--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I left things out - my motivations, my…" description: "\"I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about them. I tried and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/rory-stewart-11028_afghanistan_i-left-things-out-my-motivations-my-hist_400726.jpg" --- # I left things out - my motivations, my history, my… ![“I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about them. I tried and it was generally boring and always unconvincing. Most importantly I wanted to try to place Afghans and Afghanistan in the foreground rather than…” quote by Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/rory-stewart-11028_afghanistan_i-left-things-out-my-motivations-my-hist_400726.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/rory-stewart-11028_afghanistan_i-left-things-out-my-motivations-my-hist_400726.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/rory-stewart-11028_afghanistan_i-left-things-out-my-motivations-my-hist_400726.jpg) > “I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about them. I tried and it was generally boring and always unconvincing. Most importantly I wanted to try to place Afghans and Afghanistan in the foreground rather than my own character.” [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author omits personal motives and feelings to focus on Afghan people and their story, acknowledging his own difficulty in self‑analysis. **In simple terms:** He leaves out his own background to highlight Afghans. Key Takeaway Prioritize others’ narratives over self‑focus. Themes humility focus onothers storytelling Mood thoughtful serious Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - journalism - historical writing - documentary work Key Concepts self‑reflection cultural representation Questions to Reflect On - How can writers responsibly include personal perspective? - What risks arise from omitting self‑reflection? A Different Perspective Balancing personal insight with broader focus can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Afghanistan Foreground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan-foreground-3593638/) [Boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-emotional-3593637/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Place Afghans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-afghans-3593636/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-tried-1217781/) ## Related quotes > [I tried my hand at writing, I tried to write out a little script - and it's not too bad. Mostly, though, it let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-fillion/i-tried-my-hand-at-writing-i-tried-to-write-out-a-little-script-and/) [Nathan Fillion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-fillion/) > [A number of politicians have failed to recognise the consistent truth of history: that we're both an emotional and a rational species, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/a-number-of-politicians-have-failed-to-recognise-the-consistent-truth/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good, and praise it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/in-my-writing-as-much-as-i-could-i-tried-to-find-the-good-and-praise/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Time and time again in history, it's the emotional argument that wins. Probably since 70,000 BC we've been making decisions in a similar way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/time-and-time-again-in-history-it-s-the-emotional-argument-that-wins/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [I found incredible kindness, dignity and hospitality in both Iraq and Afghanistan - am only alive because of it - the most worthwhile lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-found-incredible-kindness-dignity-and-hospitality-in-both-iraq-and/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I have not met, in Afghanistan, in even the most remote community, anybody who does not want a say in who governs them. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-have-not-met-in-afghanistan-in-even-the-most-remote-community/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“Perhaps it is because no one requires more than a charming illusion of action in the developing world. If policy makers know little about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/perhaps-it-is-because-no-one-requires-more-than-a-charming-illusion/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [Whether I'm trying to figure out what the U.S. military is doing in Latin America or Africa, Afghanistan or Qatar, the response is remarkably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-turse/whether-i-m-trying-to-figure-out-what-the-u-s-military-is-doing-in/) [Nick Turse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-turse/) > [According to a recent Harvard study, $6 trillion, when you include the ongoing healthcare expenses for our wounded soldiers, which is the least they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/according-to-a-recent-harvard-study-6-trillion-when-you-include-the/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Rory Stewart > [This idea that failure is not an option: It makes failure invisible, inconceivable and inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/this-idea-that-failure-is-not-an-option-it-makes-failure-invisible/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [If a relationship is going wrong, if a marriage is going wrong, the answer cannot simply be to say, 'You can't afford to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-a-relationship-is-going-wrong-if-a-marriage-is-going-wrong-the/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [ “He \[Babur\] was a ype of mastiff, bred to fight against wolves, dogs, and humans. . . . The mastiff is perhaps the oldest… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/he-babur-was-a-ype-of-mastiff-bred-to-fight-against-wolves-dogs-and/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [The politicians think the journalists have power, the journalists think bankers have power, bankers think lawyers have power. The truth is, nobody has power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/the-politicians-think-the-journalists-have-power-the-journalists/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“I recited and followed this song-of-the-places-in-between as a map.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-recited-and-followed-this-song-of-the-places-in-between-as-a-map/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [The Afghan government is much better informed, much more intrusive and ambitious than I had guessed. There are amazing craftsmen in Kabul but few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/the-afghan-government-is-much-better-informed-much-more-intrusive-and/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I have planted over 6,000 trees at home in Scotland, some of them oak. I'd like my children to be able to watch them grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-have-planted-over-6-000-trees-at-home-in-scotland-some-of-them-oak/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“Man's life is brief and transitory, Literature endures forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/man-s-life-is-brief-and-transitory-literature-endures-forever/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [If things are going wrong in a country, it's not usually that we don't have enough foreigners. It's usually that we have too many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/if-things-are-going-wrong-in-a-country-it-s-not-usually-that-we-don-t/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [For politicians to be honest, the public needs to allow them to be honest, and the media, which mediates between the politicians and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/for-politicians-to-be-honest-the-public-needs-to-allow-them-to-be/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [“My feet beat out a steady muffled rhythm. My thoughts participated in each step, never getting ahead of me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/my-feet-beat-out-a-steady-muffled-rhythm-my-thoughts-participated-in/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [I like connecting to places by foot, and I'm interested in experiencing how somewhere like Crieff connects to somewhere like London.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/i-like-connecting-to-places-by-foot-and-i-m-interested-in/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [Religions . . . seem to avoid mountain passes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/religions-seem-to-avoid-mountain-passes/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/democracy-is-not-simply-a-question-of-structures-it-is-a-state-of/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) > [When my father was posted to Malaysia, we'd take bacon-and-egg sandwiches in our backpacks and go hiking in the jungle or make bamboo rafts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-stewart/when-my-father-was-posted-to-malaysia-we-d-take-bacon-and-egg/) [Rory Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) [Explore all 62 Rory Stewart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-stewart/) ## More Afghanistan quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [According to a recent Harvard study, $6 trillion, when you include the ongoing healthcare expenses for our wounded soldiers, which is the least they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/according-to-a-recent-harvard-study-6-trillion-when-you-include-the/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [You don't bargain with terrorists. You don't appease terrorists. And anybody who believes that this is about something we've done has to ask themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/you-don-t-bargain-with-terrorists-you-don-t-appease-terrorists-and/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [“I stood with my mom in the cemetery. She felt terrible pain. My grandmother is with God. My mom has to continue living. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/i-stood-with-my-mom-in-the-cemetery-she-felt-terrible-pain-my/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-moral-interventionism-on-the/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) [Browse all 1,159 Afghanistan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about them. 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