--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The question we do not see when we are…" description: "\"The question we do not see when we are young is whether we own pride or are owned by it.\" — Josephine Winslow Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/josephine-winslow-johnson-2299_humble_the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-y_2407743.jpg" --- # The question we do not see when we are young is whether we… ![“The question we do not see when we are young is whether we own pride or are owned by it.” quote by Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/josephine-winslow-johnson-2299_humble_the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-y_2407743.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/josephine-winslow-johnson-2299_humble_the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-y_2407743.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/josephine-winslow-johnson-2299_humble_the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-y_2407743.jpg) > “The question we do not see when we are young is whether we own pride or are owned by it.” [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights the danger of letting pride dominate one’s life instead of being guided by humility. **In simple terms:** Pride can control you if you let it. Key Takeaway Cultivate humility over pride. Themes humility pride self‑awareness Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - leadership - conflict resolution - ethical decision‑making Key Concepts ego control identity Questions to Reflect On - Do you recognize moments when pride drives your choices? - How can humility improve your relationships? A Different Perspective Pride may sometimes motivate positive action, making it hard to reject entirely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humble/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) ## Related quotes > [“The question that young people should be asking their employers is not what kinds of family-friendly policies a particular firm has. Instead, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-marie-slaughter/the-question-that-young-people-should-be-asking-their-employers-is/) [Anne-Marie Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-marie-slaughter/) > [I've owned 41 airplanes. A few of them would talk with me. This little seaplane, though, we've had long conversations in flight. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-bach/i-ve-owned-41-airplanes-a-few-of-them-would-talk-with-me-this-little/) [Richard Bach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-bach/) > [Everybody is owned by somebody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-eisen/everybody-is-owned-by-somebody/) [Rich Eisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-eisen/) > [I live in Brick Towers, a public housing project in Newark's Central Ward. I moved in when the projects were privately owned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/i-live-in-brick-towers-a-public-housing-project-in-newark-s-central/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“How can I lose something I have never owned?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/how-can-i-lose-something-i-have-never-owned/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Author Neale Donald Walsch says, “So long as you’re still worried about what others think of you, you are owned by them. Only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/author-neale-donald-walsch-says-so-long-as-you-re-still-worried-about/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [At one time in the world there were woods that no one owned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/at-one-time-in-the-world-there-were-woods-that-no-one-owned/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Having started and owned two small businesses, I know what a challenge it is to keep up with the rising costs of your employees'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chellie-pingree/having-started-and-owned-two-small-businesses-i-know-what-a-challenge/) [Chellie Pingree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chellie-pingree/) > [Prior to the Civil War, most libraries were either privately owned or housed in universities or churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/prior-to-the-civil-war-most-libraries-were-either-privately-owned-or/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Who owns Cross Creek? The red-birds, I think, more than I, for they will have their nests even in the face of delinquent mortgages..It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/who-owns-cross-creek-the-red-birds-i-think-more-than-i-for-they-will/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [I ride horses, I love horses, I've owned horses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brosnan/i-ride-horses-i-love-horses-i-ve-owned-horses/) [Pierce Brosnan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brosnan/) > [“You do not own your employer brand. It is owned by your employees.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harjeet-khanduja/you-do-not-own-your-employer-brand-it-is-owned-by-your-employees/) [Harjeet Khanduja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harjeet-khanduja/) > [If we were a dog and God owned us, the cops would come and take us away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/if-we-were-a-dog-and-god-owned-us-the-cops-would-come-and-take-us-away/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I dont want to be owned by anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-headey/i-dont-want-to-be-owned-by-anyone/) [Lena Headey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-headey/) > [I feel like J.K. Rowling's world is one that is owned by everyone in some ways. People have grown up with it and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-redmayne/i-feel-like-j-k-rowling-s-world-is-one-that-is-owned-by-everyone-in/) [Eddie Redmayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-redmayne/) ## More by Josephine Winslow Johnson > [“And there was the inner walking on the edge of darkness, the peering into black doorways...the unrevealed answer which must be somewhere, and yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/and-there-was-the-inner-walking-on-the-edge-of-darkness-the-peering/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [Everything drops away, comes to be unimportant in the dark. It's like sleep almost. A freedom from self, from ugliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/everything-drops-away-comes-to-be-unimportant-in-the-dark-it-s-like/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [The woods seemed all answer and healing and more than enough to live for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/the-woods-seemed-all-answer-and-healing-and-more-than-enough-to-live/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [things that have cost more than they're worth leave a bitter taste. A taste of salt and sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/things-that-have-cost-more-than-they-re-worth-leave-a-bitter-taste-a/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [We are dying of preconceptions, outworn rules, decaying flags, venomous religions, and sentimentalities. We need a new world. We've wrenched up all the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/we-are-dying-of-preconceptions-outworn-rules-decaying-flags-venomous/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [The dead elm leaves hung like folded bats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/the-dead-elm-leaves-hung-like-folded-bats/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [... love and fear increase together with a precision almost mathematical: the greater the love is then the greater the fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/love-and-fear-increase-together-with-a-precision-almost-mathematical/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [There is 'a time to be born' - and born again, free of accumulated, encrusted sores of fears and prejudices, old hates, of cancerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/there-is-a-time-to-be-born-and-born-again-free-of-accumulated/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [“There must be some reason, I thought, why we should go on year after year, with this lump of debt, scrailing earth down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/there-must-be-some-reason-i-thought-why-we-should-go-on-year-after/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [“I like to pretend that the years alter and revalue, but begin to see that time does nothing but enlarge without mutation. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/i-like-to-pretend-that-the-years-alter-and-revalue-but-begin-to-see/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [Lord make me satisfied with small things. Make me content to live on the outside of life. God make me love the rind!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/lord-make-me-satisfied-with-small-things-make-me-content-to-live-on/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [in mad people fear goes on constantly, night and day, wearing one ditch in the mind that all thoughts must travel in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/in-mad-people-fear-goes-on-constantly-night-and-day-wearing-one-ditch/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [The writer's advantage, in some respects, over those whose expression lies in other fields, is in the privilege of a double - sometimes a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/the-writer-s-advantage-in-some-respects-over-those-whose-expression/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [To have children is a double living, the earthly fountain of youth, a continual fresh delight, a volcano as well as a fountain, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/to-have-children-is-a-double-living-the-earthly-fountain-of-youth-a/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) > [I am sick of war. Every woman of my generation is sick of war. Fifty years of war. Wars rumored, wars beginning, wars fought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/i-am-sick-of-war-every-woman-of-my-generation-is-sick-of-war-fifty/) [Josephine Winslow Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) [Explore all 26 Josephine Winslow Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/) ## More Humble quotes > [You just have to stay humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/you-just-have-to-stay-humble/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The more holy, the more humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-more-holy-the-more-humble/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Me, my niggas and some Madonna hoes that look just like virgins but trust they down to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/me-my-niggas-and-some-madonna-hoes-that-look-just-like-virgins-but/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I need to look like an idiot at least twice a day to keep myself humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-need-to-look-like-an-idiot-at-least-twice-a-day-to-keep-myself/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [The best route is to stay humble and stay true to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-the-kid/the-best-route-is-to-stay-humble-and-stay-true-to-yourself/) [Rich the Kid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-the-kid/) > [“Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you high. People who are gentle, humble and able always have a great ending no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/humble-yourself-before-the-lord-and-he-will-lift-you-high-people-who/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I work hard and I'm humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nle-choppa/i-work-hard-and-i-m-humble/) [NLE Choppa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nle-choppa/) > [We have to be humble and respect our opponents who are stronger than us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/we-have-to-be-humble-and-respect-our-opponents-who-are-stronger-than/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [To seek yourself in this world is to be lost; and to be humble is to be exalted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/to-seek-yourself-in-this-world-is-to-be-lost-and-to-be-humble-is-to/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [There are not too many places I can go without someone saying, 'Hey, can I take a picture of you with my daughter,' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-not-too-many-places-i-can-go-without-someone-saying-hey-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [No I'm not saying I'm the nicest I just life like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/no-i-m-not-saying-i-m-the-nicest-i-just-life-like-it/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) [Browse all 3,056 Humble quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humble/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The question we do not see when we are young is whether we own pride or are owned by it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Josephine Winslow Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-young-is-whether-we-own-pride/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Humble" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-young-is-whether-we-own-pride/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/josephine-winslow-johnson-2299_humble_the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-y_2407743.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/josephine-winslow-johnson-2299_humble_the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-y_2407743.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f2/josephine-winslow-johnson-2299_humble_the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-y_2407743.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question we do not see when we are young is whether we own pride or are owned by it.” — Josephine Winslow Johnson", "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": "Josephine Winslow Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-winslow-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The question we do not see...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-young-is-whether-we-own-pride/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-winslow-johnson/the-question-we-do-not-see-when-we-are-young-is-whether-we-own-pride/#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 } } ] } ```