--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He had, for a few days, forgotten that…" description: "\"“He had, for a few days, forgotten that wherever he traveled, he must take his own familiar self along, and that that self would loom up between him an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/sinclair-lewis-1945_mind_he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-whe_1284994.png" --- # He had, for a few days, forgotten that wherever he… ![“He had, for a few days, forgotten that wherever he traveled, he must take his own familiar self along, and that that self would loom up between him and new skies, however rosy. It was a good self. He liked it, for he had worked with it. Perhaps it could learn things. But would it learn any more…” quote by Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/sinclair-lewis-1945_mind_he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-whe_1284994.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/sinclair-lewis-1945_mind_he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-whe_1284994.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/sinclair-lewis-1945_mind_he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-whe_1284994.png) > ““He had, for a few days, forgotten that wherever he traveled, he must take his own familiar self along, and that that self would loom up between him and new skies, however rosy. It was a good self. He liked it, for he had worked with it. Perhaps it could learn things. But would it learn any more here, where it was chilled by the unfamiliarity, than in his quiet library, in solitary walks, in honestly auditing his life, back in Zenith?”” [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A traveler reflects on carrying his familiar self into new experiences, questioning whether growth occurs amid unfamiliarity. **In simple terms:** We bring our past selves into new places, limiting learning. Key Takeaway Seek to shed old patterns when exploring. Themes self travel growth identity Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - new cultures - personal development - journaling - mindfulness Key Concepts self‑concept existential reflection Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself resist change? - How can you stay open in new environments? A Different Perspective Familiarity may hinder true transformation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [“Christ, Heather, I know what I look like. And you’re…” His words dropped off lifting a hand towards me and looked away. I folded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-mikell/christ-heather-i-know-what-i-look-like-and-you-re-his-words-dropped/) [Beth Mikell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-mikell/) > [“Stop comparing yourself with others. If they are good at something, you too are good at something else. Self-confidence is not measured by your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/stop-comparing-yourself-with-others-if-they-are-good-at-something-you/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [I'm a believer that players are good self-directors, and I think one thing that's good about video games is they can direct their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-howard/i-m-a-believer-that-players-are-good-self-directors-and-i-think-one/) [Todd Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-howard/) > [I think meditation is good for the self. Having that moment with yourself and your mind is essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarion/i-think-meditation-is-good-for-the-self-having-that-moment-with/) [Omarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarion/) > [Having a good self confidence day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-ashley/having-a-good-self-confidence-day/) Tina Ashley > [“Good self-esteem comes from positive self-imaging. Positive self-image make you to resist wrong definitions others give about you, guiding you to live life with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/good-self-esteem-comes-from-positive-self-imaging-positive-self-image/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Do good, and you'll always be a constant reminder of your good-self.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mapogo-chuene/do-good-and-you-ll-always-be-a-constant-reminder-of-your-good-self/) Mapogo Chuene > [It is always good to self-analyse and be self-critical. That is how I've got through so far and improved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stones/it-is-always-good-to-self-analyse-and-be-self-critical-that-is-how-i/) [John Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stones/) > [“A good self-esteem level is mostly dependant on how we value ourselves without any bias.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/a-good-self-esteem-level-is-mostly-dependant-on-how-we-value/) [Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/) > [That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-steichen/that-nature-only-is-good-when-it-shall-not-do-unto-another-whatever/) [Edward Steichen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-steichen/) > [I'm a big fan of working out on my own. I put my headphones on and I'm pretty good at self-motivating. At the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-evans/i-m-a-big-fan-of-working-out-on-my-own-i-put-my-headphones-on-and-i-m/) [Chris Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-evans/) > [Mentally, I am quite good at self discipline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-edmonds/mentally-i-am-quite-good-at-self-discipline/) [Noel Edmonds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-edmonds/) > [There are, no doubt, as many conceptualizations of the good life as there are lives that aspire to it, but surely one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/there-are-no-doubt-as-many-conceptualizations-of-the-good-life-as/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [It's very hard to be good. It is self-destructive thinking to think that there is too much good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-blodget/it-s-very-hard-to-be-good-it-is-self-destructive-thinking-to-think/) [Henry Blodget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-blodget/) > [Anything that's any good is self-perpetuating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/anything-that-s-any-good-is-self-perpetuating/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) ## More by Sinclair Lewis > [“She found beauty in the children.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/she-found-beauty-in-the-children/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [What is Love? Listen! It is the rainbow that stands out, in all its glorious many-colored hues, illuminating and making glad again the dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/what-is-love-listen-it-is-the-rainbow-that-stands-out-in-all-its/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [When you think that most of us are doomed by divine grace to roast in hell, to say nothing of mortgages and hail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/when-you-think-that-most-of-us-are-doomed-by-divine-grace-to-roast-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [He loved the people just as much as he feared and detested persons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-loved-the-people-just-as-much-as-he-feared-and-detested-persons/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“He had expected that traditionally Republican Vermont would give him too drearily easy a task in preaching Trowbridge. What he found was a dismaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-had-expected-that-traditionally-republican-vermont-would-give-him/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Day on day he waited. So much of a revolution for so many people is nothing but waiting. That is one reason why tourists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/day-on-day-he-waited-so-much-of-a-revolution-for-so-many-people-is/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“She continued it to Hugh, 'Darling, do you know what mother and you are going to find beyond the blue horizon rim?' 'What?' flatly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/she-continued-it-to-hugh-darling-do-you-know-what-mother-and-you-are/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Is it possible that nobody has ever known that there never has been a completely civilized man, and won't be for another thousand years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/is-it-possible-that-nobody-has-ever-known-that-there-never-has-been-a/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“I think perhaps we want a more conscientious life. We're tired of drudging and sleeping and dying. We're tired of always deferring hope to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/i-think-perhaps-we-want-a-more-conscientious-life-we-re-tired-of/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [It might be the doing of Satan, in whom Aaron anxiously believed with all of his being except, perhaps, his mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/it-might-be-the-doing-of-satan-in-whom-aaron-anxiously-believed-with/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The author says one character's definition of a classic is any book he'd heard of before he was thirty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-author-says-one-character-s-definition-of-a-classic-is-any-book/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Like all males, he hated to confess ignorance by asking directions,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/like-all-males-he-hated-to-confess-ignorance-by-asking-directions/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Winter is not a season, it's an occupation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/winter-is-not-a-season-it-s-an-occupation/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Author sees the "congested idealism" of the generally discontent as reservoir that will support centralized power even while disagreeing with many specific provisions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/author-sees-the-congested-idealism-of-the-generally-discontent-as/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“The poor we have always with us, and the purpose of the Lord in providing the poor is to enable us of the better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/the-poor-we-have-always-with-us-and-the-purpose-of-the-lord-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) [Explore all 196 Sinclair Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) ## More Mind quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [“William didn't look like he'd be difficult about anything - he was thin and sandy-haired and already wore eyeglasses like his father. Most of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-c-wrede/william-didn-t-look-like-he-d-be-difficult-about-anything-he-was-thin/) [Patricia C. Wrede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-c-wrede/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“MIND & GRIND Self-belief and hard work can propel you past more talented peers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamil-ali/mind-grind-self-belief-and-hard-work-can-propel-you-past-more/) [Kamil Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamil-ali/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [“Picking locks was not a skill he had ever cultivated, but he persisted day after day, turning the tip of his talon into different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/picking-locks-was-not-a-skill-he-had-ever-cultivated-but-he-persisted/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Do you think that God would separate me from my husband if I killed myself? I feel as though I am going out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-think-that-god-would-separate-me-from-my-husband-if-i-killed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not here trying to convince anybody to vote for Donald Trump. I think every Christian needs to make up his own mind about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-m-not-here-trying-to-convince-anybody-to-vote-for-donald-trump-i/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [This is a proof of a well-trained mind, to rejoice in what is good and to grieve at the opposite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/this-is-a-proof-of-a-well-trained-mind-to-rejoice-in-what-is-good-and/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) [Browse all 43,542 Mind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He had, for a few days, forgotten that wherever he traveled, he must take his own familiar self along, and that that self would loom up between him and new skies, however rosy. It was a good self. He liked it, for he had worked with it. Perhaps it could learn things. But would it learn any more here, where it was chilled by the unfamiliarity, than in his quiet library, in solitary walks, in honestly auditing his life, back in Zenith?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sinclair Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-wherever-he-traveled-he-must/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-wherever-he-traveled-he-must/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/sinclair-lewis-1945_mind_he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-whe_1284994.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/sinclair-lewis-1945_mind_he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-whe_1284994.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/sinclair-lewis-1945_mind_he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-whe_1284994.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He had, for a few days, forgotten that wherever he traveled, he must take his own familiar self along, and…” — Sinclair Lewis", "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": "Sinclair Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He had, for a few days,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-wherever-he-traveled-he-must/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/he-had-for-a-few-days-forgotten-that-wherever-he-traveled-he-must/#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 } } ] } ```