--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am always astonishing myself. It is the…" description: "\"I am always astonishing myself. It is the only thing that makes life worth living.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/oscar-wilde-16_astonishing_i-am-always-astonishing-myself-it-is-the_1433069.jpg" --- # I am always astonishing myself. It is the only thing that… ![“I am always astonishing myself. It is the only thing that makes life worth living.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/oscar-wilde-16_astonishing_i-am-always-astonishing-myself-it-is-the_1433069.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/oscar-wilde-16_astonishing_i-am-always-astonishing-myself-it-is-the_1433069.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/oscar-wilde-16_astonishing_i-am-always-astonishing-myself-it-is-the_1433069.jpg) > “I am always astonishing myself. It is the only thing that makes life worth living.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑astonishment fuels purpose, making existence meaningful. **In simple terms:** Surprising yourself gives life meaning. Key Takeaway Seek moments that amaze you. Themes self‑discovery purpose joy Mood inspired reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - creative pursuits - personal milestones - daily reflections Key Concepts existentialism personal fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What recent surprise reignited your passion? - How can you create more awe‑inspiring moments? A Different Perspective If you stop seeking wonder, life feels flat. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-worth-living/) [Worth living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-living/) ## Related quotes > [What makes life worth living? Better surely, to yield to the stain of suicide blood in me and seek forgetfulness in the embrace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/what-makes-life-worth-living-better-surely-to-yield-to-the-stain-of/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [“Sometimes it's the nihilism that makes life worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/sometimes-it-s-the-nihilism-that-makes-life-worth-living/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [If one is aware and alive, then it is one's relationships that make you live. It makes life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gulzar/if-one-is-aware-and-alive-then-it-is-one-s-relationships-that-make/) [Gulzar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gulzar/) > [Ever bike? Now that's something that makes life worth living!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/ever-bike-now-that-s-something-that-makes-life-worth-living/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [The astonishing thing for me is that I had a career before politics and I never thought about my colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/the-astonishing-thing-for-me-is-that-i-had-a-career-before-politics/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“What an astonishing thing, that her praise filled his heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-grenville/what-an-astonishing-thing-that-her-praise-filled-his-heart/) [Kate Grenville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-grenville/) > [What an astonishing thing a book is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/what-an-astonishing-thing-a-book-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Only the possibility of carrying out a dream makes our life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/only-the-possibility-of-carrying-out-a-dream-makes-our-life-worth/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“Love makes life worth living, not money”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giovanna-fletcher/love-makes-life-worth-living-not-money/) [Giovanna Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giovanna-fletcher/) > [Loving you makes life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soab/loving-you-makes-life-worth-living/) SOAB > [Maybe poetry's not so important, but ... it makes life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arda-collins/maybe-poetry-s-not-so-important-but-it-makes-life-worth-living/) Arda Collins > [“Culture may even be described simply as that which makes life worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/culture-may-even-be-described-simply-as-that-which-makes-life-worth/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The life force is vigorous. The delight that accompanies it counter-balances all the pains and hardships that confront men. It makes life worth living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-life-force-is-vigorous-the-delight-that-accompanies-it-counter/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [What makes life worth living is knowing that one day you will wake up and find the person that makes you happier than anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-makes-life-worth-living-is-knowing-that-one-day-you-will-wake-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not what you have, but whom you love that makes life worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-stasik/it-s-not-what-you-have-but-whom-you-love-that-makes-life-worth-living/) Val Stasik ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Astonishing quotes > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [A man may perform astonishing feats and comprehend a vast amount of knowledge, and yet have no understanding of himself. But suffering directs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/a-man-may-perform-astonishing-feats-and-comprehend-a-vast-amount-of/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [A first novel of astonishing force, craft and beauty, The Headmaster's Wager conjures up a dizzyingly evocative wartime Saigon in the story of Percival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-y-k-lee-2/a-first-novel-of-astonishing-force-craft-and-beauty-the-headmaster-s/) Janice Y. K. Lee > [“What is astonishing is that we, who had no idea how anything was going to turn out, now know exactly what happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/what-is-astonishing-is-that-we-who-had-no-idea-how-anything-was-going/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-the-spanish-met-the-aztecs-it/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [It was astonishing when at one point, I got the idea of how to make artifical clouds with a collaborator, we had pictures made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benoit-mandelbrot/it-was-astonishing-when-at-one-point-i-got-the-idea-of-how-to-make/) [Benoit Mandelbrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benoit-mandelbrot/) > [Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/although-there-may-be-nothing-new-under-the-sun-what-is-old-is-new-to/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [The astonishing thing for me is that I had a career before politics and I never thought about my colour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-gyimah/the-astonishing-thing-for-me-is-that-i-had-a-career-before-politics/) [Sam Gyimah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-gyimah/) > [“There is no denying it; one must admit that there is something astonishing about Christianity. 'It is because you were born in it,' they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/there-is-no-denying-it-one-must-admit-that-there-is-something/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [It's Twitter's combination of simplicity and complexity that is astonishing in the same way that minimalist sculpture was inspiring and enlightening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/it-s-twitter-s-combination-of-simplicity-and-complexity-that-is/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [All that we don't know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/all-that-we-don-t-know-is-astonishing-even-more-astonishing-is-what/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy which we call mathematics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-bateson/still-more-astonishing-is-that-world-of-rigorous-fantasy-which-we/) [Gregory Bateson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-bateson/) > [“No one ever said aloud any of the kinds of things he was so constantly thinking, because no one in the parish, not Alice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/no-one-ever-said-aloud-any-of-the-kinds-of-things-he-was-so/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [If you worry less about what people think of you, you can pick up an astonishing amount of information about them. You no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-druckerman/if-you-worry-less-about-what-people-think-of-you-you-can-pick-up-an/) [Pamela Druckerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-druckerman/) > [The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three black male babies born this century will go to jail or prison - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-bureau-of-justice-reports-that-one-in-three-black-male-babies/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) Browse all 410 Astonishing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am always astonishing myself. 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