--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I quit all these things and said I…" description: "\"When I quit all these things and said I didn't have any time, I meant I didn't have any time.\" — Sharon Olds" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/sharon-olds-8682_i-quit_when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i_599446.jpg" --- # When I quit all these things and said I didn't have any… ![“When I quit all these things and said I didn't have any time, I meant I didn't have any time.” quote by Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/sharon-olds-8682_i-quit_when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i_599446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/sharon-olds-8682_i-quit_when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i_599446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/sharon-olds-8682_i-quit_when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i_599446.jpg) > “When I quit all these things and said I didn't have any time, I meant I didn't have any time.” [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She emphasizes that claiming lack of time is often an excuse, not a reality. **In simple terms:** Time scarcity is often an excuse. Key Takeaway Recognize true priorities over excuses. Themes time management self-awareness accountability Mood introspective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - busy schedules - goal setting - self-improvement Key Concepts prioritization personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What truly limits your time? - How can you reframe perceived time constraints? A Different Perspective Excuses can mask deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [It all meant something. Until it didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/it-all-meant-something-until-it-didn-t/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [I said I'd never let you go, and I never did I said I'd never let you fall and I always meant it If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-day-to-remember/i-said-i-d-never-let-you-go-and-i-never-did-i-said-i-d-never-let-you/) [A Day To Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-day-to-remember/) > [At one point I took on a new job, and I just didn't have time to do anything but work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/at-one-point-i-took-on-a-new-job-and-i-just-didn-t-have-time-to-do/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I didn't have time to sit down and look at the work of a year and choose what to type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-didn-t-have-time-to-sit-down-and-look-at-the-work-of-a-year-and/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Being able to quit things that don't work is integral to being a winner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-able-to-quit-things-that-don-t-work-is-integral-to-being-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The following year, she quit. Several things were bothering her. Safety protocols seemed to have no bearing on actual practice; she saw too many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-block/the-following-year-she-quit-several-things-were-bothering-her-safety/) [Jennifer Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-block/) > [If I quit all the things I loved cold turkey, I knew it would only be so long before I went back to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/if-i-quit-all-the-things-i-loved-cold-turkey-i-knew-it-would-only-be/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [That's the easiest thing to do, is quit and give up when things are hard. You really see what you're made of when those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/that-s-the-easiest-thing-to-do-is-quit-and-give-up-when-things-are/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [You don't reach your goals because you QUIT when things don't happen fast enough for you. The bigger the goal the longer it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-don-t-reach-your-goals-because-you-quit-when-things-don-t-happen/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [“The keys to life are running and reading. When you're running, there's a little person that talks to you and says, "Oh I'm tired.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/the-keys-to-life-are-running-and-reading-when-you-re-running-there-s/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [When you take my time, you take something I had meant to use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-you-take-my-time-you-take-something-i-had-meant-to-use/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [“More time meant more opportunities to embarrass myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/more-time-meant-more-opportunities-to-embarrass-myself/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [Rahel’s toy wristwatch had the time painted on it. Ten to two. One of her ambitions was to own a watch on which she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/rahel-s-toy-wristwatch-had-the-time-painted-on-it-ten-to-two-one-of/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [How could she go on without him? And, at the same time, how could she go on knowing that every moment of their time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-maclean/how-could-she-go-on-without-him-and-at-the-same-time-how-could-she-go/) [Sarah MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-maclean/) > [All the RIGHT THINGS in due time...if it's meant to be, it will be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-the-right-things-in-due-time-if-it-s-meant-to-be-it-will-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sharon Olds > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [There are some fine books and essays about that. Lewis Hyde has written about alcoholism and poets and the role that society gives its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/there-are-some-fine-books-and-essays-about-that-lewis-hyde-has/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm not asking a poem to carry a lot of rocks in its pockets. Just being an ordinary observer and liver and feeler and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-not-asking-a-poem-to-carry-a-lot-of-rocks-in-its-pockets-just/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“How do they do it, the ones who make love without love? How do they come to the come to the come to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/how-do-they-do-it-the-ones-who-make-love-without-love-how-do-they/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [She'd crack A joke sharp as a tin lid Hot from the teeth of the can-opener, And cackle her crack-corn laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/she-d-crack-a-joke-sharp-as-a-tin-lid-hot-from-the-teeth-of-the-can/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [If I wrote in a sonnet form, I would be distorting. Or if I had some great new idea for line breaks and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/if-i-wrote-in-a-sonnet-form-i-would-be-distorting-or-if-i-had-some/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Many poets write books. They'll tell you: Well, I've got my next book, but there are two poems I need to write, one about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/many-poets-write-books-they-ll-tell-you-well-i-ve-got-my-next-book/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“as if languagelessness was a step up, in evolution, from the chatter of consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/as-if-languagelessness-was-a-step-up-in-evolution-from-the-chatter-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe we can use a metaphor for it, out of dance. I think for many years I was aware of the need, in dance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-we-can-use-a-metaphor-for-it-out-of-dance-i-think-for-many/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Who wants to put together something that will bear some relationship to the vision or memory or experience or story or idea or dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/who-wants-to-put-together-something-that-will-bear-some-relationship/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“I put my arms around a trunk and squeezed it, then I lay down on my father's grave.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-put-my-arms-around-a-trunk-and-squeezed-it-then-i-lay-down-on-my/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“...the liquor like fire in his hand”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/the-liquor-like-fire-in-his-hand/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I'm probably so out of it at my age that I don't know what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/i-m-probably-so-out-of-it-at-my-age-that-i-don-t-know-what-people/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [“Some people think I should be over my ex by now — maybe I thought I might have been over him more by now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/some-people-think-i-should-be-over-my-ex-by-now-maybe-i-thought-i/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Maybe in order to understand sex fully/one has to risk being destroyed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/maybe-in-order-to-understand-sex-fully-one-has-to-risk-being/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) [Explore all 78 Sharon Olds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) ## More I quit quotes > [I would drink gallons of coffee a day. Even now, off caffeine, I talk faster than anyone you've ever met. I finally recognized that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-would-drink-gallons-of-coffee-a-day-even-now-off-caffeine-i-talk/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [I worked at a Sport Chek in Vancouver, only so I could get the discount off snowboard gear. But I hated the job so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-peregrym/i-worked-at-a-sport-chek-in-vancouver-only-so-i-could-get-the/) [Missy Peregrym](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-peregrym/) > [The reason I quit being a sales manager over twenty years now is because I hate elevator pitches. I want to write stories and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-busiek/the-reason-i-quit-being-a-sales-manager-over-twenty-years-now-is/) [Kurt Busiek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-busiek/) > [I did 14 movies in six years, I had a cartoon TV show, and I don't want to do that again. I just want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macaulay-culkin/i-did-14-movies-in-six-years-i-had-a-cartoon-tv-show-and-i-don-t-want/) [Macaulay Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macaulay-culkin/) > [I always tell my husband, That's it, I quit, I've done all I wanted, and he's just like, Yeah, yeah. Sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/i-always-tell-my-husband-that-s-it-i-quit-i-ve-done-all-i-wanted-and/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [I'd been taught to paint like other people, and I thought, what's the use? I couldn't do any better than they, or even as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/i-d-been-taught-to-paint-like-other-people-and-i-thought-what-s-the/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I quit drinking. That was a big problem for a lot of years. Then after that, I just started feeling grateful again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-crystal/i-quit-drinking-that-was-a-big-problem-for-a-lot-of-years-then-after/) [Billy Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-crystal/) > [I once dieted so religiously I quit eating in church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/i-once-dieted-so-religiously-i-quit-eating-in-church/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [I quit because I'm so tired of hearing bad news about cigarettes... Even if they discover good news, they don't publicize it - like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arj-barker/i-quit-because-i-m-so-tired-of-hearing-bad-news-about-cigarettes-even/) [Arj Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arj-barker/) > [I followed a girl I met in Japan to Los Angeles and ended up working in a motorcycle store. I quit the job one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-reedus/i-followed-a-girl-i-met-in-japan-to-los-angeles-and-ended-up-working/) [Norman Reedus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-reedus/) > [I quit smoking well over twenty years ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-berman/i-quit-smoking-well-over-twenty-years-ago/) [Shelley Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-berman/) > [I quit comics because I got completely sick of it. I was drawing comics all the time and didn't have the time or energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-quit-comics-because-i-got-completely-sick-of-it-i-was-drawing/) [Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/) > [I always feel pressure. If you don't feel nervous, that means you don't care about how you play. I care about how I perform.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-always-feel-pressure-if-you-don-t-feel-nervous-that-means-you-don-t/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [I quit smoking cigarettes and with the $70 a month I am saving not smoking cigarettes I'm smoking $700 worth of cigars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/i-quit-smoking-cigarettes-and-with-the-70-a-month-i-am-saving-not/) [Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/) > [I'd gotten away from my Buddhism. And I quit meditating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/i-d-gotten-away-from-my-buddhism-and-i-quit-meditating/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) Browse all 248 I quit quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I quit all these things and said I didn't have any time, I meant I didn't have any time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sharon Olds" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i-didn-t-have-any-time-i-meant/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "I quit" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i-didn-t-have-any-time-i-meant/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/sharon-olds-8682_i-quit_when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i_599446.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/sharon-olds-8682_i-quit_when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i_599446.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/sharon-olds-8682_i-quit_when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i_599446.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I quit all these things and said I didn't have any time, I meant I didn't have any time.” — Sharon Olds", "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": "Sharon Olds", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I quit all these things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i-didn-t-have-any-time-i-meant/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/when-i-quit-all-these-things-and-said-i-didn-t-have-any-time-i-meant/#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 } } ] } ```