--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a survival instinct, people have…" description: "\"“As a survival instinct, people have selective sight. Sometimes we do not perceive what we should because it will break us inside. We can't break. We m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/annie-m-ortiz-98080_stand-strong_as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selec_1629251.jpg" --- # As a survival instinct, people have selective sight… ![“As a survival instinct, people have selective sight. Sometimes we do not perceive what we should because it will break us inside. We can't break. We must stand strong for the world is a cruel place and the only want to defeat its wickedness is to pretend that it does not harm us.” quote by Annie M. Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/annie-m-ortiz-98080_stand-strong_as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selec_1629251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/annie-m-ortiz-98080_stand-strong_as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selec_1629251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/annie-m-ortiz-98080_stand-strong_as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selec_1629251.jpg) > ““As a survival instinct, people have selective sight. Sometimes we do not perceive what we should because it will break us inside. We can't break. We must stand strong for the world is a cruel place and the only want to defeat its wickedness is to pretend that it does not harm us.”” [Annie M. Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-m-ortiz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often ignore painful truths to protect themselves, but that avoidance weakens resilience in a harsh world. **In simple terms:** Ignoring pain protects us but harms resilience. Key Takeaway Acknowledge pain, stay strong. Themes survival resilience perception truth strength Mood reflective determined Type Instinct:1 Stand strong:1 Survival instinct:1 Selective Sight:1 People Selective:1 Instinct People:0 When to use this quote - personal crisis - social injustice - mental health - self‑care - growth Key Concepts psychology defense mechanisms human nature Questions to Reflect On - How do you confront uncomfortable truths? - What strengthens you amid cruelty? A Different Perspective Denial can lead to stagnation if not balanced with action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Instinct People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct-people-467927/) [People Selective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-selective-467926/) [Selective Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selective-sight-467925/) [Stand strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stand-strong/) [Survival instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival-instinct/) ## Related quotes > [ “…I saw that she, that we, had been wrong my entire life. Self-preservation is not the primary instinct. It never was. \[…\] People don’t… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-tobolowsky/i-saw-that-she-that-we-had-been-wrong-my-entire-life-self/) [Stephen Tobolowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-tobolowsky/) > [The instinct of the people is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-instinct-of-the-people-is-right/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I'm very closed off when it comes to working with people, I'm very selective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charli-xcx/i-m-very-closed-off-when-it-comes-to-working-with-people-i-m-very/) [Charli XCX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charli-xcx/) > [“Isn't it strange how people are selective about the truth the want to see or hear?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/isn-t-it-strange-how-people-are-selective-about-the-truth-the-want-to/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [What the media are telling you to be afraid of are the wrong things. Fear is a necessary ingredient of our survival instincts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/what-the-media-are-telling-you-to-be-afraid-of-are-the-wrong-things/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [Survival instincts are one of those things that never die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/survival-instincts-are-one-of-those-things-that-never-die/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [I think the biggest survival instinct that Midwesterners possess is self deprecation, it's almost a Buddha-like sense of humor in anything that is difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-pietz/i-think-the-biggest-survival-instinct-that-midwesterners-possess-is/) [Amy Pietz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-pietz/) > [If a man is a man and not a sheep in the flock, he has a survival instinct in him that leads him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/if-a-man-is-a-man-and-not-a-sheep-in-the-flock-he-has-a-survival/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [Fear is a survival instinct; fear in its way is a comfort for it means that somewhere hope is alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/fear-is-a-survival-instinct-fear-in-its-way-is-a-comfort-for-it-means/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [There was the natural human survival instinct to be optimistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-demick/there-was-the-natural-human-survival-instinct-to-be-optimistic/) [Barbara Demick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-demick/) > [“How could we have achieved the set-goal, without endurance to the end?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/how-could-we-have-achieved-the-set-goal-without-endurance-to-the-end/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“In any situation, there is a sacred-solution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/in-any-situation-there-is-a-sacred-solution/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“I choose to live by choice, not by chance; to make changes, not excuses; to be motivated, not manipulated; to be useful, not used;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-marrott/i-choose-to-live-by-choice-not-by-chance-to-make-changes-not-excuses/) [Miranda Marrott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-marrott/) > [“We are built to desire free will and to choose our own destiny. It's not about being right or wrong; it's about the celebration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deiamor-verus/we-are-built-to-desire-free-will-and-to-choose-our-own-destiny-it-s/) [DeiAmor Verus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deiamor-verus/) > [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Annie M. Ortiz > [“Fear is not shaking, knowing that you are going to be harmed. Fear is not sweating profusely because you can’t do anything else. Fear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-m-ortiz/fear-is-not-shaking-knowing-that-you-are-going-to-be-harmed-fear-is/) [Annie M. Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-m-ortiz/) [Explore all 2 Annie M. Ortiz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-m-ortiz/) ## More Instinct quotes > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Imitation is the first instinct of the awakening mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/imitation-is-the-first-instinct-of-the-awakening-mind/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [I will follow my instincts, be myself for good or ill, and see what will be the upshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/i-will-follow-my-instincts-be-myself-for-good-or-ill-and-see-what/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Empires fall, ids explode, great symphonies are written, and behind all of it is a single instinct that demands satisfaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherwin-b-nuland/empires-fall-ids-explode-great-symphonies-are-written-and-behind-all/) [Sherwin B. Nuland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherwin-b-nuland/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/you-don-t-think-it-s-all-instinct-if-you-stop-to-think-you-re-gone/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [The dog is guided by kindly instinct to the man or woman whose heart is open to his advances. The cat often leaves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/the-dog-is-guided-by-kindly-instinct-to-the-man-or-woman-whose-heart/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [As a kid, in the Runaways, I would see the interviewers start to ask about our personal lives and what we did — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/as-a-kid-in-the-runaways-i-would-see-the-interviewers-start-to-ask/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [How could they say that they truly loved each other? They had simply grown up together, been children together, and the proximity of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/how-could-they-say-that-they-truly-loved-each-other-they-had-simply/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) > [You have to follow your instinct, and that's what I've tried to do all my life, whether in music or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erol-alkan/you-have-to-follow-your-instinct-and-that-s-what-i-ve-tried-to-do-all/) [Erol Alkan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erol-alkan/) > [A man may quarrel with himself alone; that is, by controverting his better instincts and knowledge when brought face to face with temptation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/a-man-may-quarrel-with-himself-alone-that-is-by-controverting-his/) [William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/) > [I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body. But as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/i-have-never-been-a-quitter-to-leave-office-before-my-term-is/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [All men have an instinct for conflict: at least, all healthy men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/all-men-have-an-instinct-for-conflict-at-least-all-healthy-men/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [There was the natural human survival instinct to be optimistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-demick/there-was-the-natural-human-survival-instinct-to-be-optimistic/) [Barbara Demick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-demick/) > [The combative instinct is a savage prompting by which one man's good is found in another's evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/the-combative-instinct-is-a-savage-prompting-by-which-one-man-s-good/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) [Browse all 2,940 Instinct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As a survival instinct, people have selective sight. Sometimes we do not perceive what we should because it will break us inside. We can't break. We must stand strong for the world is a cruel place and the only want to defeat its wickedness is to pretend that it does not harm us.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie M. Ortiz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-m-ortiz/as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selective-sight-sometimes-we-do/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Instinct" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-m-ortiz/as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selective-sight-sometimes-we-do/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/annie-m-ortiz-98080_stand-strong_as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selec_1629251.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/annie-m-ortiz-98080_stand-strong_as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selec_1629251.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/691/annie-m-ortiz-98080_stand-strong_as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selec_1629251.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a survival instinct, people have selective sight. Sometimes we do not perceive what we should because it…” — Annie M. Ortiz", "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": "Annie M. Ortiz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-m-ortiz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As a survival instinct, people have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-m-ortiz/as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selective-sight-sometimes-we-do/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-m-ortiz/as-a-survival-instinct-people-have-selective-sight-sometimes-we-do/#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 } } ] } ```