/you-can-not-kill-that-which-is-already-dead/) [The Undertaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-undertaker/) > [Yes I try to do everything I can not to fail hideously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-balaban/yes-i-try-to-do-everything-i-can-not-to-fail-hideously/) [Bob Balaban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-balaban/) > [You can not have significance in this life if it is all about you. You get your significance, you find your joy in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tudor-jones/you-can-not-have-significance-in-this-life-if-it-is-all-about-you-you/) [Paul Tudor Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tudor-jones/) > [If we are true to ourselves, we can not be false to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/if-we-are-true-to-ourselves-we-can-not-be-false-to-anyone/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If I can not dance, I shall die!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-pavlova/if-i-can-not-dance-i-shall-die/) [Anna Pavlova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-pavlova/) > [I have looked at so many photographs, I can not see them anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-heizer/i-have-looked-at-so-many-photographs-i-can-not-see-them-anymore/) [Michael Heizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-heizer/) > [I think that freely available software can not only keep up with the evolution of commercial software, but often exceed what you can do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linus-torvalds/i-think-that-freely-available-software-can-not-only-keep-up-with-the/) [Linus Torvalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linus-torvalds/) > [Hinduism is not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that can not be defined but is only to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/hinduism-is-not-just-a-faith-it-is-the-union-of-reason-and-intuition/) [Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarvepalli-radhakrishnan/) > [Whether or not storms come, we can not choose. But where we stare during a storm, that we can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/whether-or-not-storms-come-we-can-not-choose-but-where-we-stare/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [All earth's full rivers can not fillThe sea that drinking thirsteth still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-rossetti/all-earth-s-full-rivers-can-not-fillthe-sea-that-drinking-thirsteth/) [Christina Rossetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-rossetti/) > [Nations are beginning to look to some vague organization, some nebulous course of humanity, to pay their bills and tell them what to do.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/nations-are-beginning-to-look-to-some-vague-organization-some/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) [Browse all 567 Can not quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-not/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you can not find someone, it is because you've been misdirected to look elsewhere", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jodi Picoult" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-because-you-ve-been-misdirected/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can not" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-because-you-ve-been-misdirected/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/jodi-picoult-45_can-not_when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-beca_212604.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/jodi-picoult-45_can-not_when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-beca_212604.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/406/jodi-picoult-45_can-not_when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-beca_212604.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you can not find someone, it is because you've been misdirected to look elsewhere” — Jodi Picoult", "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": "Jodi Picoult", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you can not find someone,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-because-you-ve-been-misdirected/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-you-can-not-find-someone-it-is-because-you-ve-been-misdirected/#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 } } ] } ```