--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don't think of yourself as your…" description: "\"You don't think of yourself as your external representation, or even your national origin or anything like that. You don't reduce yourself to that. Tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/vijay-seshadri-26531_kind_you-don-t-think-of-yourself-as-your-exte_112804.jpg" --- # You don't think of yourself as your external… ![“You don't think of yourself as your external representation, or even your national origin or anything like that. You don't reduce yourself to that. That's kind of unthinkable.” quote by Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/vijay-seshadri-26531_kind_you-don-t-think-of-yourself-as-your-exte_112804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/vijay-seshadri-26531_kind_you-don-t-think-of-yourself-as-your-exte_112804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/vijay-seshadri-26531_kind_you-don-t-think-of-yourself-as-your-exte_112804.jpg) > “You don't think of yourself as your external representation, or even your national origin or anything like that. You don't reduce yourself to that. That's kind of unthinkable.” [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identity transcends external labels; reducing oneself to nationality or appearance limits self‑understanding and societal perception. **In simple terms:** Self is beyond external labels. Key Takeaway Identity is deeper than outward symbols. Themes identity diversity self‑concept social perception Mood thoughtful empowering Type social philosophical When to use this quote - cross‑cultural workshops - identity‑affirming counseling - global leadership training Key Concepts essentialism vs. constructivism intersectionality Practical Applications - encourage self‑reflection beyond demographic categories - design inclusive policies that recognize multifaceted identities Questions to Reflect On - How can we honor both internal identity and external social realities? - What risks arise from denying visible aspects of identity? A Different Perspective Complete abstraction may ignore systemic realities tied to external identifiers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Representation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representation/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Thankfully cash has no national origin and I was ready to scoop it up from anywhere in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-serhant/thankfully-cash-has-no-national-origin-and-i-was-ready-to-scoop-it-up/) [Ryan Serhant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-serhant/) > [You can't confuse safety with religion or national origin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-khan/you-can-t-confuse-safety-with-religion-or-national-origin/) [Shahid Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-khan/) > [“Its culture: the fruit of its life, the product of its own efforts in thought and art. This culture is not international. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/its-culture-the-fruit-of-its-life-the-product-of-its-own-efforts-in/) [Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/) > [You probably have to split yourself in various ways just in order to survive, and to think of yourself as a multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/you-probably-have-to-split-yourself-in-various-ways-just-in-order-to/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [“When life hands you the unthinkable you must find new ways to see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-sharp/when-life-hands-you-the-unthinkable-you-must-find-new-ways-to-see/) Nancy Sharp > [Though an atom is invisible, unthinkable, yet in it are the whole power and potency of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/though-an-atom-is-invisible-unthinkable-yet-in-it-are-the-whole-power/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Once you decide that mediocrity is unthinkable, your only choices are excellence and quitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-murray/once-you-decide-that-mediocrity-is-unthinkable-your-only-choices-are/) [Nick Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-murray/) > [It's unthinkable not to love -you'd have a severe nervous breakdown. Or you'd have to be Philip Larkin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/it-s-unthinkable-not-to-love-you-d-have-a-severe-nervous-breakdown-or/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [It would be unthinkable in Canadian public life today for the public inauguration of our supreme political figures to be accompanied by prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stockwell-day/it-would-be-unthinkable-in-canadian-public-life-today-for-the-public/) [Stockwell Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stockwell-day/) > [You staying home all alone on New Year's Eve? Unthinkable. Take my advice the countdown should be shared with someone, or it's just another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-staying-home-all-alone-on-new-year-s-eve-unthinkable-take-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [She wanted to say, no. She wanted to say, I have a son, there is a child, this cannot happen. Because you know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/she-wanted-to-say-no-she-wanted-to-say-i-have-a-son-there-is-a-child/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [Some were paid solely for their ability to dream up the unthinkable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olen-steinhauer/some-were-paid-solely-for-their-ability-to-dream-up-the-unthinkable/) [Olen Steinhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olen-steinhauer/) > [ \[Humans'\] capacity to intervene, to compare, to judge, to decide, to choose, to desist makes them capable of acts of greatness, of dignity, and,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/humans-capacity-to-intervene-to-compare-to-judge-to-decide-to-choose/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [Each person is a temporary focus of forces, vitalities, and values that carry back to an immemorial past and that reach forward into an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/each-person-is-a-temporary-focus-of-forces-vitalities-and-values-that/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [But sometimes it's good to dare yourself to do the unthinkable. And rather than stand in front of an audience with no clothes on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/but-sometimes-it-s-good-to-dare-yourself-to-do-the-unthinkable-and/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) ## More by Vijay Seshadri > [You probably have to split yourself in various ways just in order to survive, and to think of yourself as a multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/you-probably-have-to-split-yourself-in-various-ways-just-in-order-to/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [Historically, there are hierarchies of purity. Certain aspects of poetry are very, very pure. The lyric poem can't be anything but the lyric poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/historically-there-are-hierarchies-of-purity-certain-aspects-of/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [Language itself is a mask. It's the first mask in the series of invented selves - they've come right out of language. The way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/language-itself-is-a-mask-it-s-the-first-mask-in-the-series-of/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [I would say that when I write prose I'm a more socially responsible person. I'm much more a citizen of the world. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/i-would-say-that-when-i-write-prose-i-m-a-more-socially-responsible/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [These new theories of the universe, that there are multiple universes just bubbling up constantly - it's all pretty wild.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/these-new-theories-of-the-universe-that-there-are-multiple-universes/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [Society imposes an identity on you because of the way you look. Your struggle as a self has to do with an identity being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/society-imposes-an-identity-on-you-because-of-the-way-you-look-your/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [When you're an immigrant, you're at the bottom of the ladder. You might not be at the bottom of the ladder economically. Those contradictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/when-you-re-an-immigrant-you-re-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-you-might/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [“Orwell says somewhere that no one ever writes the real story of their life. The real story of a life is the story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/orwell-says-somewhere-that-no-one-ever-writes-the-real-story-of-their/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [The sun does what it does because the earth tilts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/the-sun-does-what-it-does-because-the-earth-tilts/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [All ideas about identity, of course, fit perfectly into the social media wonderland we live in. They seem to really connect. There's a science-fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/all-ideas-about-identity-of-course-fit-perfectly-into-the-social/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [We live in a trans period. Contemporary issues of sexuality, for example - the exciting aspects of them - have to do with transgenderedness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/we-live-in-a-trans-period-contemporary-issues-of-sexuality-for/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [I think that when you reveal things that are going to cause pain, you have rhetorical resources in poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/i-think-that-when-you-reveal-things-that-are-going-to-cause-pain-you/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [I see myself only sporadically as a teacher and consistently as a writer. Teaching is how I pay the bills...and fortunately, for my students,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/i-see-myself-only-sporadically-as-a-teacher-and-consistently-as-a/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [Technology is transforming everything. Who knows what it's doing, we don't really understand it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/technology-is-transforming-everything-who-knows-what-it-s-doing-we/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) > [I was always a reader. In the fifth grade, I got some sort of prize for having read hundreds of books from the library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-seshadri/i-was-always-a-reader-in-the-fifth-grade-i-got-some-sort-of-prize-for/) [Vijay Seshadri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) [Explore all 21 Vijay Seshadri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-seshadri/) ## More Kind quotes > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. 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Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [Every time I finish a song... most of the time it's in my own head, like this sounds too much like a Townes Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/every-time-i-finish-a-song-most-of-the-time-it-s-in-my-own-head-like/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [The bigger the canvas, the better I do. I'm not so good at understated, kitchen-sink kinds of parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/the-bigger-the-canvas-the-better-i-do-i-m-not-so-good-at-understated/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You're getting into some kind of shape, cop." Aw, come on, now." Butch grinned. 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