--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We all make deals with ourselves when it…" description: "\"We all make deals with ourselves when it comes to the difficult people in our lives.\" — Carolyn Hax" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/carolyn-hax-9229_difficult_we-all-make-deals-with-ourselves-when-it_1408844.png" --- # We all make deals with ourselves when it comes to the… ![“We all make deals with ourselves when it comes to the difficult people in our lives.” quote by Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/carolyn-hax-9229_difficult_we-all-make-deals-with-ourselves-when-it_1408844.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/carolyn-hax-9229_difficult_we-all-make-deals-with-ourselves-when-it_1408844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/carolyn-hax-9229_difficult_we-all-make-deals-with-ourselves-when-it_1408844.png) > “We all make deals with ourselves when it comes to the difficult people in our lives.” [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) ## 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 compromise personal standards when dealing with difficult individuals, trading integrity for peace. **In simple terms:** We make compromises with tough people. Key Takeaway Set boundaries, not bargains. Themes relationships self‑respect conflict boundaries self‑care Mood reflective cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - family disputes - workplace negotiations - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology ethical compromise emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - What boundaries are you willing to keep? - How do you balance peace with personal values? A Different Perspective Compromise can erode self‑esteem if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deals Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals-comes-4959492/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Difficult people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-people/) [Make Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-deals-638316/) [Negotiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negotiation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People in our lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-in-our-lives/) [People Lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-lives/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) ## Related quotes > [ “We all make our own deals. \[...\] No one knows what happens in a relationship except the two people who are in it.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/we-all-make-our-own-deals-no-one-knows-what-happens-in-a-relationship/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [“We're professionals. People make deals, they need to stick to them. That's the way it works, if it's going to work at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-sallis/we-re-professionals-people-make-deals-they-need-to-stick-to-them-that/) [James Sallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-sallis/) > [Donald Trump has no idea what a deal is. I mean, he's a man who has filed for bankruptcy many times, so he doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sarsour/donald-trump-has-no-idea-what-a-deal-is-i-mean-he-s-a-man-who-has/) [Linda Sarsour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sarsour/) > [Make deals with people, not paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/make-deals-with-people-not-paper/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [“You obviously don't have my soul or you wouldn't be trying to make deals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-nayeri/you-obviously-don-t-have-my-soul-or-you-wouldn-t-be-trying-to-make/) [Daniel Nayeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-nayeri/) > [In many cases, you're forced to make deals that are not the deal you'd make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-s-dickerson/in-many-cases-you-re-forced-to-make-deals-that-are-not-the-deal-you-d/) [John S. Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-s-dickerson/) > [Money talks. When you have the financing behind you, you can make deals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetrius-andrade/money-talks-when-you-have-the-financing-behind-you-you-can-make-deals/) [Demetrius Andrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetrius-andrade/) > [Life is ultimately filled with events that may cause us great difficulty and great pain. There are going to be people in our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/life-is-ultimately-filled-with-events-that-may-cause-us-great/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [“We spend so much time striving for status that we don’t realise it’s the people in our lives that bring us real happiness.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-h-cosway/we-spend-so-much-time-striving-for-status-that-we-don-t-realise-it-s/) [L.H. 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They orbit our hearts like Halley’s Comet, crossing into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-ford/there-are-people-in-our-lives-whom-we-love-and-lose-and-unfailingly/) [Jamie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-ford/) > [“The truly important people in our lives are always in our future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-baratono/the-truly-important-people-in-our-lives-are-always-in-our-future/) [Ron Baratono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-baratono/) > [We are what we are because of the people in our lives. What would I be without my family and close friends?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parineeti-chopra/we-are-what-we-are-because-of-the-people-in-our-lives-what-would-i-be/) [Parineeti Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parineeti-chopra/) > [“We teach the people in our lives how to treat us”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-jauron/we-teach-the-people-in-our-lives-how-to-treat-us/) [Jason Jauron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-jauron/) ## More by Carolyn Hax > [I actually recommend as little actual counting as possible in a life partnership. But, when there's a sense of injustice brewing between you, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/i-actually-recommend-as-little-actual-counting-as-possible-in-a-life/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [People who make babies surrender their right to behave like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/people-who-make-babies-surrender-their-right-to-behave-like-them/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [There's nothing like a good family when you're really up a tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-s-nothing-like-a-good-family-when-you-re-really-up-a-tree/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [It takes awareness that it's not only not a bad thing to let others do things their own way, it is in fact an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/it-takes-awareness-that-it-s-not-only-not-a-bad-thing-to-let-others/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [The sudden death of a partner while expecting a child is so universally understood as awful that I don't think anyone with any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/the-sudden-death-of-a-partner-while-expecting-a-child-is-so/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [I do crosswords when I have time to kill somewhere, and am 100 percent successful on filling in the spots I get stuck on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/i-do-crosswords-when-i-have-time-to-kill-somewhere-and-am-100-percent/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Unfortunately, I think the expectation is that birthday girls don't pay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/unfortunately-i-think-the-expectation-is-that-birthday-girls-don-t-pay/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [When you fail to see something, that doesn't mean I'm hiding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/when-you-fail-to-see-something-that-doesn-t-mean-i-m-hiding-it/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [All of us assign different values to things, and not all of those values are going to line up with others'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/all-of-us-assign-different-values-to-things-and-not-all-of-those/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [Don't freight your answers with any notions of what you're "supposed" to do, and just see where your feelings point you. 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