--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the most valuable lesson he taught me…" description: "\"But the most valuable lesson he taught me was this: Every day we get older, and some of us get wiser, but there's no end to our evolution. We are all a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/lisa-lutz-7434_contradiction_but-the-most-valuable-lesson-he-taught-m_1925794.png" --- # But the most valuable lesson he taught me was this: Every… ![“But the most valuable lesson he taught me was this: Every day we get older, and some of us get wiser, but there's no end to our evolution. We are all a mess of contradictions; some of our traits work for us, some against us.” quote by Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/lisa-lutz-7434_contradiction_but-the-most-valuable-lesson-he-taught-m_1925794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/lisa-lutz-7434_contradiction_but-the-most-valuable-lesson-he-taught-m_1925794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4cd/lisa-lutz-7434_contradiction_but-the-most-valuable-lesson-he-taught-m_1925794.png) > “But the most valuable lesson he taught me was this: Every day we get older, and some of us get wiser, but there's no end to our evolution. We are all a mess of contradictions; some of our traits work for us, some against us.” [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a continual evolution of contradictions; aging brings wisdom but also persistent messiness. **In simple terms:** We constantly evolve, mixing strengths and flaws. Key Takeaway Embrace contradictions as growth opportunities. Themes growth contradiction wisdom Mood thoughtful hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career development - self‑improvement - relationship building Key Concepts personal development psychology human complexity Questions to Reflect On - What contradictions define you? - How can you turn flaws into strengths? A Different Perspective Focusing on contradictions can cause self‑criticism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contradiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Lesson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lesson/) [Lesson Taught](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lesson-taught/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Valuable lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/valuable-lessons/) ## Related quotes > […You should keep dental floss on you at all times; when your eyesight goes, quit driving; don't keep too many secrets, eventually they'll eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/you-should-keep-dental-floss-on-you-at-all-times-when-your-eyesight/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [We are all a mess of contradictions; some of our traits work for us, some against us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/we-are-all-a-mess-of-contradictions-some-of-our-traits-work-for-us/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [For boredom speaks the language of time, and it is to teach you the most valuable lesson of your life - the lesson of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/for-boredom-speaks-the-language-of-time-and-it-is-to-teach-you-the/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [Mother's room, and mother's need for privacy become a valuable lesson in respect for other people's rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/mother-s-room-and-mother-s-need-for-privacy-become-a-valuable-lesson/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [A valuable lesson I've learned from making music is to never let anyone intimidate me. Every student, celebrity, CEO and math teacher in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-nalick/a-valuable-lesson-i-ve-learned-from-making-music-is-to-never-let/) [Anna Nalick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-nalick/) > [Failure means you've now learned another valuable lesson that pushes you one step closer to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harvey/failure-means-you-ve-now-learned-another-valuable-lesson-that-pushes/) [Steve Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harvey/) > [Stones are mute teachers; they silence the observer, and the most valuable lesson we learn from them we cannot communicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/stones-are-mute-teachers-they-silence-the-observer-and-the-most/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [One should pay attention to even the smallest crawling creature for these too may have a valuable lesson to teach us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/one-should-pay-attention-to-even-the-smallest-crawling-creature-for/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [The only time you truly make a mistake is when you commit a "mis-take," that is, you "miss-taking" the opportunity to learn a valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-frazer/the-only-time-you-truly-make-a-mistake-is-when-you-commit-a-mis-take/) [Dean Frazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-frazer/) > [Follow your gut, make a choice, and throw yourself into it. If you make a mistake, then you have merely afforded yourself a valuable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/follow-your-gut-make-a-choice-and-throw-yourself-into-it-if-you-make/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [Here is this ability to explore ideas, but with minute changes, and then look at the results. Often you get so excited about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-mackenzie/here-is-this-ability-to-explore-ideas-but-with-minute-changes-and/) [Warren MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-mackenzie/) > [The most valuable lesson I've ever learned in my life is that life is about family and friends, not about material things or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanilla-ice/the-most-valuable-lesson-i-ve-ever-learned-in-my-life-is-that-life-is/) [Vanilla Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanilla-ice/) > [I will not lose, for even in defeat/There's a valuable lesson learned, so it evens up for me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-will-not-lose-for-even-in-defeat-there-s-a-valuable-lesson-learned/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [He cried that night for all that he had lost, but he would say it taught him a valuable lesson: that holding on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-cried-that-night-for-all-that-he-had-lost-but-he-would-say-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I learnt another valuable lesson that night: listen to the quiet voice inside. Intuition is the noise of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-grylls/i-learnt-another-valuable-lesson-that-night-listen-to-the-quiet-voice/) [Bear Grylls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-grylls/) ## More by Lisa Lutz > [The sense of not knowing where I came from let me be as smart as I wanted to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/the-sense-of-not-knowing-where-i-came-from-let-me-be-as-smart-as-i/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [“I have a weakness for tough guys who read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-have-a-weakness-for-tough-guys-who-read/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [“I ordered a beer, opened the newspaper, and realized the light was all wrong for reading. Still, if you're a woman sitting alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-ordered-a-beer-opened-the-newspaper-and-realized-the-light-was-all/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [I have certain rules for snooping, under which anything out in the open is fair game. But I also think, in light of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-have-certain-rules-for-snooping-under-which-anything-out-in-the/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [Band I listen to most: The Ramones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/band-i-listen-to-most-the-ramones/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [“I was angry, but I was also tired and devastated by the idea that I would have to spend another four hours trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-was-angry-but-i-was-also-tired-and-devastated-by-the-idea-that-i/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [I was on a few surveillance jobs as part of a big team. I would be the person to follow the subject on foot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-was-on-a-few-surveillance-jobs-as-part-of-a-big-team-i-would-be-the/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [“I was thinking what everyone is thinking all of the time: How can I make this last just a little bit longer?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-was-thinking-what-everyone-is-thinking-all-of-the-time-how-can-i/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [I entered his apartment without being invited, which is perfectly fine if you're not a vampire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-entered-his-apartment-without-being-invited-which-is-perfectly-fine/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [I could never really choose a favorite book, but whenever I'm asked what my favorite movie is, I always say 'Withnail & I,' a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-could-never-really-choose-a-favorite-book-but-whenever-i-m-asked/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [I wouldn't say that my family is normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-wouldn-t-say-that-my-family-is-normal/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [Sometimes a single item can wrap up, in a nutshell, who a person is. In my grandparents' home, a clear plastic container was enthroned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/sometimes-a-single-item-can-wrap-up-in-a-nutshell-who-a-person-is-in/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [I knew immediately that this was not going to work out. Hunter is the kind of guy who dates women who wear high heels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-knew-immediately-that-this-was-not-going-to-work-out-hunter-is-the/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [I don't feel like I'm a writer who works under any influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-don-t-feel-like-i-m-a-writer-who-works-under-any-influence/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [What's her name?" "None of your business." "That can't possibly be her name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/what-s-her-name-none-of-your-business-that-can-t-possibly-be-her-name/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) [Explore all 91 Lisa Lutz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) ## More Contradiction quotes > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/courage-is-almost-a-contradiction-in-terms-it-means-a-strong-desire/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction and between profession and practice - that is to say with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-also-plausible-that-those-movements-with-the-greatest-inner/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Contradictions in human character are one of its most consistent notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-spark/contradictions-in-human-character-are-one-of-its-most-consistent-notes/) [Muriel Spark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-spark/) > [“The tiny features below, taken together with the gentle mass of Montblanc towering above them, the Vanoise glacier almost invisible in the shimmering distance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/the-tiny-features-below-taken-together-with-the-gentle-mass-of/) [W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/) > [I’m a skeptic not because I do not want to believe, but because I want to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/i-m-a-skeptic-not-because-i-do-not-want-to-believe-but-because-i-want/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [There are evidently limits to the achievements of science; and there are irresolvable contradictions both between prosperity and virtue, and between happiness and ''the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/there-are-evidently-limits-to-the-achievements-of-science-and-there/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [To exist (in mathematics), said Henri Poincaré, is to be free from contradiction. But mere existence does not guarantee survival. To survive in mathematics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kac/to-exist-in-mathematics-said-henri-poincar-is-to-be-free-from/) [Mark Kac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kac/) > [“In these creations, life and symbolic value are not in contradiction: they intensify each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/in-these-creations-life-and-symbolic-value-are-not-in-contradiction/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have never agreed with my other self wholly. The truth of the matter seems to lie between us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/i-have-never-agreed-with-my-other-self-wholly-the-truth-of-the-matter/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [“A truth is not necessary, because we negatively are not able to conceive the actual existence of the opposite thereof;but a truth is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-dabney/a-truth-is-not-necessary-because-we-negatively-are-not-able-to/) R.L. Dabney > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [Here I encounter the most popular fallacy of our times. It is not considered sufficient that the law should guarantee to every citizen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/here-i-encounter-the-most-popular-fallacy-of-our-times-it-is-not/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [That the sun will not rise tomorrow is no less intelligible a proposition, and implies no more contradiction, than the affirmation, that it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/that-the-sun-will-not-rise-tomorrow-is-no-less-intelligible-a/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The reflection of nature in man's thought must be understood not lifelessly but in the eternal process of movement, the arising of contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/the-reflection-of-nature-in-man-s-thought-must-be-understood-not/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) [Browse all 1,263 Contradiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the most valuable lesson he taught me was this: Every day we get older, and some of us get wiser, but there's no end to our evolution. 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