--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is my main shortcoming: I was so…" description: "\"This is my main shortcoming: I was so determined not to lose time that I often did the wrong thing. Not losing time has been my permanent concern since..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f3/nina-berberova-25943_begging_this-is-my-main-shortcoming-i-was-so-det_2616372.jpg" --- # This is my main shortcoming: I was so determined not to… ![“This is my main shortcoming: I was so determined not to lose time that I often did the wrong thing. Not losing time has been my permanent concern since I was three years old, when it dawned on me that time is the warp of life, its very fabric, something that you cannot buy, trade, steal, falsify…” quote by Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f3/nina-berberova-25943_begging_this-is-my-main-shortcoming-i-was-so-det_2616372.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f3/nina-berberova-25943_begging_this-is-my-main-shortcoming-i-was-so-det_2616372.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f3/nina-berberova-25943_begging_this-is-my-main-shortcoming-i-was-so-det_2616372.jpg) > “This is my main shortcoming: I was so determined not to lose time that I often did the wrong thing. Not losing time has been my permanent concern since I was three years old, when it dawned on me that time is the warp of life, its very fabric, something that you cannot buy, trade, steal, falsify, or obtain by begging.” [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admits that an obsessive focus on saving time can lead to poor decisions, highlighting time’s intangible value and the paradox of over‑optimizing. **In simple terms:** Obsessing about time can cause bad choices. Key Takeaway Balance urgency with thoughtful action. Themes time management paradox priorities Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - project planning - personal productivity - decision making - learning from mistakes Key Concepts Opportunity cost mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess whether saving time is worth the risk? - What values guide your use of time? A Different Perspective Over‑focus on efficiency may ignore quality or ethical considerations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determined/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Losing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/losing-time/) [Shortcomings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortcomings/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) ## Related quotes > [There are six 'Time Warp Trio' books that would take a page each to fully praise. And I just thought up twelve more while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/there-are-six-time-warp-trio-books-that-would-take-a-page-each-to/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [Time is the warp and matter the weft of the woven texture of beauty in space, and death is the hurling shuttle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/time-is-the-warp-and-matter-the-weft-of-the-woven-texture-of-beauty/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Buckmester County was in a time warp.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monika-barbara-potocki/buckmester-county-was-in-a-time-warp/) Monika Barbara Potocki > [“time warp. But I was wrong. Something has changed." He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-freethy/time-warp-but-i-was-wrong-something-has-changed-he/) [Barbara Freethy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-freethy/) > [No movement can afford to be caught in a time warp and exist in a state of suspended animation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-bikel/no-movement-can-afford-to-be-caught-in-a-time-warp-and-exist-in-a/) [Theodore Bikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-bikel/) > [We will never have total control over this extraordinary dimension. Time will warp and confuse and baffle and entertain however much we learn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-hammond/we-will-never-have-total-control-over-this-extraordinary-dimension/) Claudia Hammond > [If time heals all wounds, and a book can hold a person's entire life, then you can speed up the process with a pulp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/if-time-heals-all-wounds-and-a-book-can-hold-a-person-s-entire-life/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [I don't really get stuck in a time warp where, if my film is a success, I have to keep partying till the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rani-mukerji/i-don-t-really-get-stuck-in-a-time-warp-where-if-my-film-is-a-success/) [Rani Mukerji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rani-mukerji/) > [“That day belongs to a different time warp. 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Parker Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-l-parker-jr/) > [“I seemed to slip in a time warp when I visited Morrie, and I liked myself better when I was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-seemed-to-slip-in-a-time-warp-when-i-visited-morrie-and-i-liked/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [It's like with me, I feel like I was never one of those rappers that, you know, stayed in one time warp.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/it-s-like-with-me-i-feel-like-i-was-never-one-of-those-rappers-that/) E-40 > [Sometimes what you lose in the time it takes to let an actor do something that you don't like as a director, you gain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/sometimes-what-you-lose-in-the-time-it-takes-to-let-an-actor-do/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [Nobody can ask me more when I try all my best all the time, no? So, you know, if I lose another time in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-nadal/nobody-can-ask-me-more-when-i-try-all-my-best-all-the-time-no-so-you/) [Rafael Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-nadal/) ## More by Nina Berberova > [Moscow, Rome, London, Paris stay in place. Leningrad and New York float, spreading all their sails, cutting space with their prows, and can disappear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/moscow-rome-london-paris-stay-in-place-leningrad-and-new-york-float/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [Pearls ... have a way of dying when separated from their owner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/pearls-have-a-way-of-dying-when-separated-from-their-owner/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [I had learnt to seek intensity rather than happiness, not joys and prosperity but more of life, a concentrated sense of life, a strengthened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/i-had-learnt-to-seek-intensity-rather-than-happiness-not-joys-and/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [my choices were partly conditioned by the two great laws - of biology and sociology - for I do not conceive of myself outside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/my-choices-were-partly-conditioned-by-the-two-great-laws-of-biology/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [It looks now as if everything has been profitable to me. 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There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/the-idea-came-to-me-that-i-was-am-and-will-be-but-perhaps-will-not/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [I had learnt to seek intensity — more of life, a concentrated sense of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/i-had-learnt-to-seek-intensity-more-of-life-a-concentrated-sense-of/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [“So we stood on the corner by the stationery shop and were deeply insincere with each other. --The Tattered Cloak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/so-we-stood-on-the-corner-by-the-stationery-shop-and-were-deeply/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [ \[On New York:\] ... a city rose before me. It was narrow and tall like a gothic temple, surrounded by water, and ... it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/on-new-york-a-city-rose-before-me-it-was-narrow-and-tall-like-a/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [I wanted to write; I sought all possible paths of personal liberation, but I could never sacrifice a living instant of life for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/i-wanted-to-write-i-sought-all-possible-paths-of-personal-liberation/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [I think that an anthill is better than a nest ... that in the anthill among a hundred thousand or a million you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/i-think-that-an-anthill-is-better-than-a-nest-that-in-the-anthill/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [ \[On Paris:\] It exists, constant, eternal, surrounding us who live in it, and it is in us. We love it or hate it, but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/on-paris-it-exists-constant-eternal-surrounding-us-who-live-in-it-and/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) > [Doesn't the theory of relativity concern literature too? In our world there is no longer any room for the privileged observer, as there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-berberova/doesn-t-the-theory-of-relativity-concern-literature-too-in-our-world/) [Nina Berberova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) [Explore all 19 Nina Berberova quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-berberova/) ## More Begging quotes > [“You are the queen, he ought to be begging leave of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/you-are-the-queen-he-ought-to-be-begging-leave-of-you/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Daddy always said the only thing worth begging for was your life, but maybe he was wrong. 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No matter how broke you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/any-fool-that-had-once-helped-you-will-someday-make-known-to-everyone/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“He kept begging God, “Please, please, please open my heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/he-kept-begging-god-please-please-please-open-my-heart/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [We long for our father. We wear his clothes, and actually try to fill his shoes. . . . We hang on to him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-pittman/we-long-for-our-father-we-wear-his-clothes-and-actually-try-to-fill/) [Frank Pittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-pittman/) > [The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/the-desperation-was-coming-off-you-in-waves-you-were-all-but-begging/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [While you're ignoring me, someone else is begging for my attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-you-re-ignoring-me-someone-else-is-begging-for-my-attention/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would willingly stand at street corners, hat in hand, begging passerby to drop their unused minutes into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-berenson/i-would-willingly-stand-at-street-corners-hat-in-hand-begging/) [Bernard Berenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-berenson/) > [A man in love ... is the master, so it seems, but only if his lady friend permits it! 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