--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's when I feel most alive, he told me…" description: "\"That's when I feel most alive, he told me once on an airplane, when I'm helping people.\" — Tracy Kidder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/tracy-kidder-8859_airplane_that-s-when-i-feel-most-alive-he-told-me_508737.jpg" --- # That's when I feel most alive, he told me once on an… ![“That's when I feel most alive, he told me once on an airplane, when I'm helping people.” quote by Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/tracy-kidder-8859_airplane_that-s-when-i-feel-most-alive-he-told-me_508737.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/tracy-kidder-8859_airplane_that-s-when-i-feel-most-alive-he-told-me_508737.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c4/tracy-kidder-8859_airplane_that-s-when-i-feel-most-alive-he-told-me_508737.jpg) > “That's when I feel most alive, he told me once on an airplane, when I'm helping people.” [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Helping others gives a deep sense of purpose and vitality. **In simple terms:** Helping people feels alive. Key Takeaway Seek ways to serve others. Themes purpose service fulfillment Mood inspirational reflective Type personal motivational When to use this quote - volunteering - medical aid - teaching - community projects Key Concepts Altruism meaningful work Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance helping others with personal well‑being? - What activities make you feel most alive? A Different Perspective May neglect self‑care while focusing on others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Helping people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [That's when I feel most alive, when I'm helping people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-farmer/that-s-when-i-feel-most-alive-when-i-m-helping-people/) [Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-farmer/) > [“As Haw prepared to leave, he started to feel more alive, knowing that he was finally able to laugh at himself, let go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-johnson/as-haw-prepared-to-leave-he-started-to-feel-more-alive-knowing-that/) [Spencer Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-johnson/) > [“We love the things that destroy us, because in that destruction we truly feel alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pobi/we-love-the-things-that-destroy-us-because-in-that-destruction-we/) Robert Pobi > [“The only thing that will ever be real, is this moment,' I turned to the statue, 'when you made me feel alive, when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-hachton/the-only-thing-that-will-ever-be-real-is-this-moment-i-turned-to-the/) [Rae Hachton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-hachton/) > [“Ordinary goodness is fraught with veins of vanity and self-interest and above all with pleasure--because goodness makes you feel more alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/ordinary-goodness-is-fraught-with-veins-of-vanity-and-self-interest/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [“The best thing about my writing is that it makes me feel alive again. 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Everything thats kills me, makes me feel alive,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/i-could-lie-could-lie-could-lie-everything-thats-kills-me-makes-me/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [She made me feel alive. <3 :\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/she-made-me-feel-alive-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Giving to other people makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/giving-to-other-people-makes-me-feel-alive-not-my-car-or-my-house-not/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [As a sports fan, the Los Angeles Kings winning the Stanley Cup makes me feel very alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/five-for-fighting/as-a-sports-fan-the-los-angeles-kings-winning-the-stanley-cup-makes/) Five for Fighting ## More by Tracy Kidder > [“He sniffed, and said as others had before him and others no doubt would again, "I have learned never to say, 'Never again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/he-sniffed-and-said-as-others-had-before-him-and-others-no-doubt/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [Don't worry about being worried. You're heading out on an adventure and you can always change your mind along the way and try something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/don-t-worry-about-being-worried-you-re-heading-out-on-an-adventure/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [I do believe that enduring geological features are important, though I don't think I can be clear about exactly why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/i-do-believe-that-enduring-geological-features-are-important-though-i/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“In the process Paul laid out a comprehensive theory of poverty, of a world designed by the elites of all nations to serve their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/in-the-process-paul-laid-out-a-comprehensive-theory-of-poverty-of-a/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“Farmer liked to tell his Harvard students that to be a good clinician you must never let a patient know that you have problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/farmer-liked-to-tell-his-harvard-students-that-to-be-a-good-clinician/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [“One shouldn't expect anyone to be complete at any given moment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/one-shouldn-t-expect-anyone-to-be-complete-at-any-given-moment/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [I want my prose to be as clear as a pane of glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/i-want-my-prose-to-be-as-clear-as-a-pane-of-glass/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [What I like about non-fiction is that it covers such a huge territory. 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Ed Rasala. 111”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/nothing-every-happens-unless-you-push-it-ed-rasala-111/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [Curing yourself of obsessive compulsive disorder by going to a strip club is pretty strange.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/curing-yourself-of-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-by-going-to-a-strip/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [I think if the writing comes too easily, it shows - it's usually hard to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/i-think-if-the-writing-comes-too-easily-it-shows-it-s-usually-hard-to/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) [Explore all 77 Tracy Kidder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) ## More Airplane quotes > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [I shoot in black and white, sometimes color, sometimes if it looks good I shoot out the window of the airplanes or whatever, anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-shoot-in-black-and-white-sometimes-color-sometimes-if-it-looks-good/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [I've jumped out of an airplane 34 times. 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