--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a sad day when you find out that…" description: "\"It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you.\" — Lillian Hellman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/lillian-hellman-4752_accident_it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it_2369077.jpg" --- # It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or… ![“It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you.” quote by Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/lillian-hellman-4752_accident_it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it_2369077.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/lillian-hellman-4752_accident_it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it_2369077.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/lillian-hellman-4752_accident_it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it_2369077.jpg) > “It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you.” [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑sabotage blocks opportunities more than external forces. **In simple terms:** You are often the barrier to your own success. Key Takeaway Recognize and change self‑limiting behavior. Themes responsibility self‑awareness obstacle personal growth Mood reflective serious Type advice motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - relationships - personal projects - health goals Key Concepts psychology agency self‑sabotage Questions to Reflect On - What patterns keep you from success? - How can you shift from blame to action? A Different Perspective External factors still matter; blaming oneself can ignore real obstacles. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) [Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Day Accident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-accident-1229953/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Fortune Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune-just-2922215/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept/) [Kept Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-things-958719/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Sad day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-day/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“Memory kept things from being over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mcelroy/memory-kept-things-from-being-over/) [Joseph McElroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mcelroy/) > [“She had always kept things to herself. That was one sure truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/she-had-always-kept-things-to-herself-that-was-one-sure-truth/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [I just feel fortune just to have been lucky enough, and worked hard enough, and blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-just-feel-fortune-just-to-have-been-lucky-enough-and-worked-hard/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [To balance Fortune by a just expense, Join with Economy, Magnificence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-balance-fortune-by-a-just-expense-join-with-economy-magnificence/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [I have seen too many men go down, and I never permit myself to forget that one day, through accident or under the charge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-seen-too-many-men-go-down-and-i-never-permit-myself-to-forget/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I was run over by the truth one day.Ever since the accident I've walked this way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-mitchell/i-was-run-over-by-the-truth-one-day-ever-since-the-accident-i-ve/) [Adrian Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-mitchell/) > [“I think everyone has one day like this, and some people have more than one. It's the day of the accident, the midlife crisis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-sellers/i-think-everyone-has-one-day-like-this-and-some-people-have-more-than/) [Heather Sellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-sellers/) > [I've composed all my life and kept things, and even developed things I've done in college into something now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/i-ve-composed-all-my-life-and-kept-things-and-even-developed-things-i/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [“I'm used to keeping things to myself, it's habit.And then...And then I kept things from you because the harder I fell in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/i-m-used-to-keeping-things-to-myself-it-s-habit-and-then-and-then-i/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I wasn't particularly good at showing my emotions and I kept things inside. It's not good. Now I realize that whenever I want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/i-wasn-t-particularly-good-at-showing-my-emotions-and-i-kept-things/) [Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/) > [I've been a writer for a long time but I kind of had to get rid of a lot of the things I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-forbes/i-ve-been-a-writer-for-a-long-time-but-i-kind-of-had-to-get-rid-of-a/) [Maya Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-forbes/) > [I was thinking, as I watched her, how little it mattered –about her teeth for instance. I know so many women who have kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/i-was-thinking-as-i-watched-her-how-little-it-mattered-about-her/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Was it always my nature to take a bad time and block out the good times, until any success became an accident and failure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/was-it-always-my-nature-to-take-a-bad-time-and-block-out-the-good/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [The day I am not able to fly will be a sad day for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratan-tata/the-day-i-am-not-able-to-fly-will-be-a-sad-day-for-me/) [Ratan Tata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratan-tata/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More by Lillian Hellman > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Failure in the theater is more dramatic and uglier than any other form of writing. It costs so much, you feel so guilty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-dramatic-and-uglier-than-any-other/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [A man should be jailed for telling lies to the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/a-man-should-be-jailed-for-telling-lies-to-the-young/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I don't think many writers like their best-known piece of work, particularly when it was written a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-don-t-think-many-writers-like-their-best-known-piece-of-work/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I live in a room and I go to work and I play a game called getting through the day while you wait for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-live-in-a-room-and-i-go-to-work-and-i-play-a-game-called-getting/) [LILLIAN HELLMAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [There are people who eat the earth and eat all the people on it like in the Bible with the locusts. And other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/there-are-people-who-eat-the-earth-and-eat-all-the-people-on-it-like/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/nothing-you-write-if-you-hope-to-be-good-will-ever-come-out-as-you/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Decision by democratic majority vote is a fine form of government, but it's a stinking way to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/decision-by-democratic-majority-vote-is-a-fine-form-of-government-but/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Haven't you lived in the South long enough to know that nothing is ever anybody's fault?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/haven-t-you-lived-in-the-south-long-enough-to-know-that-nothing-is/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [We will not think noble because we are not noble. We will not live in beautiful harmony because there is no such thing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/we-will-not-think-noble-because-we-are-not-noble-we-will-not-live-in/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [It was an unspoken pleasure, that having come together so many years, ruined so much and repaired a little, we had endured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-was-an-unspoken-pleasure-that-having-come-together-so-many-years/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Intellectuals can tell themselves anything, sell themselves any bill of goods, which is why they were so often patsies for the ruling classes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/intellectuals-can-tell-themselves-anything-sell-themselves-any-bill/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Courtesy is breeding. Breeding is an excellent thing. Always remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/courtesy-is-breeding-breeding-is-an-excellent-thing-always-remember/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [You lose your manners when you're poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/you-lose-your-manners-when-you-re-poor/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [Fashions in sin change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/fashions-in-sin-change/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) [Explore all 106 Lillian Hellman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## More Accident quotes > [Fame, we may understand, is no sure test of merit, but only a probability of such: it is an accident, not a property, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/fame-we-may-understand-is-no-sure-test-of-merit-but-only-a/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“The accident in your rearview mirror already happened. The one in front of you is still preventable. Pay attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nakia-r-laushaul/the-accident-in-your-rearview-mirror-already-happened-the-one-in/) [Nakia R. Laushaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nakia-r-laushaul/) > [People dont get married by accident and they dont get divorced by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hayes/people-dont-get-married-by-accident-and-they-dont-get-divorced-by/) [Darren Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hayes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [A tragic car accident put me in a wheelchair and dashed my hopes and dreams for the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madison-cawthorn/a-tragic-car-accident-put-me-in-a-wheelchair-and-dashed-my-hopes-and/) [Madison Cawthorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madison-cawthorn/) > [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [The spirit in the body is like wine in a glass; when it spills, it seeps into air and earth and light….It’s a mistake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-michaels/the-spirit-in-the-body-is-like-wine-in-a-glass-when-it-spills-it/) [Anne Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-michaels/) > [accident ruled every corner of the universe except the chambers of the human heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/accident-ruled-every-corner-of-the-universe-except-the-chambers-of/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [There is a French expression that says: to be exposed to an accident, to cross a street without looking at the cars means exposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-is-a-french-expression-that-says-to-be-exposed-to-an-accident/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) > [It's no accident that most self-help groups use 'anonymous' in their names; to Americans, the first step toward redemption is a ritual wiping out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/it-s-no-accident-that-most-self-help-groups-use-anonymous-in-their/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [High birth is an accident, not a virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/high-birth-is-an-accident-not-a-virtue/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [“I just got out of the hospital. I was in a speed reading accident. I hit a book mark and flew across the room.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/i-just-got-out-of-the-hospital-i-was-in-a-speed-reading-accident-i/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [However, I met with a horrible accident while riding my bike in Sangla Valley. The accident was a wakeup call for me stop getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhinav-shukla/however-i-met-with-a-horrible-accident-while-riding-my-bike-in-sangla/) [Abhinav Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhinav-shukla/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 922 Accident quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accident/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept things from you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lillian Hellman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it-s-not-accident-or-time-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accident" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it-s-not-accident-or-time-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/lillian-hellman-4752_accident_it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it_2369077.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/lillian-hellman-4752_accident_it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it_2369077.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/lillian-hellman-4752_accident_it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it_2369077.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a sad day when you find out that it's not accident or time or fortune, but just yourself that kept…” — Lillian Hellman", "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": "Lillian Hellman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a sad day when you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it-s-not-accident-or-time-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/it-s-a-sad-day-when-you-find-out-that-it-s-not-accident-or-time-or/#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 } } ] } ```