--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing is not to follow a pattern…" description: "\"The thing is not to follow a pattern. Follow your own pattern of feeling and thought. The thing is to accept your own life and not try to live someone ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/katherine-anne-porter-2653_accepting_the-thing-is-not-to-follow-a-pattern-fol_409897.jpg" --- # The thing is not to follow a pattern. Follow your own… ![“The thing is not to follow a pattern. Follow your own pattern of feeling and thought. The thing is to accept your own life and not try to live someone else's life. Look, the thumbprint is not like any other, and the thumbprint is what you must go by.” quote by Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/katherine-anne-porter-2653_accepting_the-thing-is-not-to-follow-a-pattern-fol_409897.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/katherine-anne-porter-2653_accepting_the-thing-is-not-to-follow-a-pattern-fol_409897.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97a/katherine-anne-porter-2653_accepting_the-thing-is-not-to-follow-a-pattern-fol_409897.jpg) > “The thing is not to follow a pattern. Follow your own pattern of feeling and thought. The thing is to accept your own life and not try to live someone else's life. Look, the thumbprint is not like any other, and the thumbprint is what you must go by.” [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True fulfillment comes from living your unique life, not copying others; follow your personal inner guide. **In simple terms:** Live your own life, not others'. Key Takeaway Trust your inner compass. Themes individuality self‑acceptance authenticity Mood thoughtful empowering Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career choices - creative projects - personal relationships Key Concepts personal identity mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does your inner thumbprint feel like? - How can you honor your uniqueness daily? A Different Perspective Societal pressure often pushes conformity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Individuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individuality/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Thumbprints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thumbprints/) ## Related quotes > [I very strongly believe that if you go back to your roots, if you mine that inner territory, you can bring out something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-tenneson/i-very-strongly-believe-that-if-you-go-back-to-your-roots-if-you-mine/) [Joyce Tenneson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-tenneson/) > [Everyone's life has a path,which is unique like a thumbprint variability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmad-nuhu/everyone-s-life-has-a-path-which-is-unique-like-a-thumbprint/) Ahmad Nuhu# > [I specialize in what the French call la petite histoire. I am interested in the individual thumbprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-specialize-in-what-the-french-call-la-petite-histoire-i-am/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [If someone steals your password, you can change it. But if someone steals your thumbprint, you can't get a new thumb. The failure modes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/if-someone-steals-your-password-you-can-change-it-but-if-someone/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [My days all follow much the same pattern. They are structured and typical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shigeru-miyamoto/my-days-all-follow-much-the-same-pattern-they-are-structured-and/) [Shigeru Miyamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shigeru-miyamoto/) > [Most players want to follow a pattern, especially when they're doing well, and when it goes wrong, they start looking for other patterns to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nicol/most-players-want-to-follow-a-pattern-especially-when-they-re-doing/) [Steve Nicol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nicol/) > [It will be very interesting one day to follow the pattern of our life as it is spread out like a beautiful tapestry. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-von-trapp/it-will-be-very-interesting-one-day-to-follow-the-pattern-of-our-life/) [Maria von Trapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-von-trapp/) > [“I'm so acutely aware of everything about him in this moment that I'm almost positive I could pick his thumbprint out of a lineup.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/i-m-so-acutely-aware-of-everything-about-him-in-this-moment-that-i-m/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [“I covered his thumbprint with my thumb and considered for the first time that Papa might have been more than just old pictures -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-covered-his-thumbprint-with-my-thumb-and-considered-for-the-first/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Roger Ebert has had his right thumb trademarked. Now the police will actually have to pay him if he ever has to give a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-waits/roger-ebert-has-had-his-right-thumb-trademarked-now-the-police-will/) Andy Waits > [God broke the mold after He made you. Your DNA is UNIQUE. Your thumbprint is DISTINCT. You were born ORIGINAL; dont die as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-broke-the-mold-after-he-made-you-your-dna-is-unique-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have you and even if we never meet or ever see each other, we have left our thumbprints in the thick, moist clay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-you-and-even-if-we-never-meet-or-ever-see-each-other-we-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every person's map of the world is as unique as their thumbprint.There are no two people alike. No two people who understand the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-h-erickson/every-person-s-map-of-the-world-is-as-unique-as-their-thumbprint/) [Milton H. Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-h-erickson/) > [ I believe the causes that create them \[serial killers\] are theological in nature, rather than societal. I believe they make a conscious choice to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/i-believe-the-causes-that-create-them-serial-killers-are-theological/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [“His dimples were strategically placed as though angels had made thumbprints on him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gulla/his-dimples-were-strategically-placed-as-though-angels-had-made/) [Nicole Gulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-gulla/) ## More by Katherine Anne Porter > [There seems to be a kind of order in the universe…in the movement of the stars and the turning of the Earth and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/there-seems-to-be-a-kind-of-order-in-the-universe-in-the-movement-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The human heart is not yet so corroded that it can read off the extinction of these two men without a shock to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-human-heart-is-not-yet-so-corroded-that-it-can-read-off-the/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I always write a story in one sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-always-write-a-story-in-one-sitting/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [What we need is endless courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/what-we-need-is-endless-courage/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but the work of the artist is to take these handfuls of confusion and disparate things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/human-life-itself-may-be-almost-pure-chaos-but-the-work-of-the-artist/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [But the great leveler, Death: not even the gods can defend a man, not even one they love, that day when fate takes hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/but-the-great-leveler-death-not-even-the-gods-can-defend-a-man-not/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I started out with nothing in the world but a kind of passion, a driving desire. I don't know where it came from, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-started-out-with-nothing-in-the-world-but-a-kind-of-passion-a/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Your mind outwears all sorts of things you may set your heart upon; you can enjoy it when all other things are taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/your-mind-outwears-all-sorts-of-things-you-may-set-your-heart-upon/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [we know that the Furies do not come uninvited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/we-know-that-the-furies-do-not-come-uninvited/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The arts do live continuously, and they live literally by faith; their names and their shapes and their uses and their basic meanings survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-arts-do-live-continuously-and-they-live-literally-by-faith-their/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The very thing about people that makes the human race interesting is also the thing that makes it so hard to get anything done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-very-thing-about-people-that-makes-the-human-race-interesting-is/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [A cultivated style would be like a mask. Everybody knows it's a mask, and sooner or later you must show yourself -- or at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/a-cultivated-style-would-be-like-a-mask-everybody-knows-it-s-a-mask/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [The past is never where you think you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/the-past-is-never-where-you-think-you-left-it/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [In the arts, you simply cannot secure your bread and your freedom of action too. You cannot be a hostile critic of society and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/in-the-arts-you-simply-cannot-secure-your-bread-and-your-freedom-of/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) [Explore all 156 Katherine Anne Porter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing is not to follow a pattern. Follow your own pattern of feeling and thought. The thing is to accept your own life and not try to live someone else's life. 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