--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always wanted to be an explorer, but…" description: "\"I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.\" — Michael Palin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/michael-palin-7172_doomed_i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it_696132.jpg" --- # I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was… ![“I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.” quote by Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/michael-palin-7172_doomed_i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it_696132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/michael-palin-7172_doomed_i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it_696132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/michael-palin-7172_doomed_i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it_696132.jpg) > “I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.” [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He desired adventure but felt limited by self‑doubt and perceived silliness. **In simple terms:** Wanting to explore but feeling foolish. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity despite insecurities. Themes self‑doubt adventure identity Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - travel planning - creative projects - learning new skills - public speaking Key Concepts confidence self‑perception growth Questions to Reflect On - What small adventure can you start today? - How does humor help you overcome self‑criticism? A Different Perspective Even with curiosity, fear can paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Explorer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorer/) [Explorers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explorers/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Silly person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly-person/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to be an explorer, but gradually found the world had been explored and that there was nowhere left, really. Once they climbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-gradually-found-the-world-had-been/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [Also I wanted to be an explorer when I was a kid. That was my first idea of what would be a really great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rege-jean-page/also-i-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-when-i-was-a-kid-that-was-my-first/) [Rege-Jean Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rege-jean-page/) > [When I was a kid, I wanted to be an explorer. I wanted to go out into deep, dark jungle somewhere and find places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rege-jean-page/when-i-was-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-i-wanted-to-go-out-into/) [Rege-Jean Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rege-jean-page/) > [It's an up and down thing, the human goals, because the human is always an explorer, an adventurist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-millan/it-s-an-up-and-down-thing-the-human-goals-because-the-human-is-always/) [Cesar Millan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-millan/) > [In the nature of the case, an explorer can never know what he is exploring until it has been explored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/in-the-nature-of-the-case-an-explorer-can-never-know-what-he-is/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [Very often, human beings are living like on autopilot, reacting automatically with what happens. What interests me about the life of an explorer is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-piccard/very-often-human-beings-are-living-like-on-autopilot-reacting/) [Bertrand Piccard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-piccard/) > [If you're not lost, you're not much of an explorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/if-you-re-not-lost-you-re-not-much-of-an-explorer/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I'm not a stunt man. I'm not a dare devil...I'm an explorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evel-knievel/i-m-not-a-stunt-man-i-m-not-a-dare-devil-i-m-an-explorer/) [Evel Knievel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evel-knievel/) > [I see myself as an explorer more than a storyteller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/i-see-myself-as-an-explorer-more-than-a-storyteller/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) > [ In my heart, ever since I \[was\] a little kid, I've been an explorer. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-corwin/in-my-heart-ever-since-i-was-a-little-kid-i-ve-been-an-explorer/) [Jeff Corwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-corwin/) > [I feel like I'm an explorer, a frontiersman if you will, and I've been able to satisfy that desire in me through music. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-butler/i-feel-like-i-m-an-explorer-a-frontiersman-if-you-will-and-i-ve-been/) [Ishmael Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-butler/) > [Everyone is an explorer. How could you possibly live your life looking at a door and not open it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ballard/everyone-is-an-explorer-how-could-you-possibly-live-your-life-looking/) [Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ballard/) > [I would love to do a western. I would love to play an explorer. That is always something that has really captured my imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/i-would-love-to-do-a-western-i-would-love-to-play-an-explorer-that-is/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/i-am-not-a-glutton-i-am-an-explorer-of-food/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [From early childhood I had always dreamed of becoming an explorer. Somehow I had acquired the impression that an explorer was someone who lived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-goddard/from-early-childhood-i-had-always-dreamed-of-becoming-an-explorer/) [John Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-goddard/) ## More by Michael Palin > [People are still crazy about Python after twenty-five years, which I find hard to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/people-are-still-crazy-about-python-after-twenty-five-years-which-i/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [The need to eat, sleep and dry out plays havoc with your sense of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/the-need-to-eat-sleep-and-dry-out-plays-havoc-with-your-sense-of/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [Armageddon is not around the corner. This is only what the people of violence want us to believe. The complexity and diversity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/armageddon-is-not-around-the-corner-this-is-only-what-the-people-of/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [I'd got over playing a character. People accepted who I was, and if I was incompetent and useless, they felt quite endeared to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-d-got-over-playing-a-character-people-accepted-who-i-was-and-if-i/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [The kids growing up is a separate strand to your life. However bad a day you've had, that's the most important thing, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/the-kids-growing-up-is-a-separate-strand-to-your-life-however-bad-a/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [Travelling, and being paid for it, is just great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/travelling-and-being-paid-for-it-is-just-great/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [I am certainly more interested in interviewing than being interviewed. Sometimes you find yourself attacked from the start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-am-certainly-more-interested-in-interviewing-than-being-interviewed/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-do-have-high-standards-i-look-at-everything-i-have-done-and-think/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [Geography prepares for the world of work - geographers, with their skills of analysis are highly employable!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/geography-prepares-for-the-world-of-work-geographers-with-their/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [My parents have been married forty-two years. I wonder how many of those were happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/my-parents-have-been-married-forty-two-years-i-wonder-how-many-of/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [Hollywood was possible for a while! Why didn't I go along with it? Well, the other things that were pulling me back were more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/hollywood-was-possible-for-a-while-why-didn-t-i-go-along-with-it-well/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-stand-on-both-poles-but-the-place-that/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [When I'm travelling, I always take my little notebook and scribble things down as I watch them; I'm very much geared to everything that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/when-i-m-travelling-i-always-take-my-little-notebook-and-scribble/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [People say the most stupid things on the spur of the moment that they then have to retract.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/people-say-the-most-stupid-things-on-the-spur-of-the-moment-that-they/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/geography-is-the-subject-which-holds-the-key-to-our-future/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) [Explore all 94 Michael Palin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) ## More Doomed quotes > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [I didn't have any role models. I really thought I was doomed to this loveless, lonely life. I didn't know any gay people until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/i-didn-t-have-any-role-models-i-really-thought-i-was-doomed-to-this/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [“Despite which, Charlie seems doomed to stumble around in the dark, clutching pieces of a puzzle he still can't see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/despite-which-charlie-seems-doomed-to-stumble-around-in-the-dark/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) > [Monotheism is in its turn doomed to subtract one more God and become atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-warraq/monotheism-is-in-its-turn-doomed-to-subtract-one-more-god-and-become/) [Ibn Warraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-warraq/) > [“Why are we doomed to crave most that which we cannot have?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-are-we-doomed-to-crave-most-that-which-we-cannot-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm doomed! And all 'cause Miss Man decides to take her little drag show on the road. -Mushu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mulan/i-m-doomed-and-all-cause-miss-man-decides-to-take-her-little-drag/) [Mulan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mulan/) > [It is important for investors to understand what they do and don't know. Learn to recognize that you cannot possibly know what is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/it-is-important-for-investors-to-understand-what-they-do-and-don-t/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [O Logic: born gatekeeper to the Temple of Science, victim of capricious destiny: doomed hitherto to be the drudge of pedants: come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/o-logic-born-gatekeeper-to-the-temple-of-science-victim-of-capricious/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [For the planet's sake, I hope we have bird flu or some other thing that will reduce the population, because otherwise we're doomed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-blackmore/for-the-planet-s-sake-i-hope-we-have-bird-flu-or-some-other-thing/) [Susan Blackmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-blackmore/) > [The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/the-enemy-s-spies-who-have-come-to-spy-on-us-must-be-sought-out/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I do honestly think that if women were running the world there would be more investment in peace, because basically as women we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-streep/i-do-honestly-think-that-if-women-were-running-the-world-there-would/) [Meryl Streep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-streep/) > [When you think that most of us are doomed by divine grace to roast in hell, to say nothing of mortgages and hail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/when-you-think-that-most-of-us-are-doomed-by-divine-grace-to-roast-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [I am doomed or fortunate to stick to what I do best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-sobule/i-am-doomed-or-fortunate-to-stick-to-what-i-do-best/) [Jill Sobule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-sobule/) Browse all 648 Doomed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Palin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it-seemed-i-was-doomed-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Doomed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it-seemed-i-was-doomed-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/michael-palin-7172_doomed_i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it_696132.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/michael-palin-7172_doomed_i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it_696132.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/michael-palin-7172_doomed_i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it_696132.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.” — Michael Palin", "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": "Michael Palin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always wanted to be an...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it-seemed-i-was-doomed-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-explorer-but-it-seemed-i-was-doomed-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```