--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So I'm back again to the eternal…" description: "\"So I'm back again to the eternal question, the one that has plagued me all my life: How Do Other People Do It? How come they were given life's rule boo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/marian-keyes-1999_book_so-i-m-back-again-to-the-eternal-questio_1875906.jpg" --- # So I'm back again to the eternal question, the one that… ![“So I'm back again to the eternal question, the one that has plagued me all my life: How Do Other People Do It? How come they were given life's rule book and I missed out? Where was I when God was dispensing capability and cop on? Looking at shoes, probably.” quote by Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/marian-keyes-1999_book_so-i-m-back-again-to-the-eternal-questio_1875906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/marian-keyes-1999_book_so-i-m-back-again-to-the-eternal-questio_1875906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/177/marian-keyes-1999_book_so-i-m-back-again-to-the-eternal-questio_1875906.jpg) > “So I'm back again to the eternal question, the one that has plagued me all my life: How Do Other People Do It? How come they were given life's rule book and I missed out? Where was I when God was dispensing capability and cop on? Looking at shoes, probably.” [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often feel they missed a secret guide to success that others seem to have. **In simple terms:** Feeling left out of life's “rule book”. Key Takeaway Seek your own path instead of comparing. Themes self‑doubt comparison purpose Mood reflective hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal growth - spiritual seeking - education choices Key Concepts existential questioning social expectation Questions to Reflect On - What unique strengths have you overlooked? - How can you define success on your own terms? A Different Perspective Assumes a universal “rule book” exists for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Cop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cop/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-rule/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [You will find out that in the measure you have allowed yourself to look back you have missed that which God has for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-mckendree-bounds/you-will-find-out-that-in-the-measure-you-have-allowed-yourself-to/) [Edward McKendree Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-mckendree-bounds/) > [“Never look back if you want the power o f God in your life. 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Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [“If you propound to these theorists the eternal question WHY? — why is the world in existence? why is there a universe? why do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-corelli/if-you-propound-to-these-theorists-the-eternal-question-why-why-is/) [Marie Corelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-corelli/) > [That is sort of the eternal question for people who go to Hollywood...what will be the straw that breaks the camel's back, and forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alden-ehrenreich/that-is-sort-of-the-eternal-question-for-people-who-go-to-hollywood/) [Alden Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alden-ehrenreich/) > [“She asked herself the eternal question – and she knew it to be the eternal question – whether no man and woman can ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/she-asked-herself-the-eternal-question-and-she-knew-it-to-be-the/) [Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/) > [“How I hate this world. I would like to tear it apart with my own two hands if I could. I would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/how-i-hate-this-world-i-would-like-to-tear-it-apart-with-my-own-two/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [Did you ever wonder if the person in the picture is the same one you see when you look in the mirror?" - "That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/did-you-ever-wonder-if-the-person-in-the-picture-is-the-same-one-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“His problem was the eternal question: What should he be? Inventor, scientist, artist—the energy he felt surging through him, an energy far more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/his-problem-was-the-eternal-question-what-should-he-be-inventor/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [“The game of life has one rule: if you play, you lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-chetanananda/the-game-of-life-has-one-rule-if-you-play-you-lose/) Swami Chetanananda > [“All of her life, she’d had one rule when it came to dating. If you can do it, then I can do it, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-davenport/all-of-her-life-she-d-had-one-rule-when-it-came-to-dating-if-you-can/) Hannah Davenport ## More by Marian Keyes > [“As they say in New York, Get over it and, if you can't get over it, Get over talking about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/as-they-say-in-new-york-get-over-it-and-if-you-can-t-get-over-it-get/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I rang my mother to thank her for giving birth to me and she said, "What choice had I? You were in there, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-rang-my-mother-to-thank-her-for-giving-birth-to-me-and-she-said/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“I should have learned mindfulness, and it’s too late now because it’s no good learning it when you’re already in crisis: you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-should-have-learned-mindfulness-and-it-s-too-late-now-because-it-s/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“The last time I’d been unwell, suicidally depressed, whatever you want to call it, the reactions of my friends and family had fallen into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/the-last-time-i-d-been-unwell-suicidally-depressed-whatever-you-want/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I'm not looking for pity, I'm really not, but I'm constantly uneasy and every day it is pretty much like getting up and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-m-not-looking-for-pity-i-m-really-not-but-i-m-constantly-uneasy-and/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [Some think love can be measured by the amount of butterflies in their tummy. Others think love can be measured in bunches of flowers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/some-think-love-can-be-measured-by-the-amount-of-butterflies-in-their/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“Guilt is a self-indulgence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/guilt-is-a-self-indulgence/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“I awake. I don’t mean to but clearly I have not appeased the Sleep Gods with enough offerings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-awake-i-don-t-mean-to-but-clearly-i-have-not-appeased-the-sleep/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [It was only when the salt water of my tears ran into my cuts and made them sting that I discovered I was crying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/it-was-only-when-the-salt-water-of-my-tears-ran-into-my-cuts-and-made/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I wished there was some kind of switch on my brain. That I could turn it off in the same way that I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-wished-there-was-some-kind-of-switch-on-my-brain-that-i-could-turn/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“I click to buy it and I’m furious to discover that it’s not available in Ireland and they won’t post it from abroad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-click-to-buy-it-and-i-m-furious-to-discover-that-it-s-not-available/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I've never made a secret of the fact that I'd have loved to have children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-ve-never-made-a-secret-of-the-fact-that-i-d-have-loved-to-have/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“As if, within their high-pitched cries and songs, there are coded threats.     ‘Sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/as-if-within-their-high-pitched-cries-and-songs-there-are-coded/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“If it don't come back, it was never yours. If it comes back, it's yours to keep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/if-it-don-t-come-back-it-was-never-yours-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [Failed relationships can be described as so much wasted makeup. Forget the laughs, forget the fights, forget the sex, forget the jealousy. But take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/failed-relationships-can-be-described-as-so-much-wasted-makeup-forget/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) [Explore all 190 Marian Keyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So I'm back again to the eternal question, the one that has plagued me all my life: How Do Other People Do It? 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