--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the end I was deteriorating faster…" description: "\"“By the end I was deteriorating faster than I could lower my standards.”\" — Anne Lamott" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/anne-lamott-188_deteriorating_by-the-end-i-was-deteriorating-faster-th_845495.png" --- # By the end I was deteriorating faster than I could lower… ![“By the end I was deteriorating faster than I could lower my standards.” quote by Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/anne-lamott-188_deteriorating_by-the-end-i-was-deteriorating-faster-th_845495.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/anne-lamott-188_deteriorating_by-the-end-i-was-deteriorating-faster-th_845495.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b66/anne-lamott-188_deteriorating_by-the-end-i-was-deteriorating-faster-th_845495.png) > ““By the end I was deteriorating faster than I could lower my standards.”” [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels their personal decline outpaces their ability to lower expectations, highlighting a mismatch between self‑assessment and standards. **In simple terms:** Decline faster than standards can drop. Key Takeaway Align expectations with reality. Themes self‑criticism growth expectations Mood reflective somber Type advice personal When to use this quote - personal development - career setbacks - health challenges Key Concepts psychology self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What expectations are unrealistic? - How can you adjust goals healthily? A Different Perspective Lowering standards may not solve underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [The price of freedom keeps going up, but the quality keeps deteriorating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/the-price-of-freedom-keeps-going-up-but-the-quality-keeps/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [The whole constitution of property on its present tenures, is injurious, and its influence on persons deteriorating and degrading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-whole-constitution-of-property-on-its-present-tenures-is/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A schism in the body social, will not be resolved by any scheme of a return to the good old days (archaism), or by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/a-schism-in-the-body-social-will-not-be-resolved-by-any-scheme-of-a/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When digital technology started becoming the norm, you've got 50, 60, 70 years of recordings on tapes that are just deteriorating. 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Overeating is one way back, the way it is at funerals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/you-lose-the-known-package-of-your-nice-organized-self-almost/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Explore all 976 Anne Lamott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More Deteriorating quotes > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [It is a fact that the entire Kentucky River system, which the central part of the state complacently depends upon for its future water,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/it-is-a-fact-that-the-entire-kentucky-river-system-which-the-central/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [What is correct action in a deteriorating world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/what-is-correct-action-in-a-deteriorating-world/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Since Western society is deteriorating, it has become overrun with immorality, and God is going to judge it, and destroy it. 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Another is that they don't care and will believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/one-mark-of-a-deteriorating-society-is-when-people-cannot-discern/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [I plan to write more songs of my own, especially on behalf of the animals we needlessly raise for food, at their great expense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-schneider/i-plan-to-write-more-songs-of-my-own-especially-on-behalf-of-the/) [Susan Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-schneider/) > [We have reached a point where the value we do add to our economy is now being outweighed by the value we are removing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-hawken/we-have-reached-a-point-where-the-value-we-do-add-to-our-economy-is/) [Paul Hawken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-hawken/) > [There never was a strong character that was not made strong by discipline of the will; there never was a strong people that did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-never-was-a-strong-character-that-was-not-made-strong-by/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [When digital technology started becoming the norm, you've got 50, 60, 70 years of recordings on tapes that are just deteriorating. 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