--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion…" description: "\"Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion that one is making ones own life, out of ones own resources.\" — Zadie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/zadie-smith-584_illusion_sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion_1079034.png" --- # Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion that one is… ![“Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion that one is making ones own life, out of ones own resources.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/zadie-smith-584_illusion_sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion_1079034.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/zadie-smith-584_illusion_sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion_1079034.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/zadie-smith-584_illusion_sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion_1079034.png) > “Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion that one is making ones own life, out of ones own resources.” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She observes the desire to believe we control our lives solely through personal effort, questioning that illusion. **In simple terms:** Questioning self‑reliance myths. Key Takeaway Acknowledge external influences on life. Themes autonomy illusion resourcefulness Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - career decisions - financial planning - creative projects Key Concepts philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - What resources shape your choices? - How realistic is total self‑sufficiency? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on self can ignore systemic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [When I wrote 'Grand Illusion,' I was making it up as we went along. 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We are the ones who put life into stones and pebbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/life-itself-is-not-the-reality-we-are-the-ones-who-put-life-into/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [Death is a celebration of ones life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-nappi/death-is-a-celebration-of-ones-life/) Samantha Nappi > [What matters with or without you, what does not matter with and without you is the meaning of ones life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/what-matters-with-or-without-you-what-does-not-matter-with-and/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [To be able to look back upon ones life in satisfaction, is to live twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-look-back-upon-ones-life-in-satisfaction-is-to-live/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ones life will have much more meaning and happiness if one makes their own decisions”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-william-gibbons/ones-life-will-have-much-more-meaning-and-happiness-if-one-makes/) Duncan William Gibbons > [There will always be a great failure for successful ones. You cant have everything in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/my-adviser/there-will-always-be-a-great-failure-for-successful-ones-you-cant/) My Adviser > [It is not circumstances, but attitude that dictates the quality of ones life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/it-is-not-circumstances-but-attitude-that-dictates-the-quality-of/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [I love the ones who are in my life and make it amazing. I also love the ones who left my life and made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-the-ones-who-are-in-my-life-and-make-it-amazing-i-also-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The very massive failure in ones life is the failure to try !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moulay-abdallah-boulaassair/the-very-massive-failure-in-ones-life-is-the-failure-to-try/) [Moulay Abdallah Boulaassair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moulay-abdallah-boulaassair/) > [Age is wisdom if one has lived ones life properly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-makeba/age-is-wisdom-if-one-has-lived-ones-life-properly/) [Miriam Makeba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-makeba/) > [“To think how different ones life would be had one moment not altered it all - just don’t sit there too long or you’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/to-think-how-different-ones-life-would-be-had-one-moment-not-altered/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. 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Heterosexuality certainly is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-cannot-believe-homosexuality-is-that-much-fun-heterosexuality/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Either everything is sacred or nothing is. And if he starts burning other people’s things, then he loses something sacred also. Everyone gets what’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/either-everything-is-sacred-or-nothing-is-and-if-he-starts-burning/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [My feeling is, having lived in different classes, that people want equality of opportunity... that's the thing that makes me despair: the idea that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/my-feeling-is-having-lived-in-different-classes-that-people-want/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I don't keep any copies of my books in the house - they go to my mum's flat. I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. 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We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-lot-of-women-when-they-re-young-feel-they-have-very-good-friends/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Explore all 457 Zadie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More Illusion quotes > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Knowing does not always allow us to prevent, but at least the things that we know, we hold them, if not in our hands,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/knowing-does-not-always-allow-us-to-prevent-but-at-least-the-things/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Without illusions. I love you because you are fallible and because your poor misguided testosterone-corrupted brain has you doing cartwheels trying not to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-gerard/without-illusions-i-love-you-because-you-are-fallible-and-because/) [Cindy Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-gerard/) > [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/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/life-and-death-are-illusions-we-are-in-a-constant-state-of/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Fortunately, the mind is restless; when it uncovers a layer of its own deception, gives up an illusion, exposes a lie, it does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-chernin/fortunately-the-mind-is-restless-when-it-uncovers-a-layer-of-its-own/) [Kim Chernin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-chernin/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Things aren't always as they appear. I've been believing things to be a certain way because I want them to be that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-dennen/things-aren-t-always-as-they-appear-i-ve-been-believing-things-to-be/) [Brett Dennen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-dennen/) > [Your problem is how you are going to spend this one odd and precious life you have been issued. Whether you're going to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/your-problem-is-how-you-are-going-to-spend-this-one-odd-and-precious/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Browse all 3,604 Illusion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion that one is making ones own life, out of ones own resources.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Zadie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion-that-one-is-making-ones-own/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Illusion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion-that-one-is-making-ones-own/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/zadie-smith-584_illusion_sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion_1079034.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/zadie-smith-584_illusion_sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion_1079034.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/472/zadie-smith-584_illusion_sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion_1079034.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes, one wants to have the illusion that one is making ones own life, out of ones own resources.” — Zadie Smith", "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": "Zadie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes, one wants to have the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion-that-one-is-making-ones-own/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/sometimes-one-wants-to-have-the-illusion-that-one-is-making-ones-own/#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 } } ] } ```