"I'm not that in control of myself that I could be specific about exactly the way I'm doing everything as it happens. I'm just trying my best"
About this Quote
The subtext lands harder because of who’s speaking. As the son of two cultural icons, Lennon has spent a lifetime being interpreted, decoded, and asked to account for himself as if his interior life were public property. “I’m not that in control of myself” isn’t just humility; it’s a boundary. It implies: stop treating my choices as a tidy map you’re entitled to. Creativity, he suggests, isn’t a spreadsheet of intentions. It’s a messy, half-conscious set of instincts, habits, fears, and tiny leaps that only become legible after the fact.
“I’m just trying my best” is the kicker, not because it’s profound, but because it’s strategically unglamorous. In an era that rewards performative certainty, he opts for a shrug that doubles as self-protection. The sentence lowers the temperature: no manifesto, no mythology, no genius pose. Just the small, stubborn dignity of effort while the cameras - literal and metaphorical - keep rolling.
Quote Details
| Topic | Self-Improvement |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lennon, Sean. (n.d.). I'm not that in control of myself that I could be specific about exactly the way I'm doing everything as it happens. I'm just trying my best. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-not-that-in-control-of-myself-that-i-could-be-132734/
Chicago Style
Lennon, Sean. "I'm not that in control of myself that I could be specific about exactly the way I'm doing everything as it happens. I'm just trying my best." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-not-that-in-control-of-myself-that-i-could-be-132734/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'm not that in control of myself that I could be specific about exactly the way I'm doing everything as it happens. I'm just trying my best." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-not-that-in-control-of-myself-that-i-could-be-132734/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.






