--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not like you believe yourself to be…" description: "\"“It's not like you believe yourself to be normal. You know there is a problem. But you can't figure a way through to fixing it.”\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/john-green-12_fixing_it-s-not-like-you-believe-yourself-to-be_3077865.jpg" --- # It's not like you believe yourself to be normal. You know… ![“It's not like you believe yourself to be normal. You know there is a problem. But you can't figure a way through to fixing it.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/john-green-12_fixing_it-s-not-like-you-believe-yourself-to-be_3077865.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/john-green-12_fixing_it-s-not-like-you-believe-yourself-to-be_3077865.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/712/john-green-12_fixing_it-s-not-like-you-believe-yourself-to-be_3077865.jpg) > ““It's not like you believe yourself to be normal. You know there is a problem. But you can't figure a way through to fixing it.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People recognize personal issues but struggle to find solutions. **In simple terms:** Awareness without a fix. Key Takeaway Identify obstacles and experiment with fixes. Themes self‑awareness problem solving mental health Mood thoughtful empathetic Type motivational psychological When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - peer support - goal setting Key Concepts cognitive bias resilience self‑compassion Questions to Reflect On - What blocks your problem‑solving? - How can you move from awareness to action? A Different Perspective Self‑recognition can lead to paralysis without actionable steps. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe Yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-yourself/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [“It’s so weird, to know you’re crazy and not be able to do anything about it, you know? It’s not like you believe yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/it-s-so-weird-to-know-you-re-crazy-and-not-be-able-to-do-anything/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Do you know what your problem is? You can't live with the idea that someone might leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/do-you-know-what-your-problem-is-you-can-t-live-with-the-idea-that/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You know your problem, Quentin? You keep expecting people not to be themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-know-your-problem-quentin-you-keep-expecting-people-not-to-be-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Apparently it is okay to drill normalcy into someone, but it is denial to believe that a normal boy lives trapped behind a wildly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ido-kedar/apparently-it-is-okay-to-drill-normalcy-into-someone-but-it-is-denial/) [Ido Kedar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ido-kedar/) > [Believe it or not, it's normal to have eight people working on me at the same time!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-luss/believe-it-or-not-it-s-normal-to-have-eight-people-working-on-me-at/) [Sasha Luss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-luss/) > [“It must be something voluntary, something self induced - like getting drunk, or talking yourself into believing some piece of foolishness because it happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/it-must-be-something-voluntary-something-self-induced-like-getting/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Psychoanalysts believe that the only 'normal' people are those who cause no trouble either to themselves or anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/psychoanalysts-believe-that-the-only-normal-people-are-those-who-2/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Psychoanalysts believe that the only "normal" people are those who cause not trouble to either themselves or anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/psychoanalysts-believe-that-the-only-normal-people-are-those-who/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [Once you have a situation that is fresh, then you sort of believe in it and it becomes normal. So you do end up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-schrader/once-you-have-a-situation-that-is-fresh-then-you-sort-of-believe-in/) [Paul Schrader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-schrader/) > [“To live a normal life, you just have to believe nothing is normal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/to-live-a-normal-life-you-just-have-to-believe-nothing-is-normal/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“Believe it or not, a normal human being is one who can have an orgasm and is adjusted to his society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/believe-it-or-not-a-normal-human-being-is-one-who-can-have-an-orgasm/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“I believe I’m very normal. I’m hyper-normal. I’m more normal than anyone else I know. I think my thoughts, my indulgences, my desires, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-saul-wurman/i-believe-i-m-very-normal-i-m-hyper-normal-i-m-more-normal-than/) [Richard Saul Wurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-saul-wurman/) > [Quite a few people have to believe something is normal before it becomes normal - a sort of 'voting' situation. But once the threshold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/quite-a-few-people-have-to-believe-something-is-normal-before-it/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) > [It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/it-s-so-much-easier-to-suggest-solutions-when-you-don-t-know-too-much/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [“But if the system is the problem, the truth is that there will not be satisfactory answers in the here and now for lots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gar-alperovitz/but-if-the-system-is-the-problem-the-truth-is-that-there-will-not-be/) [Gar Alperovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gar-alperovitz/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Fixing quotes > [There are certain early plays of mine that I really don't like, but I can't imagine going back and fixing them. I would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-baker/there-are-certain-early-plays-of-mine-that-i-really-don-t-like-but-i/) [Annie Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-baker/) > [Worry is different from fear. If fear is like a raging fever, worry is a low-grade temperature. It nags at us, simmers in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-lawson-sittser/worry-is-different-from-fear-if-fear-is-like-a-raging-fever-worry-is/) [Gerald Lawson Sittser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-lawson-sittser/) > [I caught a glimpse of happiness, and saw it was a bird on a branch, fixing to take wing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/i-caught-a-glimpse-of-happiness-and-saw-it-was-a-bird-on-a-branch/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [“Smile. Smile until all that's left are the pieces of your broken heart that are slowly fixing itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammiel-josiah-osia-monterde/smile-smile-until-all-that-s-left-are-the-pieces-of-your-broken-heart/) Ammiel Josiah Osia Monterde > [Though social eugenics was discredited long ago, we still often think of the genome in quasi-eugenic terms. When we read about the latest discovery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-wolf/though-social-eugenics-was-discredited-long-ago-we-still-often-think/) [Gary Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-wolf/) > [stop fixing your bodies and start fixing the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/stop-fixing-your-bodies-and-start-fixing-the-world/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [One of the reasons I've never done intensive psychotherapy or any of that stuff is that if there's anything in me that needs fixing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/one-of-the-reasons-i-ve-never-done-intensive-psychotherapy-or-any-of/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/ours-is-not-the-task-of-fixing-the-entire-world-all-at-once-but-of/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Of course I will look at anything, but I have not got the time or the patience to keep on looking at art that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-darby-bannard/of-course-i-will-look-at-anything-but-i-have-not-got-the-time-or-the/) [Walter Darby Bannard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-darby-bannard/) > [ \[The American people\] would rather invest in themselves than listen to a bunch of people in Washington who do not have a record of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-american-people-would-rather-invest-in-themselves-than-listen-to/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Psychology is much bigger than just medicine, or fixing unhealthy things. It's about education, work, marriage - it's even about sports. What I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-seligman/psychology-is-much-bigger-than-just-medicine-or-fixing-unhealthy/) [Martin Seligman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-seligman/) > [Good planning avoids the need for fixing up a project that plowed ahead without thought... about potential pitfalls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/good-planning-avoids-the-need-for-fixing-up-a-project-that-plowed/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [Once I get the horse where he’s responding and working for ya and has a good frame of mind and a good attitude, it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/once-i-get-the-horse-where-he-s-responding-and-working-for-ya-and-has/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) > [ The designer \[...\] has a passion for doing something that fits somebody's needs, but that is not just a simple fix. The designer has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-kelley/the-designer-has-a-passion-for-doing-something-that-fits-somebody-s/) [David E. Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-kelley/) > [Reforming public education, cutting property taxes, fixing adult and child protective services and funding our budget can all occur when Democrats and Republicans engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/reforming-public-education-cutting-property-taxes-fixing-adult-and/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) Browse all 364 Fixing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's not like you believe yourself to be normal. You know there is a problem. 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