--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So on the one hand in school you're…" description: "\"So on the one hand in school you're teachers are constantly telling you that you can be whatever it is you want to be as long as you put your mind and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/sheena-iyengar-2596_clear_so-on-the-one-hand-in-school-you-re-teac_2732611.png" --- # So on the one hand in school you're teachers are… ![“So on the one hand in school you're teachers are constantly telling you that you can be whatever it is you want to be as long as you put your mind and heart to it, and yet at the same time I was also getting the clear message of, well, what can you do really?” quote by Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/sheena-iyengar-2596_clear_so-on-the-one-hand-in-school-you-re-teac_2732611.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/sheena-iyengar-2596_clear_so-on-the-one-hand-in-school-you-re-teac_2732611.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8bc/sheena-iyengar-2596_clear_so-on-the-one-hand-in-school-you-re-teac_2732611.png) > “So on the one hand in school you're teachers are constantly telling you that you can be whatever it is you want to be as long as you put your mind and heart to it, and yet at the same time I was also getting the clear message of, well, what can you do really?” [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society tells you you can achieve anything with effort, yet also imposes limits, creating a paradox of ambition and realism. **In simple terms:** You hear both empowerment and doubt. Key Takeaway Recognize and reconcile conflicting messages. Themes ambition self‑efficacy limitations education psychology Mood reflective balanced Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - academic choices - personal goals - self‑esteem Key Concepts self‑determination theory cognitive dissonance growth mindset Questions to Reflect On - What limits are real versus perceived? - How can you set realistic yet aspirational goals? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on effort can ignore structural barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart and mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-and-mind/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind and heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-heart/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) ## Related quotes > [As a complete product of Issaquah public schools, there is absolutely no way I would be here if I didn't have well-funded arts programs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-call/as-a-complete-product-of-issaquah-public-schools-there-is-absolutely/) David Call > [As teachers, we must constantly try to improve schools and we must keep working at changing and experimenting and trying until we have developed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-shanker/as-teachers-we-must-constantly-try-to-improve-schools-and-we-must/) [Albert Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-shanker/) > [I suppose what I like about Zen is that the teachers are constantly questioning your insight and challenging it, looking for sloppiness or laziness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-russell/i-suppose-what-i-like-about-zen-is-that-the-teachers-are-constantly/) [David O. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-russell/) > [We are constantly telling ourselves what we most want to know, and at the same time are deaf to it. Why does envy have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-friedman/we-are-constantly-telling-ourselves-what-we-most-want-to-know-and-at/) [Bonnie Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-friedman/) > [“Why didn’t this one say this, or tell someone that, or let anyone know she or he was so unhappy, so lonely, so scared?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/why-didn-t-this-one-say-this-or-tell-someone-that-or-let-anyone-know/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [I'm constantly telling young people that their voices and stories are important. Making a movie is such a large-scale, intense operation that imagining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-decker/i-m-constantly-telling-young-people-that-their-voices-and-stories-are/) [Josephine Decker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-decker/) > [I have been constantly telling people to encourage people, to question the unquestioned and not to be ashamed to bring up new ideas, new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratan-tata/i-have-been-constantly-telling-people-to-encourage-people-to-question/) [Ratan Tata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratan-tata/) > [Our intonations contain our philosophy of life, what each of us is constantly telling himself about things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/our-intonations-contain-our-philosophy-of-life-what-each-of-us-is/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“i am constantly telling him that i'm not sure the laws of sex and the city apply when there's no sex and there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-am-constantly-telling-him-that-i-m-not-sure-the-laws-of-sex-and-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [A soul-based workplace asks things of me that I didn't even know I had. It's constantly telling me that I belong to something large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/a-soul-based-workplace-asks-things-of-me-that-i-didn-t-even-know-i/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [One of the things I'm constantly telling my students is that they're never going to write a poem everyone gets, or if they do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rigoberto-gonzalez/one-of-the-things-i-m-constantly-telling-my-students-is-that-they-re/) [Rigoberto Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rigoberto-gonzalez/) > [“Lahiri's characters, just like people all around us, are constantly telling each other important things, but not necessarily in words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/lahiri-s-characters-just-like-people-all-around-us-are-constantly/) [will schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [All acts suppose certain dispositions, and habits of mind and heart, which may be in themselves states of enjoyment or of wretchedness, and which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/all-acts-suppose-certain-dispositions-and-habits-of-mind-and-heart/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-oswald-sanders/the-final-estimate-of-men-shows-that-history-cares-not-an-iota-for/) [J. 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For one thing, you’re going to start paying more attention. Yes, perhaps you’ll sometimes have a crazed, wild-eyed look, but that’s a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/move-for-one-thing-you-re-going-to-start-paying-more-attention-yes/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [What we share with animals is a desire for choice. It's a desire to have control over our life and a desire to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/what-we-share-with-animals-is-a-desire-for-choice-it-s-a-desire-to/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [You know, you take a little infant and you turn on the music mobile on their crib and you find that if you give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/you-know-you-take-a-little-infant-and-you-turn-on-the-music-mobile-on/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [I went home and they seemed... my parents seemed normal. 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Moreover, blood pressure at home was unrelated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-less-control-people-had-over-their-work-the-higher-their-blood/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Consumers presented with six choices on an item were twice as likely to buy as consumers overwhelmed with 24 varieties of the same item.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/consumers-presented-with-six-choices-on-an-item-were-twice-as-likely/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [The quality of health care continues to improve, and people are living longer, but these developments mean that we're likely to eventually find ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-quality-of-health-care-continues-to-improve-and-people-are-living/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [The key to getting the most from choice is to be choosy about choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/the-key-to-getting-the-most-from-choice-is-to-be-choosy-about-choosing/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [I used to go to this store called Draeger's and you had a little bit of that same feeling because this was a store…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/i-used-to-go-to-this-store-called-draeger-s-and-you-had-a-little-bit/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [Balancing hopes, desires and an appreciating of the possibilities with a clear-eyed assessment of the limitations: that is the art of choosing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/balancing-hopes-desires-and-an-appreciating-of-the-possibilities-with/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [So gut tells you "How do I feel about this right now?" It doesn't tell me how I feel about it tomorrow or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-iyengar/so-gut-tells-you-how-do-i-feel-about-this-right-now-it-doesn-t-tell/) [Sheena Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-iyengar/) > [I put out a good 10 different types of drinks for them and they just said, "Oh, okay, so it's just one choice." 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