--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best defense against being hurt is to…" description: "\"The best defense against being hurt is to feel good about yourself and the way a person responds to you says more about them, than about you.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/anonymous-1_being-hurt_the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-t_3166474.jpg" --- # The best defense against being hurt is to feel good about… ![“The best defense against being hurt is to feel good about yourself and the way a person responds to you says more about them, than about you.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/anonymous-1_being-hurt_the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-t_3166474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/anonymous-1_being-hurt_the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-t_3166474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/anonymous-1_being-hurt_the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-t_3166474.jpg) > “The best defense against being hurt is to feel good about yourself and the way a person responds to you says more about them, than about you.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑esteem protects against pain; others’ reactions reveal more about them than about you. **In simple terms:** Feel good about yourself; others’ behavior reflects them. Key Takeaway Build self‑worth, ignore external judgments. Themes self‑esteem boundaries perception Mood defensive encouraging Type advice motivational When to use this quote - online harassment - personal relationships - mental health counseling Key Concepts psychology interpersonal dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate constructive criticism from projection? - What boundaries help you stay grounded? A Different Perspective Relying solely on self‑esteem may ignore genuine feedback. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-hurt/) [Best Defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-defense/) [Defense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defense/) [Defense Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defense-hurt-5745517/) [Feel good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-good/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Hurt Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-feel/) ## Related quotes > [Honesty is the best policy but insanity is the best defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honesty-is-the-best-policy-but-insanity-is-the-best-defense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A Nation’s best defense is an informed citizenry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-nation-s-best-defense-is-an-informed-citizenry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The best defense against democracy is to distract people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-best-defense-against-democracy-is-to-distract-people/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Believe, it is our best defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/obert-skye/believe-it-is-our-best-defense/) [Obert Skye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/obert-skye/) > [“The best defense industry is to build good relationships with your neighbors! The best missile, the best tank, the best atomic bomb is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-best-defense-industry-is-to-build-good-relationships-with-your/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The best defense is a confusing offense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-pauley/the-best-defense-is-a-confusing-offense/) [Kimberly Pauley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-pauley/) > [The best defense for any group of people is what we do to defend other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-simmons/the-best-defense-for-any-group-of-people-is-what-we-do-to-defend/) [Russell Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-simmons/) > [“The best defense is great offense. . .We fight through our mistakes and failures by maximizing our forward motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayde-goodall/the-best-defense-is-great-offense-we-fight-through-our-mistakes-and/) [Wayde Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayde-goodall/) > [In politics as in sports, the best defense is a good offense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kirk/in-politics-as-in-sports-the-best-defense-is-a-good-offense/) [Charlie Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kirk/) > [“Let a book be your best defense to bordem”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmela-dutra/let-a-book-be-your-best-defense-to-bordem/) [Carmela Dutra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmela-dutra/) > [When we think we have been hurt by someone in the past, we build up defenses to protect ourselves from being hurt in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-we-think-we-have-been-hurt-by-someone-in-the-past-we-build-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-well-informed-citizenry-is-the-best-defense-against-tyranny/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I fall in love try and hurt feel so worse being so fooled now this day I will know that never be fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-fall-in-love-try-and-hurt-feel-so-worse-being-so-fooled-now-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know why people cut? Because it's a distraction. For one moment you don't feel all the pain, the loss, the hurt. All you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-why-people-cut-because-it-s-a-distraction-for-one-moment-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who have hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-know-that-forgiveness-has-begun-when-you-recall-those-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Being hurt quotes > [Just because you treat someone like royalty , doesn't mean they won't treat you like crap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-young/just-because-you-treat-someone-like-royalty-doesn-t-mean-they-won-t/) [Tyler Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-young/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [Scars by Papa Roach. <3](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophielianne/scars-by-papa-roach-3/) [Sophielianne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophielianne/) > [In life, grief was a journey through a forest of razor blades. I walked through every painful inch of it no shortcuts and no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-life-grief-was-a-journey-through-a-forest-of-razor-blades-i-walked/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you are not there in my life its like: Shoes without shoe laces A letter without a stamp A flower with no roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-not-there-in-my-life-its-like-shoes-without-shoe-laces-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You're trying too HARD to convince me that you're a TRUE friend & DEEP Down Inside you know you're not but you stick around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nisha-marie/you-re-trying-too-hard-to-convince-me-that-you-re-a-true-friend-deep/) [Ta'Nisha Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nisha-marie/) > [You took my happiness with you and left this horrible sadness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-took-my-happiness-with-you-and-left-this-horrible-sadness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Break up was not made for you to cry.. But to take you away from the wrong man who you thought was the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/break-up-was-not-made-for-you-to-cry-but-to-take-you-away-from-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im afraid of being forgotten. Because, it seems everyone I get close to, ends up forgetting me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/im-afraid-of-being-forgotten-because-it-seems-everyone-i-get-close-to/) [Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/) > [The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-hughes/the-only-calibration-that-counts-is-how-much-heart-people-invest-how/) [Ted Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-hughes/) > [It isn't easy being strong, especially when its the only choice you really have!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mislali/it-isn-t-easy-being-strong-especially-when-its-the-only-choice-you/) [MisLali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mislali/) > [I wish that one day you would finally realize that the person that is willing to love you forever is the person you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khat-leen/i-wish-that-one-day-you-would-finally-realize-that-the-person-that-is/) [Khat Leen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khat-leen/) > [When love has been wounded; trust, reassurance, honesty, and intimacy, in abundance, are the only known cures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-love-has-been-wounded-trust-reassurance-honesty-and-intimacy-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Stop blaming others, whatever happens to you is nobody's fault if you get hurt because of disappointment is not the end of your life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemmy-nola/stop-blaming-others-whatever-happens-to-you-is-nobody-s-fault-if-you/) [Kemmy Nola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemmy-nola/) > [I dont feel right when youre gone away. We must have had something real strong, Im tossing and turning all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-dont-feel-right-when-youre-gone-away-we-must-have-had-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 1,882 Being hurt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-hurt/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best defense against being hurt is to feel good about yourself and the way a person responds to you says more about them, than about you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-to-feel-good-about-yourself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being hurt" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-to-feel-good-about-yourself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/anonymous-1_being-hurt_the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-t_3166474.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/anonymous-1_being-hurt_the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-t_3166474.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8a/anonymous-1_being-hurt_the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-t_3166474.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best defense against being hurt is to feel good about yourself and the way a person responds to you says…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The best defense against being hurt...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-to-feel-good-about-yourself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-defense-against-being-hurt-is-to-feel-good-about-yourself/#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 } } ] } ```