--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s true that we can’t help the…" description: "\"It’s true that we can’t help the circumstances we’re born into and some of us start out in a much tougher place than other people. But just because we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da6/michael-oher-17972_born_it-s-true-that-we-can-t-help-the-circums_2822251.jpg" --- # It’s true that we can’t help the circumstances we’re born… ![“It’s true that we can’t help the circumstances we’re born into and some of us start out in a much tougher place than other people. But just because we started there doesn’t mean we have to end there.” quote by Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da6/michael-oher-17972_born_it-s-true-that-we-can-t-help-the-circums_2822251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da6/michael-oher-17972_born_it-s-true-that-we-can-t-help-the-circums_2822251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da6/michael-oher-17972_born_it-s-true-that-we-can-t-help-the-circums_2822251.jpg) > “It’s true that we can’t help the circumstances we’re born into and some of us start out in a much tougher place than other people. But just because we started there doesn’t mean we have to end there.” [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life circumstances may be unequal, but personal agency can change outcomes. **In simple terms:** You can change your destiny despite a tough start. Key Takeaway Use effort to reshape your path. Themes resilience growth inequality Mood determined hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - education - career advancement - personal development - overcoming adversity Key Concepts agency social mobility Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to improve your situation? - How can you support others in tougher circumstances? A Different Perspective Hard work alone may not overcome systemic barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-start-1978544/) [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Circumstances Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances-born-2901403/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Help Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/help-circumstances-3599309/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Start Tougher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-tougher-3599308/) [Tougher Place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tougher-place-3599310/) ## Related quotes > [The world is a tougher place to live in than it was back then, as we come into the computer age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-cocker/the-world-is-a-tougher-place-to-live-in-than-it-was-back-then-as-we/) [Joe Cocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-cocker/) > [Sometimes you win, win, win; you start to go, and then you get a tougher fight in the rankings. And then you figure it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-vera/sometimes-you-win-win-win-you-start-to-go-and-then-you-get-a-tougher/) [Marlon Vera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-vera/) > [There is no doubt a new dress is a help under all circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-streatfeild/there-is-no-doubt-a-new-dress-is-a-help-under-all-circumstances/) [Noel Streatfeild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-streatfeild/) > [“The only currency to satisfy the debt was their survival and to help others when circumstances permitted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/the-only-currency-to-satisfy-the-debt-was-their-survival-and-to-help/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [The other thing I've been discussing with friends is: when you're born do you start at a zero, or five?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-dallas-howard/the-other-thing-i-ve-been-discussing-with-friends-is-when-you-re-born/) [Bryce Dallas Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-dallas-howard/) > [To be born is to start the journey towards death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/to-be-born-is-to-start-the-journey-towards-death/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“He knows he will be born again, And start fresh anew.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/he-knows-he-will-be-born-again-and-start-fresh-anew/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [No matter where you're born in life or what the circumstances are when you're born, like your parents being poor or not connected to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/no-matter-where-you-re-born-in-life-or-what-the-circumstances-are/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Never allow other people to classify you based on your past and current circumstances, where you were born, your experiences, your gender, or your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clemantine-wamariya/never-allow-other-people-to-classify-you-based-on-your-past-and/) [Clemantine Wamariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clemantine-wamariya/) > [“Whatever circumstances you were born into, whatever family life and education you had or didn't have, you came here to make your dreams come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/whatever-circumstances-you-were-born-into-whatever-family-life-and/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [Everything that we do affects our fate for better or for worse. The circumstances into which we are born also exert a tremendous influence;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-yourcenar/everything-that-we-do-affects-our-fate-for-better-or-for-worse-the/) [Marguerite Yourcenar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-yourcenar/) > [It is hard to know if what you are going to do in life is up to you, or a sum of the contribution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-machado/it-is-hard-to-know-if-what-you-are-going-to-do-in-life-is-up-to-you/) [Carlos Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-machado/) > [You just don't want your child to ever feel like they have less of an opportunity to succeed based on the circumstances in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-long/you-just-don-t-want-your-child-to-ever-feel-like-they-have-less-of-an/) [Nia Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-long/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) ## More by Michael Oher > [I try to win at everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-try-to-win-at-everything/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [“People like to talk about "Cinderella stories," but Cinderella didn't get her happy ending without lifting a finger. She had to show up at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/people-like-to-talk-about-cinderella-stories-but-cinderella-didn-t/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [I would have dreams all the time about me playing in the NFL. Every day I woke up, I said to myself, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-would-have-dreams-all-the-time-about-me-playing-in-the-nfl-every/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [Offensive linemen don't get looked at. Nobody is paying attention to the offensive line. But me? I'm getting watched for everything. I know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/offensive-linemen-don-t-get-looked-at-nobody-is-paying-attention-to/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [I know I didn't want to get caught up in the cycle of drugs and violence that was around me. Deep down inside, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-know-i-didn-t-want-to-get-caught-up-in-the-cycle-of-drugs-and/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [I would have - I didn't really have to be an athlete. I could have been, you know - worked in fast food, been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-would-have-i-didn-t-really-have-to-be-an-athlete-i-could-have-been/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [Of course, we all need angels. I had to have one over my head throughout my life, even right now. The odds of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/of-course-we-all-need-angels-i-had-to-have-one-over-my-head/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [Not every day where I'm from do people get a movie made about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/not-every-day-where-i-m-from-do-people-get-a-movie-made-about-them/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [I always felt that I was, you know, smart. I just didn't have a lot of the resources that everybody else had... It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-always-felt-that-i-was-you-know-smart-i-just-didn-t-have-a-lot-of/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [It's never been about football, but about becoming the best and fullest person I could be. And to think that I went from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/it-s-never-been-about-football-but-about-becoming-the-best-and/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [Family is very important. Me and my brothers were very close when I was growing up. We did a lot of things together to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/family-is-very-important-me-and-my-brothers-were-very-close-when-i/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [I think I could handle right tackle. With great coaches, I think I can handle anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-think-i-could-handle-right-tackle-with-great-coaches-i-think-i-can/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [I love Baltimore, I definitely look at it as home, somewhere I'm very comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-love-baltimore-i-definitely-look-at-it-as-home-somewhere-i-m-very/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [I'm a left tackle. I like playing left tackle. That's my position. I think I can do it better than anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/i-m-a-left-tackle-i-like-playing-left-tackle-that-s-my-position-i/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) > [There's a big difference between where I came from and the NFL. Things like this don't happen to people from there often. It just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-oher/there-s-a-big-difference-between-where-i-came-from-and-the-nfl-things/) [Michael Oher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) [Explore all 36 Michael Oher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-oher/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. 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