--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without willing it, I had gone from being…" description: "\"“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being unaware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I di..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/maya-angelou-104_affirmation_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_2096794.png" --- # Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of… ![“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being unaware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn't know what I was aware of.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/maya-angelou-104_affirmation_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_2096794.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/maya-angelou-104_affirmation_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_2096794.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/919/maya-angelou-104_affirmation_without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being_2096794.png) > ““Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being unaware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn't know what I was aware of.”” [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. She describes a journey from ignorance of ignorance to awareness of unawareness, emphasizing the difficulty of recognizing unknown unknowns. **In simple terms:** Realizing you don't know what you don't know. Key Takeaway Seek deeper self‑knowledge. Themes self‑awareness knowledge humility Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - education - self‑reflection Key Concepts metacognition personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What unknowns might you be overlooking? - How can you turn unawareness into learning? A Different Perspective Awareness can be unsettling and paralyzing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affirmation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affirmation/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being-ignorant-of-being-ignorant-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/without-willing-it-i-had-gone-from-being-ignorant-of-being-ignorant/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Even those of us who are very very aware are still so unaware. Everything's relative so that, the more you know, the more you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/even-those-of-us-who-are-very-very-aware-are-still-so-unaware/) [George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/) > [Eye am aware that you are unaware!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kostallanetz-evans/eye-am-aware-that-you-are-unaware/) [Kostallanetz Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kostallanetz-evans/) > [“Denial and affirmation are games which people play. There are people who deny that they are capable of denying, and who would insist that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/denial-and-affirmation-are-games-which-people-play-there-are-people/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [“Life likes to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you kid. 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G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [ The thing is, we \[celebrities are\] all just people living our lives, doing our thing. But, I honestly tend to live in my own… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-french/the-thing-is-we-celebrities-are-all-just-people-living-our-lives/) [Chris French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-french/) > [“While performing the great majority of the actions in their life, people are totally unaware. We tend to go through our daily activities mechanically.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-sagan/while-performing-the-great-majority-of-the-actions-in-their-life/) [Samuel Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-sagan/) > [A monkey is unaware that atoms exist. Likewise, our brainpower may not stretch to the deepest aspects of reality. The bedrock nature of space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-rees/a-monkey-is-unaware-that-atoms-exist-likewise-our-brainpower-may-not/) [Martin Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-rees/) ## 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. 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When you sing a song of love, you're actually giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/there-s-a-certain-feeling-of-giving-a-certain-feeling-of-generosity/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The future teachers I try to recruit are those show have refused to let themselves be neutered in this way, either in their private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-future-teachers-i-try-to-recruit-are-those-show-have-refused-to/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [Affirmations need to be used if they are to become incorporated into the fabric of your being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/affirmations-need-to-be-used-if-they-are-to-become-incorporated-into/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [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/) > [“Affirmation without discipline is like enthusiasm without direction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mininni/affirmation-without-discipline-is-like-enthusiasm-without-direction/) [Lisa Mininni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mininni/) > [Whenever I'm in need of inspiration and mantras, I go straight to simple affirmations. 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