--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't always explain everything you…" description: "\"You can't always explain everything you do to everybody, you know.\" — Robert Fulghum" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/robert-fulghum-1807_explain_you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you_2878606.png" --- # You can't always explain everything you do to everybody… ![“You can't always explain everything you do to everybody, you know.” quote by Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/robert-fulghum-1807_explain_you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you_2878606.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/robert-fulghum-1807_explain_you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you_2878606.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/robert-fulghum-1807_explain_you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you_2878606.png) > “You can't always explain everything you do to everybody, you know.” [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Not everyone needs to understand your actions; privacy is acceptable. **In simple terms:** You can keep some things private. Key Takeaway Accept selective explanation. Themes privacy communication boundaries Mood pragmatic thoughtful Type personal social When to use this quote - friendships - family dynamics - workplace - online presence Key Concepts social psychology personal autonomy Questions to Reflect On - When should you explain your actions? - How do you set boundaries? A Different Perspective Misunderstandings may arise without explanation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Everybody Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-know/) [Explain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain/) [Explain Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain-everybody-3510665/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“How will I explain it all … to everybody?” “You know, people don’t have to explain things nearly as much as you think they do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/how-will-i-explain-it-all-to-everybody-you-know-people-don-t-have-to/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [The main thing is to explain to yourself that everybody suffers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/the-main-thing-is-to-explain-to-yourself-that-everybody-suffers/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [If you tell, very few will listen if they have to. But if you explain everybody will listen or want to know what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanji-paul-arvind/if-you-tell-very-few-will-listen-if-they-have-to-but-if-you-explain/) [Sanji-Paul Arvind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanji-paul-arvind/) > [I wish he would explain his explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/i-wish-he-would-explain-his-explanation/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“What these young men feared and hated more than anything else was being spoken to by people they hadn't met, or having to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryu-murakami/what-these-young-men-feared-and-hated-more-than-anything-else-was/) [Ryū Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryu-murakami/) > [I leave to the militarists the difficult task of trying to explain to us how these wars have served to shape character or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-ducommun/i-leave-to-the-militarists-the-difficult-task-of-trying-to-explain-to/) [Elie Ducommun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-ducommun/) > [“If our existence were limited to the science that attempts to explain it, our existence wouldn’t exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-our-existence-were-limited-to-the-science-that-attempts-to-explain/) [Craig D. 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You know I love to be with people: the youngsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pel/i-treat-everybody-the-same-you-know-i-love-to-be-with-people-the/) [Pele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pel/) > [“Does everybody know everything in this town!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishnavi-nair-k/does-everybody-know-everything-in-this-town/) [Vaishnavi Nair K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishnavi-nair-k/) > [Everybody should know that Germany will not go it alone: there will be no restless Reich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helmut-kohl/everybody-should-know-that-germany-will-not-go-it-alone-there-will-be/) [Helmut Kohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helmut-kohl/) > [Anyway, there's something wrong with everybody and it's up to you to know what you can handle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anyway-there-s-something-wrong-with-everybody-and-it-s-up-to-you-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Robert Fulghum > [to understand our love they'd have to turn the world upside down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/to-understand-our-love-they-d-have-to-turn-the-world-upside-down/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/what-does-it-profit-a-man-if-he-gains-the-whole-world-and-loses-his/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [“Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will break our hearts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/sticks-and-stones-may-break-our-bones-but-words-will-break-our-hearts/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Life is. I am. Anything might happen. And I believe I may invest my life with meaning. The uncertainty is a blessing in disguise.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/life-is-i-am-anything-might-happen-and-i-believe-i-may-invest-my-life/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Weddings seem to be magnets for mishap and for whatever craziness lurks in family closets. In more ways than one, weddings bring out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/weddings-seem-to-be-magnets-for-mishap-and-for-whatever-craziness/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [I don't think there is a hidden purpose to the universe that you have to puzzle out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/i-don-t-think-there-is-a-hidden-purpose-to-the-universe-that-you-have/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [The name is not important anymore - it's the tone that counts. I feel like an old dog I know. He will come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/the-name-is-not-important-anymore-it-s-the-tone-that-counts-i-feel/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [“Nobody goes "AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" when they sing it. Maybe because it puts the life adventure in such clear and simple terms. The small creature is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/nobody-goes-aaaaaaagggggggghhhhhhhhh-when-they-sing-it-maybe-because/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there at the sandpile at Sunday School.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/wisdom-was-not-at-the-top-of-the-graduate-school-mountain-but-there/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [You are free to give life meaning, whatever meaning you want to give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-are-free-to-give-life-meaning-whatever-meaning-you-want-to-give-it/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [If we could just figure out how to have more fun at it, maybe more of us would join the ranks of those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/if-we-could-just-figure-out-how-to-have-more-fun-at-it-maybe-more-of/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Sometimes during the day, I consciously focus on some ordinary object and allow myself a momentary "paying-attention." This paying-attention gives meaning to my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/sometimes-during-the-day-i-consciously-focus-on-some-ordinary-object/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [All I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten. Share everything ... Don't hit people ... Clean up your own mess ...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/all-i-ever-needed-to-know-i-learned-in-kindergarten-share-everything/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [No. I was an only child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/no-i-was-an-only-child/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [You feel like an ant contemplating Chicago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-feel-like-an-ant-contemplating-chicago/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) [Explore all 206 Robert Fulghum quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) ## More Explain quotes > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [If you have a good idea you must explain it or you will fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/if-you-have-a-good-idea-you-must-explain-it-or-you-will-fail/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [How do you explain a person like Asha Bhosle? A star or a super star or just someone from the Gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anu-malik/how-do-you-explain-a-person-like-asha-bhosle-a-star-or-a-super-star/) [Anu Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anu-malik/) > [If you win you need not explain……But if you lose you should not be there to explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-win-you-need-not-explain-but-if-you-lose-you-should-not-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'm afraid I can't explain myself, sir. Because I am not myself, you see?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/i-m-afraid-i-can-t-explain-myself-sir-because-i-am-not-myself-you-see/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [There is an indefinable quality possessed by some artists. You simply can't explain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-ellen/there-is-an-indefinable-quality-possessed-by-some-artists-you-simply/) [Vera-Ellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-ellen/) > [To be in a room and have to explain your point of view is a huge skill in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-savage/to-be-in-a-room-and-have-to-explain-your-point-of-view-is-a-huge/) [Stephanie Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-savage/) > [“I am not sure how to explain it, except that - truth matters to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/i-am-not-sure-how-to-explain-it-except-that-truth-matters-to-us/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [When I'm creating art or music, when something is resonating or a scene is going well, that almost feels religious to me... there's this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-thatcher/when-i-m-creating-art-or-music-when-something-is-resonating-or-a/) [Sophie Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-thatcher/) > [In a Western, you don't over-explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dean-morgan/in-a-western-you-don-t-over-explain/) [Jeffrey Dean Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dean-morgan/) > [I'm not the guy who will sit in a room with somebody who's using a bunch of big words and just act like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-m-not-the-guy-who-will-sit-in-a-room-with-somebody-who-s-using-a/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [I explain at the parties that I believe knitting is a transformative and intriguing act that can change the life and brain of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/i-explain-at-the-parties-that-i-believe-knitting-is-a-transformative/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [Old cookbooks connect you to your past and explain the history of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/old-cookbooks-connect-you-to-your-past-and-explain-the-history-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no way to explain enlightenment. It is just a word to indicate something beyond, something very, very far beyond the normal human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-is-no-way-to-explain-enlightenment-it-is-just-a-word-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) [Browse all 989 Explain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't always explain everything you do to everybody, you know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert Fulghum" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you-do-to-everybody-you-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Explain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you-do-to-everybody-you-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/robert-fulghum-1807_explain_you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you_2878606.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/robert-fulghum-1807_explain_you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you_2878606.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/robert-fulghum-1807_explain_you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you_2878606.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't always explain everything you do to everybody, you know.” — Robert Fulghum", "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": "Robert Fulghum", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't always explain everything you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you-do-to-everybody-you-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/you-can-t-always-explain-everything-you-do-to-everybody-you-know/#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 } } ] } ```