---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your \"Self\" was created in the image and…"
description: "\"“Your \"Self\" was created in the image and likeness of your creator. How can you believe that your \"self\" can be improved? Self improvement is contradic..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/sumner-davenport-44905_identity_your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-l_638081.jpg"
---

#  Your "Self" was created in the image and likeness of your…

![“Your &quot;Self&quot; was created in the image and likeness of your creator. How can you believe that your &quot;self&quot; can be improved? Self improvement is contradictory to your creation.” quote by Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/sumner-davenport-44905_identity_your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-l_638081.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/sumner-davenport-44905_identity_your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-l_638081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/sumner-davenport-44905_identity_your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-l_638081.jpg)

> ““Your "Self" was created in the image and likeness of your creator. How can you believe that your "self" can be improved? Self improvement is contradictory to your creation.””

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote suggests that because our self is fashioned after a creator, it cannot be altered, making self‑improvement paradoxical.

**In simple terms:** Self mirrors creator, so change seems impossible.

Key Takeaway

Question the premise of immutable identity.

Themes

identity creation self‑improvement

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- spiritual practice
- psychology
- creative work

Key Concepts

philosophy theology paradox

Questions to Reflect On

- What defines the "creator" of your self?
- Can change honor the original likeness?

A Different Perspective

Improvement may be possible through reinterpretation of the creator’s image.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-esteem/) [Self improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-improvement/)

## Related quotes

> [“The investments we make in ourselves will always deliver the most profitable returns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/the-investments-we-make-in-ourselves-will-always-deliver-the-most/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“It was, in part, a longing – common enough among the inventors of heroes – to be someone else; to be more than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/it-was-in-part-a-longing-common-enough-among-the-inventors-of-heroes/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [Even a child who's above average on self-control could improve their financial outcomes in mid-life if they improved their self-control skills early on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrie-moffitt/even-a-child-who-s-above-average-on-self-control-could-improve-their/)

Terrie Moffitt

> [“As long as you hold an improved self-image as a future possibility, you simultaneously hold the image of yourself as inadequate and incomplete. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-douglas-bottorff/as-long-as-you-hold-an-improved-self-image-as-a-future-possibility/)

J Douglas Bottorff

> [“Sometimes being happy takes effort. Invest time and energy in yourself and your happiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-leigh-mercree/sometimes-being-happy-takes-effort-invest-time-and-energy-in-yourself/)

[Amy Leigh Mercree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-leigh-mercree/)

> [“When you go to church, you are supposed to go to church to invest in people or to invest in yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/when-you-go-to-church-you-are-supposed-to-go-to-church-to-invest-in/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [My life's been too much of a self-created vocation. And there are times when I think I've done everything in the name of defiance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/my-life-s-been-too-much-of-a-self-created-vocation-and-there-are/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

> [“All human experience is one hundred percent self-created. If”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/all-human-experience-is-one-hundred-percent-self-created-if/)

[Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/)

> [Everything that happens to you is self-created. Whenever you're responding to any situation, whether it's a sip of coffee, or a traffic jam, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/everything-that-happens-to-you-is-self-created-whenever-you-re/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [Everything that happens to you is self-created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/everything-that-happens-to-you-is-self-created/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [The people I'm drawn to are sort of self-created. They came from backgrounds where not much was expected of them, necessarily.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/the-people-i-m-drawn-to-are-sort-of-self-created-they-came-from/)

[Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/)

> [I'm not at an extreme, but I do think that Donald Trump is a self-created creature. But the media has feasted on his spectacle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-folkenflik/i-m-not-at-an-extreme-but-i-do-think-that-donald-trump-is-a-self/)

[David Folkenflik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-folkenflik/)

> [Our lives are self created illusions based on experience, growth and expansion. How you react, becomes your translation and view of the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-maylyn/our-lives-are-self-created-illusions-based-on-experience-growth-and/)

[Danielle Maylyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-maylyn/)

> [Sin is believing the lie that you are self-created, self-dependent and self-sustained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/sin-is-believing-the-lie-that-you-are-self-created-self-dependent-and/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [We each create our world by what we choose to notice, creating a world of distinction that makes sense to us. We then 'see'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/we-each-create-our-world-by-what-we-choose-to-notice-creating-a-world/)

[Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/)

## More by Sumner Davenport

> [“The investments we make in ourselves will always deliver the most profitable returns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/the-investments-we-make-in-ourselves-will-always-deliver-the-most/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“Living your life through Gratitude, is not one of comparing how you are better than someone else; or Gratitude only for what you own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/living-your-life-through-gratitude-is-not-one-of-comparing-how-you/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“Never fear having your ideas stolen. Your creative idea is a image you are painting like a picture on a canvas, they may "steal"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/never-fear-having-your-ideas-stolen-your-creative-idea-is-a-image-you/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“It is not what happens to you or for you that makes you grateful. It's how you respond to what is happening, that shows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/it-is-not-what-happens-to-you-or-for-you-that-makes-you-grateful-it-s/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“Struggle ends where commitment begins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/struggle-ends-where-commitment-begins/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“Positive thinking by itself does not work. Your embodied vision, partnered with vibrant and energetic thinking, and balanced with active listening, followed with intentional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/positive-thinking-by-itself-does-not-work-your-embodied-vision/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“When you grow and rise above the masses, you will always become a target. Just as the flower grows above the grass, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/when-you-grow-and-rise-above-the-masses-you-will-always-become-a/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

> [“When it looks like everyone is against you, look inside for the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/when-it-looks-like-everyone-is-against-you-look-inside-for-the-truth/)

[Sumner Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

[Explore all 9 Sumner Davenport quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/)

## More Identity quotes

> [I don't doubt that straight white men have identity issues and identity complexes and struggle with defining themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-simien/i-don-t-doubt-that-straight-white-men-have-identity-issues-and/)

[Justin Simien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-simien/)

> [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/)

[Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/)

> [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/)

[Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/)

> [You have expressive nationalism, I mean very identity driven, which shaped each other a lot of that in the Middle East.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/you-have-expressive-nationalism-i-mean-very-identity-driven-which/)

[Subrahmanyam Jaishankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subrahmanyam-jaishankar/)

> [Family over friends, because real friends are family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/family-over-friends-because-real-friends-are-family/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/)

[Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/)

> [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/)

[S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/)

> [Tell me how much a nation knows about its own language, and I will tell you how much that nation knows about its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ciardi/tell-me-how-much-a-nation-knows-about-its-own-language-and-i-will/)

[John Ciardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ciardi/)

> [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“In the worldly life, due to maadakta (intoxication of the ego of ‘I am Chandubhai’), one has completely lost awareness of everything about one’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/in-the-worldly-life-due-to-maadakta-intoxication-of-the-ego-of-i-am/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/)

[Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/)

> [“Self-realization or self-knowing or awakening is about knowing/ becoming conscious of our true nature and living in harmony with the universe in an ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-vazhakunnathu/self-realization-or-self-knowing-or-awakening-is-about-knowing/)

[Thomas Vazhakunnathu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-vazhakunnathu/)

> [“There are some things that one individual can do for another, and there are some things that one race can do for another. But,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/there-are-some-things-that-one-individual-can-do-for-another-and/)

[Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/)

> [“Why were there no words that spoke positively about being concerned about the self? Why was there only negative connotation in terms like "selfish",…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-dalton/why-were-there-no-words-that-spoke-positively-about-being-concerned/)

A.J. Dalton

[Browse all 11,949 Identity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Your \"Self\" was created in the image and likeness of your creator. How can you believe that your \"self\" can be improved? Self improvement is contradictory to your creation.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sumner Davenport"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-likeness-of-your-creator-how/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Identity"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-likeness-of-your-creator-how/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/sumner-davenport-44905_identity_your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-l_638081.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/sumner-davenport-44905_identity_your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-l_638081.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/sumner-davenport-44905_identity_your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-l_638081.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Your \"Self\" was created in the image and likeness of your creator. How can you believe that your \"self\" can…” — Sumner Davenport",
                "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": "Sumner Davenport",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-davenport/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Your \"Self\" was created in the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-likeness-of-your-creator-how/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-davenport/your-self-was-created-in-the-image-and-likeness-of-your-creator-how/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
