--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only I wasn't steering anything, not even…" description: "\"Only I wasn't steering anything, not even myself.\" — Sylvia Plath" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/sylvia-plath-149_steering_only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even_3026775.jpg" --- # Only I wasn't steering anything, not even myself. ![“Only I wasn't steering anything, not even myself.” quote by Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/sylvia-plath-149_steering_only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even_3026775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/sylvia-plath-149_steering_only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even_3026775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/sylvia-plath-149_steering_only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even_3026775.jpg) > “Only I wasn't steering anything, not even myself.” [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Feeling detached from agency leads to existential disorientation. **In simple terms:** Lack of control feels disorienting. Key Takeaway Regain sense of direction. Themes existence control disorientation Mood melancholic thoughtful Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - career stagnation - mental health crisis - creative block - major life decision Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - When have you felt adrift? - What steps helped you steer your life? A Different Perspective Some control is illusory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Steering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steering/) [Wasn Steering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasn-steering-3274407/) ## Related quotes > [“She was in control of her life, even though it seemed she wasn’t. All she had to do was take the steering wheel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missy-lyons/she-was-in-control-of-her-life-even-though-it-seemed-she-wasn-t-all/) [Missy Lyons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missy-lyons/) > [Too much excitement, Your Majesty?” I asked. “He was standing too close.” “He was asking about Andrea.” “Too close. I didn’t like it.” Curran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/too-much-excitement-your-majesty-i-asked-he-was-standing-too-close-he/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [It's pretty amazing to see a guy, while steering at the wheel, suddenly raise his little 300 dollar German camera with one hand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/it-s-pretty-amazing-to-see-a-guy-while-steering-at-the-wheel-suddenly/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Having a large amount of leverage is like driving a car with a dagger on the steering wheel pointed at your heart. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/having-a-large-amount-of-leverage-is-like-driving-a-car-with-a-dagger/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Then I went through a whole bunch of crap with my lousy movies and pop records. I had people behind me kind of steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pia-zadora/then-i-went-through-a-whole-bunch-of-crap-with-my-lousy-movies-and/) [Pia Zadora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pia-zadora/) > [However God had it planned, I'm rockin' with how he do it. He took the steering wheel and I'm letting him drive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/however-god-had-it-planned-i-m-rockin-with-how-he-do-it-he-took-the/) [E-40](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-40/) > [One way the Tea Party has benefited female candidates - and the conservative movement generally - is by consciously steering clear of social issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-rosin/one-way-the-tea-party-has-benefited-female-candidates-and-the/) [Hanna Rosin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-rosin/) > [If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him. Ignoranti quem portum petat, nullus suus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/if-a-man-does-not-know-to-what-port-he-is-steering-no-wind-is/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [...for the first time in my life, a voice went off in my head:'You have no power over what happens in your life. Drugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/for-the-first-time-in-my-life-a-voice-went-off-in-my-head-you-have-no/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [Damn'd neuters, in their middle way of steering, Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/damn-d-neuters-in-their-middle-way-of-steering-are-neither-fish-nor/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [My mom drove like Britney Spears with the steering wheel and me right here in her lap. I'm fine, I turned out OK. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-prinze-jr-2/my-mom-drove-like-britney-spears-with-the-steering-wheel-and-me-right/) [Freddie Prinze Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-prinze-jr-2/) > [Sit back relax and let God take the steering wheel. I guarantee He'll take you to places you couldnt even dream of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kale-bell/sit-back-relax-and-let-god-take-the-steering-wheel-i-guarantee-he-ll/) [Kale Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kale-bell/) > [I think the most important way to understand play is that it's this property that's in things. Like there's play in a mechanism. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-the-most-important-way-to-understand-play-is-that-it-s-this/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [I am formally accountable to the steering board of the PIC, and I meet with nine ambassadors from the PIC every week. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-formally-accountable-to-the-steering-board-of-the-pic-and-i-meet/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) ## More by Sylvia Plath > [“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-was-a-queer-sultry-summer-the-summer-they-electrocuted-the/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I love life. But it is hard and I have so much, so very much to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-love-life-but-it-is-hard-and-i-have-so-much-so-very-much-to-learn/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [... These are my hands My knees. I may be skin and bone, Nevertheless, I am the same, identical woman. ... --Lady Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/these-are-my-hands-my-knees-i-may-be-skin-and-bone-nevertheless-i-am/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“People were made of nothing so much as dust, and I couldn't see that doctoring all that dust was a bit better than writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/people-were-made-of-nothing-so-much-as-dust-and-i-couldn-t-see-that/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I couldn't stand the idea of a woman having to have a single pure life and a man being able to have a double…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-couldn-t-stand-the-idea-of-a-woman-having-to-have-a-single-pure/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-saw-the-gooseflesh-on-my-skin-i-did-not-know-what-made-it-i-was-not/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-to-live-my-life-and-it-is-the-only-one-i-ll-ever-have/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The city had faded my tan, though. I looked yellow as a Chinaman. Ordinarily, I would have been nervous about my dress and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-city-had-faded-my-tan-though-i-looked-yellow-as-a-chinaman/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Joy:show joy & enjoy: then others will be joyful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/joy-show-joy-enjoy-then-others-will-be-joyful/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [A million years of evolution, Eric said bitterly, and what are we? Animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/a-million-years-of-evolution-eric-said-bitterly-and-what-are-we/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I have stitched life into me like a rare organ --from "Three Women: A Poem for Three Voices", written 1962”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-have-stitched-life-into-me-like-a-rare-organ-from-three-women-a/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It is so much safer not to feel, not to let the world touch me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/it-is-so-much-safer-not-to-feel-not-to-let-the-world-touch-me/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Flute Notes from a Reedy Pond" Now coldness comes sifting down, layer after layer, To our bower at the lily root. Overhead the old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/flute-notes-from-a-reedy-pond-now-coldness-comes-sifting-down-layer/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“The most saddening thing is to admit that I am not in love. I can only love (if that means self denial - or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-most-saddening-thing-is-to-admit-that-i-am-not-in-love-i-can-only/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) [Explore all 1,098 Sylvia Plath quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) ## More Steering quotes > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [I am formally accountable to the steering board of the PIC, and I meet with nine ambassadors from the PIC every week. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-formally-accountable-to-the-steering-board-of-the-pic-and-i-meet/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I think the most important way to understand play is that it's this property that's in things. Like there's play in a mechanism. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-the-most-important-way-to-understand-play-is-that-it-s-this/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Sit back relax and let God take the steering wheel. I guarantee He'll take you to places you couldnt even dream of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kale-bell/sit-back-relax-and-let-god-take-the-steering-wheel-i-guarantee-he-ll/) [Kale Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kale-bell/) > [My mom drove like Britney Spears with the steering wheel and me right here in her lap. I'm fine, I turned out OK. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-prinze-jr-2/my-mom-drove-like-britney-spears-with-the-steering-wheel-and-me-right/) [Freddie Prinze Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-prinze-jr-2/) > [Damn'd neuters, in their middle way of steering, Are neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/damn-d-neuters-in-their-middle-way-of-steering-are-neither-fish-nor/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [...for the first time in my life, a voice went off in my head:'You have no power over what happens in your life. Drugs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/for-the-first-time-in-my-life-a-voice-went-off-in-my-head-you-have-no/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favorable to him. Ignoranti quem portum petat, nullus suus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/if-a-man-does-not-know-to-what-port-he-is-steering-no-wind-is/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [One way the Tea Party has benefited female candidates - and the conservative movement generally - is by consciously steering clear of social issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-rosin/one-way-the-tea-party-has-benefited-female-candidates-and-the/) [Hanna Rosin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-rosin/) > [However God had it planned, I'm rockin' with how he do it. He took the steering wheel and I'm letting him drive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/however-god-had-it-planned-i-m-rockin-with-how-he-do-it-he-took-the/) [E-40](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-40/) > [Then I went through a whole bunch of crap with my lousy movies and pop records. I had people behind me kind of steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pia-zadora/then-i-went-through-a-whole-bunch-of-crap-with-my-lousy-movies-and/) [Pia Zadora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pia-zadora/) > [Having a large amount of leverage is like driving a car with a dagger on the steering wheel pointed at your heart. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/having-a-large-amount-of-leverage-is-like-driving-a-car-with-a-dagger/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [It's pretty amazing to see a guy, while steering at the wheel, suddenly raise his little 300 dollar German camera with one hand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/it-s-pretty-amazing-to-see-a-guy-while-steering-at-the-wheel-suddenly/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Too much excitement, Your Majesty?” I asked. “He was standing too close.” “He was asking about Andrea.” “Too close. I didn’t like it.” Curran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/too-much-excitement-your-majesty-i-asked-he-was-standing-too-close-he/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [Trying to exhaust himself, Vaughan devised an endless almanac of terrifying wounds and insane collisions: The lungs of elderly men punctured by door-handles; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trying-to-exhaust-himself-vaughan-devised-an-endless-almanac-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 168 Steering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only I wasn't steering anything, not even myself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvia Plath" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even-myself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Steering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even-myself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/sylvia-plath-149_steering_only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even_3026775.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/sylvia-plath-149_steering_only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even_3026775.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/sylvia-plath-149_steering_only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even_3026775.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only I wasn't steering anything, not even myself.” — Sylvia Plath", "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": "Sylvia Plath", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only I wasn't steering anything, not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even-myself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/only-i-wasn-t-steering-anything-not-even-myself/#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 } } ] } ```