---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: it’s in our nature to seek both autonomy…"
description: "\"“it’s in our nature to seek both autonomy and relatedness. We often seek support from others to undertake new adventures in our lives and also need a h..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/kent-hoffman-106509_adventure_it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy_2459896.jpg"
---

#  it’s in our nature to seek both autonomy and relatedness…

![“it’s in our nature to seek both autonomy and relatedness. We often seek support from others to undertake new adventures in our lives and also need a haven from exploration where we can just fill our own emotional cup in the “and” of a close relationship.” quote by Kent Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/kent-hoffman-106509_adventure_it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy_2459896.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/kent-hoffman-106509_adventure_it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy_2459896.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/kent-hoffman-106509_adventure_it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy_2459896.jpg)

> ““it’s in our nature to seek both autonomy and relatedness. We often seek support from others to undertake new adventures in our lives and also need a haven from exploration where we can just fill our own emotional cup in the “and” of a close relationship.””

[Kent Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hoffman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Human nature seeks both independence and connection, balancing autonomy with supportive relationships.

**In simple terms:** Balance independence with close relationships.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate both autonomy and support.

Themes

autonomy relationship balance

Mood

thoughtful balanced

Type

Adventure:1 Autonomy:1 Close:1 Close relationship:1 Exploration:1 Freedom:1 Nature:1 Relatedness:1 Relationship:1 Relationships:1 Support:1 Travel:1 Autonomy Relatedness:1 Seek Autonomy:1 Relatedness Seek:1

When to use this quote

- friendships
- team projects
- new ventures
- self‑reflection

Key Concepts

psychology human needs

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you maintain personal freedom while staying connected?
- What support do you need to pursue new adventures?

A Different Perspective

Too much autonomy can lead to isolation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Autonomy Relatedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy-relatedness-644160/) [Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close/) [Close relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/close-relationship/) [Exploration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Relatedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatedness/) [Relatedness Seek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relatedness-seek-644162/) [Relationship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationship/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) [Seek Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-autonomy-644161/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/)

## Related quotes

> [“In their writing on education, Deci and Ryan proceed from the principle that humans are natural learners and children are born creative and curious,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tough/in-their-writing-on-education-deci-and-ryan-proceed-from-the/)

[Paul Tough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tough/)

> [Think about what it feels like when you interact with someone who makes you notice what's good about yourself (raising your status), who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rock/think-about-what-it-feels-like-when-you-interact-with-someone-who/)

[David Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rock/)

> [“The environment is not an "other" to us. It is not a collection of things that we encounter. Rather, it is part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lakoff/the-environment-is-not-an-other-to-us-it-is-not-a-collection-of/)

[George Lakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lakoff/)

> [“Relatedness is vital in a time when so many people suffer from social deafness. Emotional insensitivity being caused by a redoubtable “tin ear” makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/relatedness-is-vital-in-a-time-when-so-many-people-suffer-from-social/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [“Mutuality has tumbled into undeserved obscurity by the primacy our society places on the art of the deal. The prevailing myth reaching most contemporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/mutuality-has-tumbled-into-undeserved-obscurity-by-the-primacy-our/)

[Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/)

> [Love is not a doing but a state of being - a relatedness, a connectedness to another mortal, an identification with her or him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/love-is-not-a-doing-but-a-state-of-being-a-relatedness-a/)

[Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/)

> [“Advances in communication technology foster a false fantasy of togetherness by transmitting the impression of contact- phone calls, faxes, e-mail- without its substance. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/advances-in-communication-technology-foster-a-false-fantasy-of/)

[Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/)

> [“Loving is limbically distinct from in love. Loving is mutuality ; loving is synchronous attunement and modulation. As such, adult love depends critically upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/loving-is-limbically-distinct-from-in-love-loving-is-mutuality-loving/)

[Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/)

> [My interest in culture generally is a comparative one, and I think that's where the word joy, I think, can be applicable. There's joy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/my-interest-in-culture-generally-is-a-comparative-one-and-i-think/)

[Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/)

> [The real relatedness between two people is experienced in the small tasks they do together: the quiet conversation when the day's upheavels are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/the-real-relatedness-between-two-people-is-experienced-in-the-small/)

[Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/)

> [“Every specific human being, however, thinks, judges, imagines, wills and expresses himself or herself in a unique, dissimilar, and unrepeatable mode--a mode of unpredictable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christos-yannaras/every-specific-human-being-however-thinks-judges-imagines-wills-and/)

[Christos Yannaras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christos-yannaras/)

> [“In a dazzling vote of confidence for form over substance, our culture fawns over the fleetingness of being “in love” while discounting the importance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/in-a-dazzling-vote-of-confidence-for-form-over-substance-our-culture/)

[Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/)

> [“Modern amorists are sometimes taken aback at the prospect of investing in a relationship with no guarantee of reward. It is precisely that absence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/modern-amorists-are-sometimes-taken-aback-at-the-prospect-of/)

[Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/)

> [“Humanity is not an aggregate of individuals, a community of thinkers, each of whom is guaranteed from the outset to be able to reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/humanity-is-not-an-aggregate-of-individuals-a-community-of-thinkers/)

[Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/)

> [The kind of relatedness to the world may be noble or trivial, but even being related to the basest kind of pattern is immensely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-kind-of-relatedness-to-the-world-may-be-noble-or-trivial-but-even/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

## More by Kent Hoffman

> [“She needs you to help her calm herself, and one important aspect of that is giving her space and time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hoffman/she-needs-you-to-help-her-calm-herself-and-one-important-aspect-of/)

[Kent Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hoffman/)

[Explore all 2 Kent Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hoffman/)

## More Adventure quotes

> [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/)

[Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/)

> [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/)

[Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/)

> [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/)

[Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/)

> [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/)

[Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/)

> [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/)

[Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/)

> [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/)

[Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/)

> [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/)

[Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/)

> [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/)

[Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/)

> [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/)

[Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/)

> [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/)

[John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/)

> [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/)

[D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/)

> [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/)

[Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/)

> [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

[Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“it’s in our nature to seek both autonomy and relatedness. We often seek support from others to undertake new adventures in our lives and also need a haven from exploration where we can just fill our own emotional cup in the “and” of a close relationship.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kent Hoffman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hoffman/it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy-and-relatedness-we-often/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Adventure"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hoffman/it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy-and-relatedness-we-often/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/kent-hoffman-106509_adventure_it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy_2459896.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/kent-hoffman-106509_adventure_it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy_2459896.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/494/kent-hoffman-106509_adventure_it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy_2459896.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“it’s in our nature to seek both autonomy and relatedness. We often seek support from others to undertake new…” — Kent Hoffman",
                "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": "Kent Hoffman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hoffman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“it’s in our nature to seek...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hoffman/it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy-and-relatedness-we-often/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hoffman/it-s-in-our-nature-to-seek-both-autonomy-and-relatedness-we-often/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
