--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your brain forms a story and, if you're…" description: "\"Your brain forms a story and, if you're lucky, there's a line where the story takes over the brain. You don't even know what you have.\" — Nathan Englander" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/nathan-englander-8048_brain_your-brain-forms-a-story-and-if-you-re-l_1855393.jpg" --- # Your brain forms a story and, if you're lucky, there's a… ![“Your brain forms a story and, if you're lucky, there's a line where the story takes over the brain. You don't even know what you have.” quote by Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/nathan-englander-8048_brain_your-brain-forms-a-story-and-if-you-re-l_1855393.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/nathan-englander-8048_brain_your-brain-forms-a-story-and-if-you-re-l_1855393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/nathan-englander-8048_brain_your-brain-forms-a-story-and-if-you-re-l_1855393.jpg) > “Your brain forms a story and, if you're lucky, there's a line where the story takes over the brain. You don't even know what you have.” [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our minds construct narratives, often without awareness, shaping perception and identity. **In simple terms:** Our brains create stories that guide us unknowingly. Key Takeaway Recognize and question your inner narrative. Themes identity perception storytelling Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - personal reflection - therapy - creative writing - decision making Key Concepts psychology cognitive bias self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does your internal story influence your choices? - Can you identify a narrative you’ve accepted without proof? A Different Perspective Stories can distort reality if unexamined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [Your brain forms roughly 10,000 new cells every day, but unless they hook up to preexisting cells with strong memories, they die. Serves them right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/your-brain-forms-roughly-10-000-new-cells-every-day-but-unless-they/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-consider-that-a-man-s-brain-originally-is-like-a-little-empty-attic/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Most of my stories are ideas in action. In other words, I get a concept, and I let it run away. I find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/most-of-my-stories-are-ideas-in-action-in-other-words-i-get-a-concept/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to understand how to read a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uma-thurman/i-don-t-think-it-takes-a-brain-surgeon-to-understand-how-to-read-a/) [Uma Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uma-thurman/) > [The best part of writing is thinking about the story. And then everything else takes a lot of discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-mortimer/the-best-part-of-writing-is-thinking-about-the-story-and-then/) [Kareem Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-mortimer/) > [Sometimes the story takes you to places that you want to go and sometimes it takes you places you don't want to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gould/sometimes-the-story-takes-you-to-places-that-you-want-to-go-and/) [Peter Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gould/) > [“consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/consider-that-a-man-s-brain-originally-is-like-a-little-empty-attic/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“A real story takes time to prepare”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/a-real-story-takes-time-to-prepare/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“But sometimes you have to make a decision with your heart instead of your head, and that’s what I did. I know I’ve made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-landry/but-sometimes-you-have-to-make-a-decision-with-your-heart-instead-of/) [Marie Landry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-landry/) > [Once you're away from music, I realize that's as intrinsic to who I am as anything else. That's the part that takes me out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/once-you-re-away-from-music-i-realize-that-s-as-intrinsic-to-who-i-am/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I grew up not watching TV and I enjoy TV but it kind of takes my brain away from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-hahn/i-grew-up-not-watching-tv-and-i-enjoy-tv-but-it-kind-of-takes-my/) [Hilary Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-hahn/) > [I definitely learned never to fall in love in high school because it just takes over your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daren-kagasoff/i-definitely-learned-never-to-fall-in-love-in-high-school-because-it/) [Daren Kagasoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daren-kagasoff/) > [On a more technical level, a story takes a lot of words. And to generate words and phrases and images and so on, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/on-a-more-technical-level-a-story-takes-a-lot-of-words-and-to/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [It is clear that when you write a story that takes place in the past, you try to show what really happened in those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/it-is-clear-that-when-you-write-a-story-that-takes-place-in-the-past/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > ['Seize the Story' takes readers all the way through the process of writing fiction, from beginning to end. Every element, from dialogue to setting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-hanley/seize-the-story-takes-readers-all-the-way-through-the-process-of/) [Victoria Hanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-hanley/) ## More by Nathan Englander > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I know nobody believes in peace anymore, but what else is there to work toward? As the years have gone by, peace seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-know-nobody-believes-in-peace-anymore-but-what-else-is-there-to/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [“How terribly unfair that his whole self aches because of the shape of a shoulder, the soft line of a hip.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/how-terribly-unfair-that-his-whole-self-aches-because-of-the-shape-of/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I feel very lucky that I have this career that allows me to say, 'I'm ready to start now on this project,' and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-feel-very-lucky-that-i-have-this-career-that-allows-me-to-say-i-m/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [“If Z had only known in his perfectly lovely two rooms in Paris what he'd come to know in his single 6x8 block somewhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/if-z-had-only-known-in-his-perfectly-lovely-two-rooms-in-paris-what/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I always call myself either an optimistic pessimist or a pessimistic optimist - I'm not sure which way it goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-always-call-myself-either-an-optimistic-pessimist-or-a-pessimistic/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [Empathy is what obsesses me. And watching empathy recede in the world is terrifying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/empathy-is-what-obsesses-me-and-watching-empathy-recede-in-the-world/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [There's an Armed Forces Haggadah and an Alcoholics Anonymous Haggadah and an LGBT Haggadah. Some people make a new Haggadah every year. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/there-s-an-armed-forces-haggadah-and-an-alcoholics-anonymous-haggadah/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [Harder than waking from a nightmare was trying to wake herself into one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/harder-than-waking-from-a-nightmare-was-trying-to-wake-herself-into/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [When you see 'editor' on a book, there are many permutations of what that title can mean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/when-you-see-editor-on-a-book-there-are-many-permutations-of-what/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [So writing stories is not easier in comparison to the playwriting or translation; the stories are easier in league with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/so-writing-stories-is-not-easier-in-comparison-to-the-playwriting-or/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [The thing you start noticing as books go by, is that you become aware not only of a shape of a career, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/the-thing-you-start-noticing-as-books-go-by-is-that-you-become-aware/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I feel like people who become writers are people who have been saved by books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-feel-like-people-who-become-writers-are-people-who-have-been-saved/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I don't think it's the writer's job to give answers or to give opinions. In fact, when a writer has answers, I think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-don-t-think-it-s-the-writer-s-job-to-give-answers-or-to-give/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I didn't sleep the night I finished 'Sister Hills.' It was so unsettling. I felt really wild. I didn't have a clue. It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-didn-t-sleep-the-night-i-finished-sister-hills-it-was-so-unsettling/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) [Explore all 84 Nathan Englander quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) ## More Brain quotes > [The brain abhors discrepancies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilayanur-s-ramachandran/the-brain-abhors-discrepancies/) [Vilayanur S. Ramachandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilayanur-s-ramachandran/) > [In some circles where very heavy people think they have very heavy brains, words like "charming" and "clever" and "pretty" are all put-downs; all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/in-some-circles-where-very-heavy-people-think-they-have-very-heavy/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [down with ought with because with every brain that thinks it thinks nor dares to feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/down-with-ought-with-because-with-every-brain-that-thinks-it-thinks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [I prefer the word 'musician.' I'm a musician and a composer. I have a problem with the word 'artist.' I don't know if it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-prefer-the-word-musician-i-m-a-musician-and-a-composer-i-have-a/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [Thinking of sex provides enough mental stimulation to reduce risk of diseases that damage the brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thinking-of-sex-provides-enough-mental-stimulation-to-reduce-risk-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My writing routine is: get son off to school and sit down at 8 A.M. I read what I wrote the day before, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-chevalier/my-writing-routine-is-get-son-off-to-school-and-sit-down-at-8-a-m-i/) [Tracy Chevalier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-chevalier/) > [The reason I'm drawn to it is - both the off road racing and the motorcycles on the track - it takes a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dax-shepard/the-reason-i-m-drawn-to-it-is-both-the-off-road-racing-and-the/) [Dax Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dax-shepard/) > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [being asked to decide between your passion for work and your passion for children was like being asked by your doctor whether you preferred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-bevington/being-asked-to-decide-between-your-passion-for-work-and-your-passion/) [Helen Bevington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-bevington/) > [I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-boyle/i-was-told-i-had-brain-damage-i-always-knew-it-was-an-unfair-label/) [Susan Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-boyle/) > [The act of learning to read added an entirely new circuit to our hominid brain's repertoire. The long developmental process of learning to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/the-act-of-learning-to-read-added-an-entirely-new-circuit-to-our/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [I can't let fear kill my creative brain. Fear is the killer. Your bad choices come from fear. And I'm constantly combating fear. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-can-t-let-fear-kill-my-creative-brain-fear-is-the-killer-your-bad/) [Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/) > [I am the way I am. If you like me because I'm glamorous, so be it. If you like me, because I speak well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malaika-arora-khan/i-am-the-way-i-am-if-you-like-me-because-i-m-glamorous-so-be-it-if/) [Malaika Arora Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malaika-arora-khan/) [Browse all 8,465 Brain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Your brain forms a story and, if you're lucky, there's a line where the story takes over the brain. 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