"There's so much of it you can't control. There is no handbook for how to conduct yourself in the public world"
About this Quote
The second sentence sharpens the point with a deceptively simple metaphor: "There is no handbook". It's an admission of improvisation, but also a critique of how spectators act as if there were a rulebook everyone agreed to. We demand perfect statements, flawless timing, airtight politics, and just the right amount of vulnerability, then punish the inevitable missteps as character flaws rather than structural hazards. Crow's phrasing suggests that the "public world" is not a neutral stage; it's an arena with shifting rules written by tabloids, fans, executives, and now algorithms.
As a musician who came up in the pre-social-media era and has lived through the churn of constant commentary, Crow is also gesturing at an escalation: the public sphere has gotten noisier, faster, and more personal. The quote's power is its plainness. No martyrdom, no diva theatrics - just a clear-eyed reminder that visibility is not the same thing as control, and that the costs of being watched are rarely itemized up front.
Quote Details
| Topic | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Crow, Sheryl. (2026, January 16). There's so much of it you can't control. There is no handbook for how to conduct yourself in the public world. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-so-much-of-it-you-cant-control-there-is-no-98890/
Chicago Style
Crow, Sheryl. "There's so much of it you can't control. There is no handbook for how to conduct yourself in the public world." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-so-much-of-it-you-cant-control-there-is-no-98890/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"There's so much of it you can't control. There is no handbook for how to conduct yourself in the public world." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/theres-so-much-of-it-you-cant-control-there-is-no-98890/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.









