--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Quite a while ago, I made a conscious…" description: "\"Quite a while ago, I made a conscious choice to place my teaching first, so it was very ego-invested. That decision wasn't a good thing in some ways.\" ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_choices_quite-a-while-ago-i-made-a-conscious-cho_2525267.png" --- # Quite a while ago, I made a conscious choice to place my… ![“Quite a while ago, I made a conscious choice to place my teaching first, so it was very ego-invested. That decision wasn't a good thing in some ways.” quote by Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_choices_quite-a-while-ago-i-made-a-conscious-cho_2525267.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_choices_quite-a-while-ago-i-made-a-conscious-cho_2525267.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/shirley-geok-lin-lim-3190_choices_quite-a-while-ago-i-made-a-conscious-cho_2525267.png) > “Quite a while ago, I made a conscious choice to place my teaching first, so it was very ego-invested. That decision wasn't a good thing in some ways.” [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prioritizing teaching over self led to ego‑driven decisions that proved counterproductive. **In simple terms:** Teaching first caused ego issues. Key Takeaway Balance ego and purpose. Themes self‑awareness ego teaching Mood reflective introspective Type advice personal development When to use this quote - career planning - mentor relationships - self‑reflection Key Concepts psychology personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How can you serve others without losing self? - What signs show ego is influencing choices? A Different Perspective Ego can blind judgment and harm relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Conscious Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious-choice/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Decision Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision-wasn-1291123/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Ego Invested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-invested-1291120/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Good thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-thing/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Invested Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invested-decision-1291122/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) [Teaching Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching-ego-1291121/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [As we know from our government, the more power you have, the more of a bureaucrat you are, and the more ego you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/as-we-know-from-our-government-the-more-power-you-have-the-more-of-a/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [“No matter what the practice or teaching, ego loves to wait in ambush to appropriate spirituality for its own survival and gain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/no-matter-what-the-practice-or-teaching-ego-loves-to-wait-in-ambush/) [Chögyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [“This conception has influential part in Eckhart Tolle's teaching, where Ego is presented as an accumulation of thoughts and emotions, and only by de-identifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/this-conception-has-influential-part-in-eckhart-tolle-s-teaching/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) > [Which meant I got left with Quinn yet again. Given the time he was taking to make his decision, I wasn't exactly happy about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keri-arthur/which-meant-i-got-left-with-quinn-yet-again-given-the-time-he-was/) [Keri Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keri-arthur/) > [“My name on her lips twisted something up inside my chest. Looking back, I think that’s the instant I made my decision. I wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-wylde/my-name-on-her-lips-twisted-something-up-inside-my-chest-looking-back/) [Joanna Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-wylde/) > [The decision he made with Usama bin Laden was a tactical decision. It wasn't a strategic decision. The strategic decision was made by President…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/the-decision-he-made-with-usama-bin-laden-was-a-tactical-decision-it/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Become very conscious of every choice you make today so you can begin to make smarter choices moving forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-hardy/become-very-conscious-of-every-choice-you-make-today-so-you-can-begin/) [Darren Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-hardy/) > [Nothing is a conscious choice as an actor at the begining stage. There's so little that's a conscious choice even now. The offers, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-grunberg/nothing-is-a-conscious-choice-as-an-actor-at-the-begining-stage-there/) [Greg Grunberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-grunberg/) > [I made a conscious choice to turn down some movies that were action-based, so that I could direct Road to Paloma and show that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-momoa/i-made-a-conscious-choice-to-turn-down-some-movies-that-were-action/) [Jason Momoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-momoa/) > [If your mind is open to opposing ideas, your intelligence will go up. If your mind is closed to opposing ideas, your ignorance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-your-mind-is-open-to-opposing-ideas-your-intelligence-will-go-up/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Every actor wants to show a good and deep range, so you look at all the elements here, and you make a conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-keoghan/every-actor-wants-to-show-a-good-and-deep-range-so-you-look-at-all/) [Barry Keoghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-keoghan/) > [You've got to make a conscious choice every day to shed the old - whatever "the old" means for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/you-ve-got-to-make-a-conscious-choice-every-day-to-shed-the-old/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [“Change is inevitable, but transformation is by conscious choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heatherash-amara/change-is-inevitable-but-transformation-is-by-conscious-choice/) [HeatherAsh Amara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heatherash-amara/) > [“Human agency, the ability to affect the surrounding world, may be a result not so simply of conscious choice - but instead a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wikipedia/human-agency-the-ability-to-affect-the-surrounding-world-may-be-a/) [Wikipedia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wikipedia/) > [Whenever a person is ignoring me, what they're actually doing is making a conscious choice to communicate that I'm not important to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-a-person-is-ignoring-me-what-they-re-actually-doing-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Shirley Geok-lin Lim > [Now that I'm more middle class, I have access to consumer goods. I do enjoy feminine frippery, feminine doo-da, stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/now-that-i-m-more-middle-class-i-have-access-to-consumer-goods-i-do/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [The poem might come to you as you're preparing to teach a lecture, right? And when you say, "no" to that occasion, that poem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/the-poem-might-come-to-you-as-you-re-preparing-to-teach-a-lecture/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Once you stop talking about the female body empowering itself vis-à-vis male forays or invasions or male demands or the necessity to respond to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/once-you-stop-talking-about-the-female-body-empowering-itself-vis-vis/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I have a muse who's very powerful, but I'm still a hopeless deadbeat of a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-have-a-muse-who-s-very-powerful-but-i-m-still-a-hopeless-deadbeat/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Free verse is chained in sentence-to-sentence links and breaks free in line breaks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/free-verse-is-chained-in-sentence-to-sentence-links-and-breaks-free/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [ I feel compassionate, because I know \[students\] all have to go down this road of suffering and it's going to be tough. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-feel-compassionate-because-i-know-students-all-have-to-go-down-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Even after the mothering dropped because my son grew up, the writing - the muse - was always the third wheel, the lowest on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/even-after-the-mothering-dropped-because-my-son-grew-up-the-writing/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [If you've been in a symbolic struggle long enough, even when the struggle is over, you don't know it's over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/if-you-ve-been-in-a-symbolic-struggle-long-enough-even-when-the/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > ["I want to be always happy," Maxine Hong Kingston announces . But, as this interview makes clear, for me, it was the desire to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-want-to-be-always-happy-maxine-hong-kingston-announces-but-as-this/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I'm in my 60s, and a cancer scare just makes you more aware of mortality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-m-in-my-60s-and-a-cancer-scare-just-makes-you-more-aware-of/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Crows appear in many of my new unpublished poems. In these walks, they take on a symbolic life apart from their irritating, undeniable, interruptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/crows-appear-in-many-of-my-new-unpublished-poems-in-these-walks-they/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [People called me a tomboy. That was the term used then. I was very much someone who was comfortable in male clothing, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/people-called-me-a-tomboy-that-was-the-term-used-then-i-was-very-much/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I'm much more comfortable in pants and shirts, running around. There was a typical construction about womanhood when I was growing up that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-m-much-more-comfortable-in-pants-and-shirts-running-around-there/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [I have some weak poems in that new collection, which is why I'm not ready to send the collection out yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/i-have-some-weak-poems-in-that-new-collection-which-is-why-i-m-not/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [If I could write a novel while I'm walking, I probably would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/if-i-could-write-a-novel-while-i-m-walking-i-probably-would/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) [Explore all 137 Shirley Geok-lin Lim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) [Alison James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-james/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Quite a while ago, I made a conscious choice to place my teaching first, so it was very ego-invested. 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