--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've learned that you shouldn't go…" description: "\"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/maya-angelou-104_hands_i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-throu_2630425.png" --- # I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a… ![“I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/maya-angelou-104_hands_i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-throu_2630425.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/maya-angelou-104_hands_i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-throu_2630425.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/maya-angelou-104_hands_i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-throu_2630425.png) > “I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Holding onto life’s challenges without release hinders growth; one must learn to let go and give back. **In simple terms:** Don’t cling, learn to give back. Key Takeaway Release and contribute. Themes letting go balance growth Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - relationships - career - personal development Key Concepts psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What do you need to release? - How can you give back meaningfully? A Different Perspective Letting go can feel loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [“I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-through-life-with-a-catcher-s-mitt/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Any book that can help you survive the slings and arrows of adolescence is a book to love for life; 'The Catcher in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/any-book-that-can-help-you-survive-the-slings-and-arrows-of/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [Oftentimes, you have to be able to throw it in order to run it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-quinn/oftentimes-you-have-to-be-able-to-throw-it-in-order-to-run-it/) [Dan Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-quinn/) > [I want to run the ball, be physical and be able to throw it deep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mack-brown/i-want-to-run-the-ball-be-physical-and-be-able-to-throw-it-deep/) [Mack Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mack-brown/) > [I've been able to throw it for a strike, which has helped. If I'm not able to do that, I'm not going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-corbin/i-ve-been-able-to-throw-it-for-a-strike-which-has-helped-if-i-m-not/) [Patrick Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-corbin/) > [I do what I've trained my whole life to do. I watch the ball. I keep my eye on the ball. I never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-lyga/i-do-what-i-ve-trained-my-whole-life-to-do-i-watch-the-ball-i-keep-my/) [Barry Lyga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-lyga/) > [Finally, threw away my catcher's mitt, and bought a bat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicky-carlsson/finally-threw-away-my-catcher-s-mitt-and-bought-a-bat/) Vicky Carlsson > [Don't try to strike everybody out ... stay back and just focus on the catcher's mitt, just throw the ball low in the strike zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ubaldo-jimenez/don-t-try-to-strike-everybody-out-stay-back-and-just-focus-on-the/) Ubaldo Jimenez > [There's so much difference having arm ability. You have to be able to throw it hard. You have to be able to throw it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-mahomes/there-s-so-much-difference-having-arm-ability-you-have-to-be-able-to/) [Patrick Mahomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-mahomes/) > [I think just having an understanding of how hard it is to hit in general when you're able to throw a bunch of different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-fried/i-think-just-having-an-understanding-of-how-hard-it-is-to-hit-in/) [Max Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-fried/) > [Uncle Rico: Back in '82, I used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile. Kip: Are you serious? Uncle Rico: I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-dynamite/uncle-rico-back-in-82-i-used-to-be-able-to-throw-a-pigskin-a-quarter/) [Napoleon Dynamite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-dynamite/) > [I miss being able to throw down with other elite-level women, to be considered among the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fallon-fox/i-miss-being-able-to-throw-down-with-other-elite-level-women-to-be/) [Fallon Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fallon-fox/) > [I've been fortunate with the changeup. I've been able to throw it for strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-halladay/i-ve-been-fortunate-with-the-changeup-i-ve-been-able-to-throw-it-for/) [Roy Halladay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-halladay/) > [The way Michael Vick uses his legs and is able to throw out of the pocket really changes games. The way that Aaron Rodgers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-mariota/the-way-michael-vick-uses-his-legs-and-is-able-to-throw-out-of-the/) [Marcus Mariota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-mariota/) > [You need to have explosive power. So you need to have good agility to move your feet quick and be in the right place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-carter/you-need-to-have-explosive-power-so-you-need-to-have-good-agility-to/) [Michelle Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-carter/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. 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Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Hands quotes > [When I passed the Chancellor he arose, waved his hand at me, and I waved back at him. I think the writers showed bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-owens/when-i-passed-the-chancellor-he-arose-waved-his-hand-at-me-and-i/) [Jesse Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-owens/) > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-have-inside-me-the-winds-the-deserts-the-oceans-the-stars-and/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“for they are all the work of his hands?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan/for-they-are-all-the-work-of-his-hands/) Zondervan > [I nibbled my lower lip. "If you could see into my past just by touching my back, you'd have a hard time resisting the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/i-nibbled-my-lower-lip-if-you-could-see-into-my-past-just-by-touching/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [My happiness is in my hands not between another person hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hero/my-happiness-is-in-my-hands-not-between-another-person-hands/) [Hero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hero/) Browse all 18,228 Hands quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-through-life-with-a-catcher-s-mitt-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hands" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-through-life-with-a-catcher-s-mitt-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/maya-angelou-104_hands_i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-throu_2630425.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/maya-angelou-104_hands_i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-throu_2630425.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07d/maya-angelou-104_hands_i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-throu_2630425.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to…” — Maya Angelou", "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": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I've learned that you shouldn't go...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-through-life-with-a-catcher-s-mitt-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-shouldn-t-go-through-life-with-a-catcher-s-mitt-2/#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 } } ] } ```