--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes life isn’t what we want, it’s…" description: "\"“Sometimes life isn’t what we want, it’s what we get.”\" — Sara Sheridan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/sara-sheridan-1032_fate_sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-w_3160113.png" --- # Sometimes life isn’t what we want, it’s what we get. ![“Sometimes life isn’t what we want, it’s what we get.” quote by Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/sara-sheridan-1032_fate_sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-w_3160113.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/sara-sheridan-1032_fate_sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-w_3160113.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/sara-sheridan-1032_fate_sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-w_3160113.png) > ““Sometimes life isn’t what we want, it’s what we get.”” [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life often delivers outcomes beyond our desires; accept reality over expectations. **In simple terms:** Life isn’t always what we want. Key Takeaway Adapt to what happens. Themes acceptance reality expectations Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career setbacks - relationship changes - unexpected events - health diagnoses Key Concepts philosophy psychology resilience Questions to Reflect On - What can you control? - How do you reframe disappointment? A Different Perspective Focusing on wants can cause frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes, life isn't about what you want to do but what you ought to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/sometimes-life-isn-t-about-what-you-want-to-do-but-what-you-ought-to/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [Inclusiveness isn't what I want to push back against. 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Isn’t it what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-banks/it-s-not-a-crime-to-want-someone-to-love-you-or-to-be-in-love-or-to/) [Maya Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-banks/) > [What you once were isn't what you want to be anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/what-you-once-were-isn-t-what-you-want-to-be-anymore/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) > [No one wants to hear the truth if it isn't what they want to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-brown/no-one-wants-to-hear-the-truth-if-it-isn-t-what-they-want-to-hear/) [Aaron Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-brown/) > [Giving people what they want isn't always what they want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/giving-people-what-they-want-isn-t-always-what-they-want/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Isn't that why you want to shoot yourself? To make a protest against change?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/isn-t-that-why-you-want-to-shoot-yourself-to-make-a-protest-against/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [Everyone posts about how they love clingy boys or feeling wanted but all that means nothing if the person that wants you isn't the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-posts-about-how-they-love-clingy-boys-or-feeling-wanted-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And I wanted that - to come first in somebody's life. Isn't that what we all want?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-nichols/and-i-wanted-that-to-come-first-in-somebody-s-life-isn-t-that-what-we/) [Lee Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-nichols/) ## More by Sara Sheridan > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Kissing her is like drinking salted water, he thinks. His thirst only increases.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/kissing-her-is-like-drinking-salted-water-he-thinks-his-thirst-only/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“We are in the middle of the biggest revolution in reading and writing since the advent of the Gutenberg press.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/we-are-in-the-middle-of-the-biggest-revolution-in-reading-and-writing/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [The sky was a sparkling succession of black diamonds on black velvet made crystal clear by the blackout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-sky-was-a-sparkling-succession-of-black-diamonds-on-black-velvet/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“The bonds between a family are strange indeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-bonds-between-a-family-are-strange-indeed/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-is-full-of-blank-spaces-but-good-stories-invariably-are-not/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“The mass communications that could enable our politics for good have instead turned it into a bland conglomeration of stinted opinion cloaked in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-mass-communications-that-could-enable-our-politics-for-good-have/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I've found myself moved by letters and diaries in archives as well as trashy, summer blockbusters. It's possible to make a connection with any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-ve-found-myself-moved-by-letters-and-diaries-in-archives-as-well-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/grabbing-readers-by-the-imagination-is-a-writer-s-job/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [As an historical novelist - there are few jobs more retrospective. I dumped science at an early age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-an-historical-novelist-there-are-few-jobs-more-retrospective-i/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Crime writers, I've noticed, can be jumpy. They live in a world where there are murderers on the loose and they haven't been caught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/crime-writers-i-ve-noticed-can-be-jumpy-they-live-in-a-world-where/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“The writing talent of Edinburgh is textured - we have poets, novelists, non-fiction writers, dramatists and more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-writing-talent-of-edinburgh-is-textured-we-have-poets-novelists/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Communism,” I observed, “is a pile of wank.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/communism-i-observed-is-a-pile-of-wank/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [A word out of place or an interesting choice of vocabulary can spawn a whole character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/a-word-out-of-place-or-an-interesting-choice-of-vocabulary-can-spawn/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) [Explore all 305 Sara Sheridan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) ## More Fate quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [When you have counted eighty years and more, Time and Fate will batter at your door; But if you should survive to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/when-you-have-counted-eighty-years-and-more-time-and-fate-will-batter/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) > [“To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/to-be-a-sufi-is-to-detach-from-fixed-ideas-and-from-preconceptions/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [ Man blindly works the will of fate. \[Ger., Blindlings that er blos den Willen des Geschickes.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-martin-wieland/man-blindly-works-the-will-of-fate-ger-blindlings-that-er-blos-den/) [Christoph Martin Wieland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-martin-wieland/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Real chessplayers think about chess more or less 24 hours a day. It is a passion and a fate that one has to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simen-agdestein/real-chessplayers-think-about-chess-more-or-less-24-hours-a-day-it-is/) Simen Agdestein > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [You can't choose what stays and what stays away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/you-can-t-choose-what-stays-and-what-stays-away/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Fate and future both are servant to the determined, for they are nothing but creation of human determination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/fate-and-future-both-are-servant-to-the-determined-for-they-are/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [My fate cannot be mastered; it can only be collaborated with and thereby, to some extent, directed. Nor am I the captain of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/my-fate-cannot-be-mastered-it-can-only-be-collaborated-with-and/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“What would have been the fate of sages if there were no fools?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/what-would-have-been-the-fate-of-sages-if-there-were-no-fools/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) > [“God has a way of picking a “nobody” and turning their world upside down, in order to create a “somebody” that will remove the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/god-has-a-way-of-picking-a-nobody-and-turning-their-world-upside-down/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) [Browse all 5,152 Fate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sometimes life isn’t what we want, it’s what we get.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sara Sheridan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-what-we-get/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-what-we-get/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/sara-sheridan-1032_fate_sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-w_3160113.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/sara-sheridan-1032_fate_sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-w_3160113.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/sara-sheridan-1032_fate_sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-w_3160113.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes life isn’t what we want, it’s what we get.” — Sara Sheridan", "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": "Sara Sheridan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Sometimes life isn’t what we want,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-what-we-get/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/sometimes-life-isn-t-what-we-want-it-s-what-we-get/#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 } } ] } ```