--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Again and again we picture ourselves…" description: "\"“Again and again we picture ourselves sitting together with the people we feel drawn to all our lives, precisely these so-called simple people, whom na..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/thomas-bernhard-3514_biggest-mistake_again-and-again-we-picture-ourselves-sit_1521156.jpg" --- # Again and again we picture ourselves sitting together with… ![“Again and again we picture ourselves sitting together with the people we feel drawn to all our lives, precisely these so-called simple people, whom naturally we imagine much differently from the way they truly are, for if we actually sit down with them we see that they aren't the way we've…” quote by Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/thomas-bernhard-3514_biggest-mistake_again-and-again-we-picture-ourselves-sit_1521156.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/thomas-bernhard-3514_biggest-mistake_again-and-again-we-picture-ourselves-sit_1521156.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6aa/thomas-bernhard-3514_biggest-mistake_again-and-again-we-picture-ourselves-sit_1521156.jpg) > ““Again and again we picture ourselves sitting together with the people we feel drawn to all our lives, precisely these so-called simple people, whom naturally we imagine much differently from the way they truly are, for if we actually sit down with them we see that they aren't the way we've pictured them and that we absolutely don't belong with them, as we've talked ourselves into believing, and we get rejected at their table and in their midst as we logically should get after sitting down at their table and believing we belonged with them or we could sit with them for even the shortest time without being punished, which is the biggest mistake, I thought. All our lives we yearn to be with these people and want to reach out to them and when we realize what we feel for them are rejected by them and indeed in the most brutal fashion.”” [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Idealizing others leads to disappointment when reality contradicts expectations. **In simple terms:** We imagine people differently than they truly are. Key Takeaway Adjust expectations to accept authentic selves. Themes relationships idealization rejection self-awareness Mood melancholic insightful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - friendships - workplace teams - family gatherings Key Concepts psychology social perception identity Questions to Reflect On - Why do we cling to idealized images? - How can we foster genuine connections? A Different Perspective Idealization can cause unnecessary pain and isolation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Biggest mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biggest-mistake/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Sitting together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-together/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [At the Last Supper how come no one sat on the other side of the table? 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Because they made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franck-ribery/i-feel-rejected-in-france-and-do-you-know-why-i-signed-for-bayern/) [Franck Ribery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franck-ribery/) > [And if you feel that everyone has rejected you and your ideas let me tell you this, you are most assuredly in good company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-fleet/and-if-you-feel-that-everyone-has-rejected-you-and-your-ideas-let-me/) [James Van Fleet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-fleet/) > [Frozen in the desert, Boiled in the refridegerator, Dying in the Heaven… This is how you feel when you are rejected by someone you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-felix-prabhu/frozen-in-the-desert-boiled-in-the-refridegerator-dying-in-the-heaven/) [Leo Felix Prabhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-felix-prabhu/) > [I think when the world makes you feel rejected, you bite back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-think-when-the-world-makes-you-feel-rejected-you-bite-back/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [To be rejected on account of old age may or may not feel the same as being rejected on the basis of race or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cohen/to-be-rejected-on-account-of-old-age-may-or-may-not-feel-the-same-as/) [Adam Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cohen/) > [“Whenever you feel alone, rejected, or misunderstood, stand your situation up next to David’s. The boy had as pure a heart as humanly possible,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/whenever-you-feel-alone-rejected-or-misunderstood-stand-your/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [If you feel loved, you can do a thousand things. If you feel rejected, everything becomes a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/if-you-feel-loved-you-can-do-a-thousand-things-if-you-feel-rejected/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [I had to struggle with the language. I can understand Hindi now, but I still can't communicate. And things get lost in translation; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nargis-fakhri/i-had-to-struggle-with-the-language-i-can-understand-hindi-now-but-i/) [Nargis Fakhri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nargis-fakhri/) > [I think the more you're dating, the more you're likely to meet someone, just statistically. Also, if you feel rejected, don't think it's about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-dimoldenberg/i-think-the-more-you-re-dating-the-more-you-re-likely-to-meet-someone/) [Amelia Dimoldenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-dimoldenberg/) ## More by Thomas Bernhard > [“He was the only world-famous piano virtuoso who abhorred his public and also actually withdrew definitively from this abhorred public.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/he-was-the-only-world-famous-piano-virtuoso-who-abhorred-his-public/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“A body needs at least three points of support, not in a straight line, to fix its position, so Roithamer had written.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/a-body-needs-at-least-three-points-of-support-not-in-a-straight-line/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“The essential elements of a person come to light only when we must regard him as lost to us, when everything he has done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/the-essential-elements-of-a-person-come-to-light-only-when-we-must/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Lawyers make nothing but confusion...A lawyer is an instrument of the devil. 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Glen Steinway, Steinway Glen, all for Bach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/to-wake-up-one-day-and-be-steinway-and-glen-in-one-glen-steinway/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“It had always been impossible for me to write to him. Each time I would immediately become aware of the awkwardness of suddenly expressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/it-had-always-been-impossible-for-me-to-write-to-him-each-time-i/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [All my life I have had the utmost admiration for suicides. I have always considered them superior to me in every way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/all-my-life-i-have-had-the-utmost-admiration-for-suicides-i-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“I barricaded myself and stared out the window, without seeing anything but my own unhappiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/i-barricaded-myself-and-stared-out-the-window-without-seeing-anything/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [... Whatever condition we are in, we must always do what we want to do, and if we want to go on a journey,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/whatever-condition-we-are-in-we-must-always-do-what-we-want-to-do-and/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [Those are terrible people who don't like Glenn Gould... I will have nothing to do with such people, they are dangerous people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/those-are-terrible-people-who-don-t-like-glenn-gould-i-will-have/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [It would be wrong to refuse to face the fact that everything is fundamentally sick and sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/it-would-be-wrong-to-refuse-to-face-the-fact-that-everything-is/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) > [“We publish only to satisfy out craving for fame; there's no other motive except the even baser one of making money…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bernhard/we-publish-only-to-satisfy-out-craving-for-fame-there-s-no-other/) [Thomas Bernhard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) [Explore all 96 Thomas Bernhard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bernhard/) ## More Biggest mistake quotes > [The biggest mistake girls make is thinking the guy who hurt them once wont do it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-biggest-mistake-girls-make-is-thinking-the-guy-who-hurt-them-once/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The biggest mistake I see with people who are new to CrossFit is trying to advance too quickly. 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But if I had made a big mistake, they'd all be writing about it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/the-press-keep-asking-me-what-was-your-biggest-mistake-but-if-i-had/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [The galleries are full of critics. They play no ball, they fight no fights. They make no mistakes because they attempt nothing. Down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-shoup/the-galleries-are-full-of-critics-they-play-no-ball-they-fight-no/) [David M. Shoup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-shoup/) > [“I’m sorry, babe. I’m sorry I hurt you. I was stupid. I fucked up. I thought I was doing you a favor by keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-abel/i-m-sorry-babe-i-m-sorry-i-hurt-you-i-was-stupid-i-fucked-up-i/) [E.M. Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-abel/) > [“The biggest mistake we commit in life is to think that others will get affected by our action and we shall leave some effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himmilicious/the-biggest-mistake-we-commit-in-life-is-to-think-that-others-will/) Himmilicious > [“At the beginning of the semester, when you asked who I loved the most, an image of my mother popped in my head. 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No, that's the biggest mistake of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-martin/is-that-your-ex-no-that-s-the-biggest-mistake-of-my-life/) [Brandon Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-martin/) [Browse all 337 Biggest mistake quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biggest-mistake/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Again and again we picture ourselves sitting together with the people we feel drawn to all our lives, precisely these so-called simple people, whom naturally we imagine much differently from the way they truly are, for if we actually sit down with them we see that they aren't the way we've pictured them and that we absolutely don't belong with them, as we've talked ourselves into believing, and we get rejected at their table and in their midst as we logically should get after sitting down at their table and believing we belonged with them or we could sit with them for even the shortest time without being punished, which is the biggest mistake, I thought. 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