--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Either you believed in something or you…" description: "\"“Either you believed in something or you didn’t—you couldn’t have it both ways and be honest with yourself.”\" — Terry Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/terry-brooks-3252_believed_either-you-believed-in-something-or-you_2440338.png" --- # Either you believed in something or you didn’t—you… ![“Either you believed in something or you didn’t—you couldn’t have it both ways and be honest with yourself.” quote by Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/terry-brooks-3252_believed_either-you-believed-in-something-or-you_2440338.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/terry-brooks-3252_believed_either-you-believed-in-something-or-you_2440338.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/terry-brooks-3252_believed_either-you-believed-in-something-or-you_2440338.png) > ““Either you believed in something or you didn’t—you couldn’t have it both ways and be honest with yourself.”” [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person must choose a belief and stay honest, avoiding contradictory stances. **In simple terms:** Choose a belief and be honest. Key Takeaway Commit to one stance. Themes integrity honesty belief self‑awareness Mood thoughtful serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal decision making - ethical dilemmas - self‑reflection Key Concepts cognitive dissonance authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What belief are you avoiding? - How does honesty affect your choices? A Different Perspective People may struggle with nuanced perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) [Believed Didn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-didn-482977/) [Couldn Ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couldn-ways-482979/) [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Honest with yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest-with-yourself/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Ways Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-honest-482978/) ## Related quotes > [“Share what you like and don’t pretend to like things you don’t. There are many ways to be honest but polite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/share-what-you-like-and-don-t-pretend-to-like-things-you-don-t-there/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [In many ways, being honest about 'Huckleberry Finn' goes right to the heart of whether we can be honest about our heritage and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/in-many-ways-being-honest-about-huckleberry-finn-goes-right-to-the/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [There's a lot of ways to be honest that don't necessarily involve absolute facts being true. I think that's something I absolutely try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-finn/there-s-a-lot-of-ways-to-be-honest-that-don-t-necessarily-involve/) [Craig Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-finn/) > [Success is doing the best you can in many ways you can. It is being honest and true, not in the few things but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-is-doing-the-best-you-can-in-many-ways-you-can-it-is-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not sure they believed me, but they didn't fire me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-paterno/i-m-not-sure-they-believed-me-but-they-didn-t-fire-me/) [Joe Paterno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-paterno/) > [They both believed in her even when she didn’t believe in herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/they-both-believed-in-her-even-when-she-didn-t-believe-in-herself/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [After all the thousand times I’ve told you I love you, how could you let one word break your faith in me?...I could see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/after-all-the-thousand-times-i-ve-told-you-i-love-you-how-could-you-2/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“Whatever he believed, he believed. It didn’t matter to him whether it was really true or not. He just changed the truth till it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mcbride/whatever-he-believed-he-believed-it-didn-t-matter-to-him-whether-it/) [James McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mcbride/) > [You must also understand us - always undervalued, underestimated, not believed. Even when we believed, you didn't believe us. You said, 'How is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/you-must-also-understand-us-always-undervalued-underestimated-not/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“He knew he would have to believe in order to go where she had been; knew that, if he believed, he could go there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/he-knew-he-would-have-to-believe-in-order-to-go-where-she-had-been/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [I believed in what I was. I didn't believe that would translate into any of the five championships. But I knew that I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-duncan/i-believed-in-what-i-was-i-didn-t-believe-that-would-translate-into/) [Tim Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-duncan/) > [I picked you up when you fell. I was there for you when no one else was. I believed in you when you didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara/i-picked-you-up-when-you-fell-i-was-there-for-you-when-no-one-else/) [Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara/) > [“You do realize that Mjölnir doesn’t exist, don’t you?” Peter said. “I believed that it didn’t exist, yes.” She tried to phrase her words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-t-tomb/you-do-realize-that-mj-lnir-doesn-t-exist-don-t-you-peter-said-i/) [K.T. Tomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-t-tomb/) > [“I could see it in your eyes, that you honestly believed that i didn't want you anymore. The mos t absurd ridiculous concept as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/i-could-see-it-in-your-eyes-that-you-honestly-believed-that-i-didn-t/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [There are two ways of knowing if something ends badly: If you're honest with yourself, you just kind of know it. And then there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-gilligan/there-are-two-ways-of-knowing-if-something-ends-badly-if-you-re/) [Vince Gilligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-gilligan/) ## More by Terry Brooks > [“a kaleidoscopic, fragmented rush of images that exploded out of memory. They careened into her like an avalanche and swept her away,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/a-kaleidoscopic-fragmented-rush-of-images-that-exploded-out-of-memory/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [Might have, could have, may have, should have—the haves and have nots reduced to pointless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/might-have-could-have-may-have-should-have-the-haves-and-have-nots/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“You spend so much time wondering who you are, don't you think? You flounder about, searching for your identity, when most of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/you-spend-so-much-time-wondering-who-you-are-don-t-you-think-you/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [“Writers need their writing; they need their imaginary worlds in order to find piece in, or make sense of, the real world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/writers-need-their-writing-they-need-their-imaginary-worlds-in-order/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [THE NAME OF THE WIND marks the debut of a writer we would all do well to watch. Patrick Rothfuss has real talent, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/the-name-of-the-wind-marks-the-debut-of-a-writer-we-would-all-do-well/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [If anything in your life is more important than writing - anything at all - you should walk away now while you still can.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-anything-in-your-life-is-more-important-than-writing-anything-at/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [We are constantly being put to the test by trying circumstances and difficult people and problems not necessarily of our own making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-are-constantly-being-put-to-the-test-by-trying-circumstances-and/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [The Golden Compass is one of the best fantasy / adventure stories that I have read. This is a book no one should miss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/the-golden-compass-is-one-of-the-best-fantasy-adventure-stories-that/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [I am incomplete without my work. I am so closely bound to it, so much identified by it, that without it I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/i-am-incomplete-without-my-work-i-am-so-closely-bound-to-it-so-much/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [We must nurture and love, if life is to have any real meaning. But First we must find a way to survive against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/we-must-nurture-and-love-if-life-is-to-have-any-real-meaning-but/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [When she cried, he would say, "there is nothing wrong with crying. Your feelings tell you who are. They tell what is important. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/when-she-cried-he-would-say-there-is-nothing-wrong-with-crying-your/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [Fiction writing is a twenty-four-hou r-a-day occupation. You never leave your work behind. It is always with you, and to some extent, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/fiction-writing-is-a-twenty-four-hou-r-a-day-occupation-you-never/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [It's better to die in pursuit of your dreams than to live a life without hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/it-s-better-to-die-in-pursuit-of-your-dreams-than-to-live-a-life/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [If you do not hear music in your words, you have put too much thought into your writing and not enough heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-you-do-not-hear-music-in-your-words-you-have-put-too-much-thought/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) > [If I have the means, I have the responsibility to employ them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/if-i-have-the-means-i-have-the-responsibility-to-employ-them/) [Terry Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) [Explore all 133 Terry Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/) ## More Believed quotes > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [“I didn't know if I believed in 'happily ever after' anymore. I mean, I didn't know what would happen tomorrow, let alone for forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-kate-strohm/i-didn-t-know-if-i-believed-in-happily-ever-after-anymore-i-mean-i/) [Stephanie Kate Strohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-kate-strohm/) > [Alfred Nobel believed that social changes are brought about slowly, and sometimes by indirect means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertha-von-suttner/alfred-nobel-believed-that-social-changes-are-brought-about-slowly/) [Bertha von Suttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertha-von-suttner/) > [Aaron Spelling always had his finger on the pulse of pop culture, he knew what the public wanted to see. He was one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-milano/aaron-spelling-always-had-his-finger-on-the-pulse-of-pop-culture-he/) [Alyssa Milano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-milano/) > [I never believed that they was such thing as love at first sight but I think I'm having that feeliing @sarahlovemoody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mishack/i-never-believed-that-they-was-such-thing-as-love-at-first-sight-but/) [Mishack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mishack/) > [“I wish I believed him. He's looking at me like he can see where I begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-mcnamara/i-wish-i-believed-him-he-s-looking-at-me-like-he-can-see-where-i-begin/) [Amy McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-mcnamara/) > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [On March 12, 2004, acting attorney general James B. Comey and the Justice Department's top leadership reached the brink of resignation over electronic surveillance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barton-gellman/on-march-12-2004-acting-attorney-general-james-b-comey-and-the/) [Barton Gellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barton-gellman/) > [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [I never believed I'd have a six-pack, especially not at 35 years old. I always thought it was a genetic blessing. It's not. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sullivan-stapleton/i-never-believed-i-d-have-a-six-pack-especially-not-at-35-years-old-i/) [Sullivan Stapleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sullivan-stapleton/) > [“For a moment, I believed you.” He ordered me, dryly, recovering his usual poise again. He does not only have a selective hearing, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tionne-rogers/for-a-moment-i-believed-you-he-ordered-me-dryly-recovering-his-usual/) [Tionne Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tionne-rogers/) > [There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and recede, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/there-was-a-time-when-idealistic-folksingers-such-as-myself-believed/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [I felt uneasy, but sometimes, like I said before, I believed in Col. North and there was a very solid and very valid reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fawn-hall/i-felt-uneasy-but-sometimes-like-i-said-before-i-believed-in-col/) [Fawn Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fawn-hall/) > [And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salmon-p-chase/and-upon-this-act-sincerely-believed-to-be-an-act-of-justice/) [Salmon P. Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salmon-p-chase/) [Browse all 1,214 Believed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Either you believed in something or you didn’t—you couldn’t have it both ways and be honest with yourself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/either-you-believed-in-something-or-you-didn-t-you-couldn-t-have-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/either-you-believed-in-something-or-you-didn-t-you-couldn-t-have-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/terry-brooks-3252_believed_either-you-believed-in-something-or-you_2440338.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/terry-brooks-3252_believed_either-you-believed-in-something-or-you_2440338.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/terry-brooks-3252_believed_either-you-believed-in-something-or-you_2440338.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Either you believed in something or you didn’t—you couldn’t have it both ways and be honest with yourself.” — Terry Brooks", "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": "Terry Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Either you believed in something or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/either-you-believed-in-something-or-you-didn-t-you-couldn-t-have-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-brooks/either-you-believed-in-something-or-you-didn-t-you-couldn-t-have-it/#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 } } ] } ```