You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realize how seldom they do.
David Foster WallaceRead
The parts of me that used to think I was different or smarter or whatever, almost made me die.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the struggles of feeling different or superior, suggesting that such thoughts can lead to profound personal distress.
David Foster Wallace's quote delves into the complex inner struggle of identity and intellect. It highlights the paradox that feelings of being different or more intelligent can isolate an individual, ultimately leading to existential crises or despair. Such thoughts can create a rift between an individual and society, resulting in emotional turmoil and a sense of alienation.
Themes
IdentityStruggleAlienationIntellectSelf-Perception
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a motivational speech about mental health awareness.
More from David Foster Wallace
All quotes →Everything in my own immediate experience supports my deep belief that I am the absolute center of the universe, the realest, most vivid and important person in existence.
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It seems important to find ways of reminding ourselves that most 'familiarity' is meditated and delusive.
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Under fun's new administration, writing fiction becomes a way to go deep inside yourself and illuminate precisely the stuff you don't want to see or let anyone else see, and this stuff usually turns out (paradoxically) to be precisely the stuff all writers and readers share and respond to, feel.
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Acceptance is usually more a matter of fatigue than anything else.
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Bliss - a-second-by-second joy and gratitude at the gift of being alive, conscious - lies on the other side of crushing, crushing boredom. Pay close attention to the most tedious thing you can find (Tax Returns, Televised Golf) and, in waves, a boredom like you’ve never known will wash over you and just about kill you. Ride these out, and it’s like stepping from black and white into color. Like water after days in the desert. Instant bliss in every atom.
David Foster WallaceRead
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