--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Which is why we have spouses and children…" description: "\"Which is why we have spouses and children and parents and colleagues and friends, because someone has to know us better than we know ourselves. We need..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/richard-russo-1691_als_which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-childre_2632046.jpg" --- # Which is why we have spouses and children and parents and… ![“Which is why we have spouses and children and parents and colleagues and friends, because someone has to know us better than we know ourselves. We need them to tell us. We need them to say, "I know you, Al. You are not the kind of man who.” quote by Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/richard-russo-1691_als_which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-childre_2632046.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/richard-russo-1691_als_which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-childre_2632046.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/richard-russo-1691_als_which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-childre_2632046.jpg) > “Which is why we have spouses and children and parents and colleagues and friends, because someone has to know us better than we know ourselves. We need them to tell us. We need them to say, "I know you, Al. You are not the kind of man who.” [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We rely on close relationships for self‑knowledge because others see aspects of us we miss. **In simple terms:** Others help us understand ourselves. Key Takeaway Seek honest feedback from trusted people. Themes self‑awareness relationships trust Mood reflective introspective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - teamwork - therapy - friendship - family Key Concepts psychology social perception Questions to Reflect On - Who truly knows you? - How do you balance self‑insight with external views? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge can be biased by others' projections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Children and parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children-and-parents/) [Colleagues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleagues/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Spouses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spouses/) ## Related quotes > [In the Trump administration, we feel it is imperative we support our military spouses and children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-pence/in-the-trump-administration-we-feel-it-is-imperative-we-support-our/) [Karen Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-pence/) > [Patriotism is not an abstract concept. It begins from one's own home. It buds out from the love for one's parents, spouses and children,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-jong-un/patriotism-is-not-an-abstract-concept-it-begins-from-one-s-own-home/) [Kim Jong-un](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-jong-un/) > [“Over the years, I’ve noticed that most of my colleagues and friends have their own favorite but relatively obscure words that even they aren’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-pennebaker/over-the-years-i-ve-noticed-that-most-of-my-colleagues-and-friends/) [James W. Pennebaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-pennebaker/) > [My colleagues are my colleagues, my friends are my friends. It's never been male or female.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaya-scodelario/my-colleagues-are-my-colleagues-my-friends-are-my-friends-it-s-never/) [Kaya Scodelario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaya-scodelario/) > [Those who do not cherish affection for their parents, spouses and children and for their homes, villages and workplaces cannot love their country and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-jong-un/those-who-do-not-cherish-affection-for-their-parents-spouses-and/) [Kim Jong-un](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-jong-un/) > [Before you sleep tonight, say a prayer for the spouses/children of our military men/women that are fighting to keep you safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-you-sleep-tonight-say-a-prayer-for-the-spouses-children-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Many invest wisely in business matters, but fail to invest time and interest in their most valued possessions: their spouses and children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/many-invest-wisely-in-business-matters-but-fail-to-invest-time-and/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I consider the decision of my colleagues and friends to be the best birthday present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-consider-the-decision-of-my-colleagues-and-friends-to-be-the-best/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [What we've tried to do is have neighbors, colleagues, friends and family talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-plouffe/what-we-ve-tried-to-do-is-have-neighbors-colleagues-friends-and/) [David Plouffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-plouffe/) > [To be able to watch our colleagues, our friends come home safely is always an emotional event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-walker/to-be-able-to-watch-our-colleagues-our-friends-come-home-safely-is/) [Shannon Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-walker/) > [British prime ministers and prime ministers' spouses and children are together becoming ever more like first families. They need to be given sufficient resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/british-prime-ministers-and-prime-ministers-spouses-and-children-are/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [We were not just competitors and colleagues, we were friends. We had a lot of opportunities to reflect on this in the last year.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/we-were-not-just-competitors-and-colleagues-we-were-friends-we-had-a/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [“Because the truth is, we never know for sure about ourselves. Who we'll sleep with if given the opportunity, who we'll betray in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/because-the-truth-is-we-never-know-for-sure-about-ourselves-who-we-ll/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“...the truth is, we never know for sure about ourselves. Who we'll sleep with if given the opportunity, who we'll betray in the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/the-truth-is-we-never-know-for-sure-about-ourselves-who-we-ll-sleep/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [The nature of the love between a parent and child really is literally stronger than death. As long as either person in that relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-nature-of-the-love-between-a-parent-and-child-really-is-literally/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Richard Russo > [“The problem with the contemplative life was that there was no end to contemplation, no fixed time limit after which thought had to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/the-problem-with-the-contemplative-life-was-that-there-was-no-end-to/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“That, very simply, was what adulthood must be all about—acquiring the skill to bury things more deeply. Out of sight and, whenever possible, out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/that-very-simply-was-what-adulthood-must-be-all-about-acquiring-the/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“Miles couldn't help admiring women for their ability to dismiss the evidence of their senses. If that's what explained it. If it wasn't simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/miles-couldn-t-help-admiring-women-for-their-ability-to-dismiss-the/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [That afternoon I came to understand that one of the deepest purposes of intellectual sophistication is to provide distance between us and our most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/that-afternoon-i-came-to-understand-that-one-of-the-deepest-purposes/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“Lucy, who apparently had no idea his girlfriend's father held him in such low regard, agreed with Noonan that he was pushing the envelope,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/lucy-who-apparently-had-no-idea-his-girlfriend-s-father-held-him-in/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [Movies have to handle time very efficiently. They're about stringing scenes together in the present. Novels aren't necessarily about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/movies-have-to-handle-time-very-efficiently-they-re-about-stringing/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [When authors who write literary fiction begin to write screenplays, everybody assumes that's the end. Here's another who's never going to write well again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/when-authors-who-write-literary-fiction-begin-to-write-screenplays/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“There was something about spending money they didn't really have that made him optimistic about more coming in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/there-was-something-about-spending-money-they-didn-t-really-have-that/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [Some authors have a very hard time understanding that in order to be faithful to the spirit of the book, it's almost always impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/some-authors-have-a-very-hard-time-understanding-that-in-order-to-be/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [HBO is really famous for hiring good people and staying out of their way until they ask for help, or need it. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/hbo-is-really-famous-for-hiring-good-people-and-staying-out-of-their/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of material in the world. Or in my head. I just pray for continued good health, because I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-material-in-the-world-or-in-my/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [Where was the middle ground between a sense of adventure and just plain sense?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/where-was-the-middle-ground-between-a-sense-of-adventure-and-just/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“Non basta una vita "One life isn't enough”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/non-basta-una-vita-one-life-isn-t-enough/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“... Mr. Purty has cheered me up. The task he has chosen for himself, of wooing my mother with a bright red pickup truck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/mr-purty-has-cheered-me-up-the-task-he-has-chosen-for-himself-of/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“So what? Few men, Miles reflected, lived so comfortably within the confines of a two.word personal philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/so-what-few-men-miles-reflected-lived-so-comfortably-within-the/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) [Explore all 214 Richard Russo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) ## More Als quotes > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [You can't ignore reality. You won't wake up one morning and find that the Arabs of Umm al-Faham have become part of Palestine and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ami-ayalon/you-can-t-ignore-reality-you-won-t-wake-up-one-morning-and-find-that/) [Ami Ayalon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ami-ayalon/) > [Without a vision there is no possibility of creating something larger than what al-ready exists. An entrepreneur has to be able to bring something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/without-a-vision-there-is-no-possibility-of-creating-something-larger/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > ['Constitutional' is just a real pip of a word. Positively rolls off the tongue. In fact, it's downright fun to say. 'Con-stit-too-shun-al.' It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/constitutional-is-just-a-real-pip-of-a-word-positively-rolls-off-the/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/everybody-who-i-ever-cared-about-has-told-me-that-they-like-my-music/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [Paraphrased: The way of al-Junayd includes among other things abstaining constantly from resisting God Most High in whatever happens to one, whether good or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-ata-allah/paraphrased-the-way-of-al-junayd-includes-among-other-things/) [Ibn Ata Allah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-ata-allah/) > [For Al Gore and Paul Ehrlich and Co., whatever the problem, the solution is always the same. Whether it's global cooling, global warming, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/for-al-gore-and-paul-ehrlich-and-co-whatever-the-problem-the-solution/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [Barack Obama became president, and he abandoned Iraq. He left, and when he left Al Qaida was done for. ISIS was created because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/barack-obama-became-president-and-he-abandoned-iraq-he-left-and-when/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [USC is the National Champion like Al Gore is the President of the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-emmert/usc-is-the-national-champion-like-al-gore-is-the-president-of-the/) [Mark Emmert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-emmert/) > [Critics have stepped up their attacks on the President for authorizing the National Security Agency to listen to international communications of known al Qaeda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcclellan/critics-have-stepped-up-their-attacks-on-the-president-for/) [Scott McClellan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcclellan/) > [ The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah (repentance) and protection \[from transgression\]. It becomes rusty as a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/the-heart-becomes-sick-as-the-body-becomes-sick-and-its-remedy-is-al/) [Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibn-qayyim-al-jawziyya/) > [Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/bin-laden-was-though-a-product-of-a-monumental-miscalculation-by/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [ This war \[in Syria\] is going to support Al-Qaeda and the same people that killed Americans in the 11th of September. The second thing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/this-war-in-syria-is-going-to-support-al-qaeda-and-the-same-people/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [Courageous? Courageous would have been admitting weakness and leaving Dauntless, no matter what shame accompanied it. Pride is what killed Al, and it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/courageous-courageous-would-have-been-admitting-weakness-and-leaving/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [And I, the former mystic, was thinking: Yes, man is stronger, greater than God. When Adam and Eve deceived You, You chased them from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/and-i-the-former-mystic-was-thinking-yes-man-is-stronger-greater-than/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) Browse all 894 Als quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Which is why we have spouses and children and parents and colleagues and friends, because someone has to know us better than we know ourselves. We need them to tell us. We need them to say, \"I know you, Al. You are not the kind of man who.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Russo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-children-and-parents-and-colleagues/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Als" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-children-and-parents-and-colleagues/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/richard-russo-1691_als_which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-childre_2632046.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/richard-russo-1691_als_which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-childre_2632046.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/069/richard-russo-1691_als_which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-childre_2632046.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Which is why we have spouses and children and parents and colleagues and friends, because someone has to…” — Richard Russo", "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": "Richard Russo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Which is why we have spouses...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-children-and-parents-and-colleagues/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/which-is-why-we-have-spouses-and-children-and-parents-and-colleagues/#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 } } ] } ```