--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who look for the bad in people will…" description: "\"Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.\" — Abraham Lincoln" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a77/abraham-lincoln-88_bad-people_those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-wil_561429.png" --- # Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it. ![“Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a77/abraham-lincoln-88_bad-people_those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-wil_561429.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a77/abraham-lincoln-88_bad-people_those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-wil_561429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a77/abraham-lincoln-88_bad-people_those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-wil_561429.png) > “Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.” [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing only flaws ensures you notice them more, reinforcing negativity. **In simple terms:** Focusing on bad traits makes them seem inevitable. Key Takeaway Shift focus to positive qualities. Themes perception bias judgment Mood cautious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - team building - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts cognitive bias negativity bias Questions to Reflect On - How does your focus shape your view of others? - Can you find a redeeming trait in someone you distrust? A Different Perspective May overlook strengths and foster cynicism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Do not kick people when they are down because you will surely fall right beside them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-jones/do-not-kick-people-when-they-are-down-because-you-will-surely-fall/) [Christopher Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-jones/) > [The English people on the whole are surely the nicest people in the world, and everybody makes everything so easy for everyone else, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-english-people-on-the-whole-are-surely-the-nicest-people-in-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swift/if-you-look-for-the-bad-in-people-expecting-to-find-it-you-surely-will/) David Swift > [I'm not going to do anything out my way to try to get somebody to watch me because I want to act a buffoon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetrius-andrade/i-m-not-going-to-do-anything-out-my-way-to-try-to-get-somebody-to/) [Demetrius Andrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetrius-andrade/) > [Directors, producers can make you look good or make you look bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-eckhart/directors-producers-can-make-you-look-good-or-make-you-look-bad/) [Aaron Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-eckhart/) > [I want to hear good things. I don't want to hear any negative things about me. It makes me look bad. It makes me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-smart/i-want-to-hear-good-things-i-don-t-want-to-hear-any-negative-things/) [Marcus Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-smart/) > [No one can look bad when you've been lit for six hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/no-one-can-look-bad-when-you-ve-been-lit-for-six-hours/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Never count on it friends cuz they can turn on u and make u look bad and lose all ur friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny-meador/never-count-on-it-friends-cuz-they-can-turn-on-u-and-make-u-look-bad/) [Destiny Meador](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny-meador/) > [I was always quite technical as a player, but when you are the size I am, if you are crap in the air, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-crouch/i-was-always-quite-technical-as-a-player-but-when-you-are-the-size-i/) [Peter Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-crouch/) > [Enzo get up you're making me look bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/enzo-get-up-you-re-making-me-look-bad/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [I don't like when people try to put a spin and have a second agenda to make a person look bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-atkins/i-don-t-like-when-people-try-to-put-a-spin-and-have-a-second-agenda/) [Robert Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-atkins/) > [“Kill me if I ever look that Bad" . . . "Dude, what are you saying? . . . On the TV? That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/kill-me-if-i-ever-look-that-bad-dude-what-are-you-saying-on-the-tv/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [These days I have to be extra nice in stores. It never fails that whenever I look as bad as I can possibly look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-graham/these-days-i-have-to-be-extra-nice-in-stores-it-never-fails-that/) [Lauren Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-graham/) > [I think if you're going to be a little bit innovative or risk-taking, sometimes you're going to be wrong, and it's going to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nurse/i-think-if-you-re-going-to-be-a-little-bit-innovative-or-risk-taking/) [Nick Nurse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nurse/) > [You dont have to make others look bad, for you to look good, Look good because you are good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-dont-have-to-make-others-look-bad-for-you-to-look-good-look-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Abraham Lincoln > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme of wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the government in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/while-the-people-retain-their-virtue-and-vigilance-no-administration/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If you wish to be a lawyer, attach no consequence to the place you are in, or the person you are with; but get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-you-wish-to-be-a-lawyer-attach-no-consequence-to-the-place-you-are/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [As we keep or break the Sabbath Day we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/as-we-keep-or-break-the-sabbath-day-we-nobly-save-or-meanly-lose-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [With high hope for the future, no prediction is ventured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/with-high-hope-for-the-future-no-prediction-is-ventured/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-glad-to-see-that-a-system-of-labor-prevails-under-which-laborers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-that-man-i-must-get-to-know-him-better/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and to the young, it comes with bitterest agony because it takes them unawares.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-this-sad-world-of-ours-sorrow-comes-to-all-and-to-the-young-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The man does not live who is more devoted to peace than I am. None who would do more to preserve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-man-does-not-live-who-is-more-devoted-to-peace-than-i-am-none-who/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Explore all 1,437 Abraham Lincoln quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More Bad people quotes > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [“Any discussion of money and success would be lacking if I did not state that money is neither good nor bad. 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Since there are too many bad people you can take them too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-you-sought-to-leave-the-world-don-t-go-alone-since-there-are-too/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“To feel someone’s life drain from their body by your hands . . . bad, bad people who need to be plucked from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/to-feel-someone-s-life-drain-from-their-body-by-your-hands-bad-bad/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Deterrents properly placed can help. But that is not enough. We are one society, and as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/deterrents-properly-placed-can-help-but-that-is-not-enough-we-are-one/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Too bad all the people who know how to run this country are busy running taxicabs or cutting hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/too-bad-all-the-people-who-know-how-to-run-this-country-are-busy/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [The truth is that Africa is like everywhere else. There are poor areas, there are rich areas, there is a middle class. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/the-truth-is-that-africa-is-like-everywhere-else-there-are-poor-areas/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [I'm a very placid human being. I don't want to kill anyone. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Browse all 703 Bad people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Abraham Lincoln" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-will-surely-find-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-will-surely-find-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a77/abraham-lincoln-88_bad-people_those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-wil_561429.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a77/abraham-lincoln-88_bad-people_those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-wil_561429.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a77/abraham-lincoln-88_bad-people_those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-wil_561429.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it.” — Abraham Lincoln", "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": "Abraham Lincoln", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Those who look for the bad...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-will-surely-find-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/those-who-look-for-the-bad-in-people-will-surely-find-it/#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 } } ] } ```