--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The problem with people is that they're…" description: "\"The problem with people is that they're only human.\" — Bill Watterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/bill-watterson-728_human_the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re_1772882.png" --- # The problem with people is that they're only human. ![“The problem with people is that they're only human.” quote by Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/bill-watterson-728_human_the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re_1772882.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/bill-watterson-728_human_the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re_1772882.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/bill-watterson-728_human_the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re_1772882.png) > “The problem with people is that they're only human.” [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human flaws are universal; accepting imperfection fosters empathy. **In simple terms:** People are imperfect. Key Takeaway Embrace and with kindness. Themes imperfection empathy humility Mood thoughtful compassionate Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teamwork - parenting - customer service - self‑growth Key Concepts human nature psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond to others’ mistakes? - What does “only human” mean to you? A Different Perspective Idealizing perfection leads to disappointment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) ## Related quotes > [“That's the problem with people who are not human. You can't tell how badly they're hurt, or how much they need your help, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/that-s-the-problem-with-people-who-are-not-human-you-can-t-tell-how/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [There are too many people, and too few human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-zend/there-are-too-many-people-and-too-few-human-beings/) Robert Zend > [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [The biggest problem in life isn't the problem itself, but how people act upon it ???](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-biggest-problem-in-life-isn-t-the-problem-itself-but-how-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We’re not Indians and we’re not Native Americans. We’re older than both concepts. We’re the people, we’re the human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-trudell/we-re-not-indians-and-we-re-not-native-americans-we-re-older-than/) [John Trudell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-trudell/) > [Football, no one wants to ram into people. It's not human nature. You have to have a lot of incentive to ram into somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-young/football-no-one-wants-to-ram-into-people-it-s-not-human-nature-you/) [Steve Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-young/) > [“These old people. These human ruins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/these-old-people-these-human-ruins/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Once we know that people are human and have some Homer Simpson in them, then there's a lot that can be done to manipulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-sunstein/once-we-know-that-people-are-human-and-have-some-homer-simpson-in/) [Cass Sunstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-sunstein/) > [Most people enjoy other people. Most people are human beings first. And affiliated with political parties second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-rosenthal/most-people-enjoy-other-people-most-people-are-human-beings-first-and/) [Philip Rosenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-rosenthal/) > [Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-brackett/plot-is-people-human-emotions-and-desires-founded-on-the-realities-of/) [Leigh Brackett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-brackett/) > [People have no human rights, only the rights that they can gain on the labour market. Above all, wealth and power have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/people-have-no-human-rights-only-the-rights-that-they-can-gain-on-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Isn't it also that on some fundamental level we find it difficult to understand that other people are human beings in the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/isn-t-it-also-that-on-some-fundamental-level-we-find-it-difficult-to/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [People are human but mind is animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowkey/people-are-human-but-mind-is-animal/) Lowkey > [People are human. There's such a premium today on being perfect. That's just not the way people are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/people-are-human-there-s-such-a-premium-today-on-being-perfect-that-s/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [I am attracted to bad people because they are very human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takashi-miike/i-am-attracted-to-bad-people-because-they-are-very-human/) [Takashi Miike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takashi-miike/) ## More by Bill Watterson > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you are informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-the-more-you-know-the-harder-it-is-to-take-decisive-action/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/a-day-can-really-slip-by-when-you-re-deliberately-avoiding-what-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [For your information, I'm staying like this, and everyone else can just get used to it! If people don't like me the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/for-your-information-i-m-staying-like-this-and-everyone-else-can-just/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I think most of us would be horrified to meet ourselves and discover what everyone else already knows about us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-think-most-of-us-would-be-horrified-to-meet-ourselves-and-discover/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/as-a-kid-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-either-a-cartoonist-or-an-astronaut/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Miss Wormwood: Calvin, your test was an absolute disgrace! It's obvious you haven't read any of the material. Our first president was not Chef…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/miss-wormwood-calvin-your-test-was-an-absolute-disgrace-it-s-obvious/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [United Features had given me a development contract, which meant I was to work exclusively with them and rather than completing everything on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/united-features-had-given-me-a-development-contract-which-meant-i-was/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/what-assurance-do-i-have-that-your-parenting-isn-t-screwing-me-up/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [In the right hands, a comic strip attains a beauty and elegance that, really, I would put against any other art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-the-right-hands-a-comic-strip-attains-a-beauty-and-elegance-that/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I tell you all this because it's worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-tell-you-all-this-because-it-s-worth-recognizing-that-there-is-no/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-secret-to-enjoying-your-job-is-to-have-a-hobby-that-s-even-worse/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [By golly, life's too darn short to waste time trying to please every meddlesome moron who's got an idea how I ought to be!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/by-golly-life-s-too-darn-short-to-waste-time-trying-to-please-every/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-m-yet-another-resource-consuming-kid-in-an-overpopulated-planet/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) [Explore all 389 Bill Watterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## More Human quotes > [There is no human nature, since there is no god to conceive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/there-is-no-human-nature-since-there-is-no-god-to-conceive-it/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [Every human creates his own problems. Problems are ones private property and we shouldnt meddle into them self-initiatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/every-human-creates-his-own-problems-problems-are-ones-private/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [I found out about Sister Song through Poppy Liu, who's on the show 'Hacks.' Reproductive rights are human rights, and I wanted to shine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayo-edebiri/i-found-out-about-sister-song-through-poppy-liu-who-s-on-the-show/) [Ayo Edebiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayo-edebiri/) > [The human element should be the two players on the court, not the officials. The best officials are the ones you never notice. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-scott/the-human-element-should-be-the-two-players-on-the-court-not-the/) Gene Scott > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I've always been a believer in research. It's great to have an instinctual human reaction to a character, too, of course, but it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiwetel-ejiofor/i-ve-always-been-a-believer-in-research-it-s-great-to-have-an/) [Chiwetel Ejiofor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiwetel-ejiofor/) > [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/) [Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Professionally speaking, the proudest moment was when I booked the 'Human Stain.' I knew it had Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris and Gary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/professionally-speaking-the-proudest-moment-was-when-i-booked-the/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) Hanns Eisler > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 8,656 Human quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The problem with people is that they're only human.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Watterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re-only-human/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Human" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re-only-human/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/bill-watterson-728_human_the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re_1772882.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/bill-watterson-728_human_the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re_1772882.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/bill-watterson-728_human_the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re_1772882.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The problem with people is that they're only human.” — Bill Watterson", "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": "Bill Watterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The problem with people is that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re-only-human/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-problem-with-people-is-that-they-re-only-human/#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 } } ] } ```