--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever I have found that I have…" description: "\"Whenever I have found that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfected, and when I have been contemptuously criticised, and even when I have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/charles-darwin-507_can-do_whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blunde_1286868.jpg" --- # Whenever I have found that I have blundered, or that my… ![“Whenever I have found that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfected, and when I have been contemptuously criticised, and even when I have been overpraised, so that I have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself that 'I have worked as hard as…” quote by Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/charles-darwin-507_can-do_whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blunde_1286868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/charles-darwin-507_can-do_whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blunde_1286868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/charles-darwin-507_can-do_whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blunde_1286868.jpg) > “Whenever I have found that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfected, and when I have been contemptuously criticised, and even when I have been overpraised, so that I have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself that 'I have worked as hard as I could, and no man can do more than this.'” [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accepting your best effort as comfort mitigates shame from criticism or overpraise. **In simple terms:** Do your best, accept it. Key Takeaway Embrace effort, release perfectionism. Themes humility self‑acceptance resilience Mood thoughtful reassuring Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic work - creative projects - public speaking Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle criticism? - What does “doing your best” mean to you? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can still hinder growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [When my reputation was at its height, classmates insulted me right to my face as I walked down the hall. When a teacher called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leora-tanenbaum/when-my-reputation-was-at-its-height-classmates-insulted-me-right-to/) [Leora Tanenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leora-tanenbaum/) > [People would say it's very improbable that I'd make it to this point in my life. I made it here because I wasn't discouraged.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carey-price/people-would-say-it-s-very-improbable-that-i-d-make-it-to-this-point/) [Carey Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carey-price/) > [I was disappointed over my dismissal, given that it was at a crucial stage of the game and I had worked very hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-ponting/i-was-disappointed-over-my-dismissal-given-that-it-was-at-a-crucial/) [Ricky Ponting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-ponting/) > [I always thought if you worked hard enough and tried hard enough, things would work out. I was wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/i-always-thought-if-you-worked-hard-enough-and-tried-hard-enough/) [Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/) > [I have always worked very hard in my career. Always working towards a good moment. And when you plan, the rewards appear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-firmino/i-have-always-worked-very-hard-in-my-career-always-working-towards-a/) [Roberto Firmino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-firmino/) > [I worked at what I did, I worked hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-webster/i-worked-at-what-i-did-i-worked-hard/) [Mike Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-webster/) > [I worked hard on making a body of work that takes people on a journey. It was never about making a certain type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalid/i-worked-hard-on-making-a-body-of-work-that-takes-people-on-a-journey/) [Khalid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalid/) > [I knew that if I worked hard, I could have both - I could have a family, because that was important to me, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-sheindlin/i-knew-that-if-i-worked-hard-i-could-have-both-i-could-have-a-family/) [Judy Sheindlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-sheindlin/) > [I've worked so hard to just be my full self and God has just validated me in so many ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-siriboe/i-ve-worked-so-hard-to-just-be-my-full-self-and-god-has-just/) [Kofi Siriboe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-siriboe/) > [I've worked hard my entire life from the age of 14.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenya-moore/i-ve-worked-hard-my-entire-life-from-the-age-of-14/) [Kenya Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenya-moore/) > [Being sore makes me happy cause I know I worked hard and and am getting stronger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-sore-makes-me-happy-cause-i-know-i-worked-hard-and-and-am/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you worked hard for it, if you didn't give up, even when you found your way and you thought you had everything, life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/if-you-worked-hard-for-it-if-you-didn-t-give-up-even-when-you-found/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [“Never would I run away from great difficulties, because once it's over I will have obtained what I worked hard for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-ford/never-would-i-run-away-from-great-difficulties-because-once-it-s-over/) Christopher Ford > [I worked hard to get in shape for this role. My motivation was the movie and the fans but I don't want to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-lautner/i-worked-hard-to-get-in-shape-for-this-role-my-motivation-was-the/) [Taylor Lautner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-lautner/) > [I really want people to know that I've worked hard, very hard, to get to where I am today.. this didn't just happen overnight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/i-really-want-people-to-know-that-i-ve-worked-hard-very-hard-to-get/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) ## More by Charles Darwin > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [The main conclusion here arrived at ... is that man is descended from some less highly organized form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-main-conclusion-here-arrived-at-is-that-man-is-descended-from/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [So great is the economy of nature, that most flowers which are fertilised by crepuscular or nocturnal insects emit their odour chiefly or exclusively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/so-great-is-the-economy-of-nature-that-most-flowers-which-are/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I see no good reasons why the views given in this volume should shock the religious views of anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-see-no-good-reasons-why-the-views-given-in-this-volume-should-shock/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science…It is a mere rag of an hypothesis with as many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/i-am-quite-conscious-that-my-speculations-run-beyond-the-bounds-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [If worms have the power of acquiring some notion, however rude, of the shape of an object and over their burrows, as seems the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/if-worms-have-the-power-of-acquiring-some-notion-however-rude-of-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [We can allow satellites, planets, suns, universe, nay whole systems of universes, to be governed by laws, but the smallest insect, we wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/we-can-allow-satellites-planets-suns-universe-nay-whole-systems-of/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Formerly Milton's Paradise Lost had been my chief favourite, and in my excursions during the voyage of the Beagle, when I could take only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/formerly-milton-s-paradise-lost-had-been-my-chief-favourite-and-in-my/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [May we not suspect that the vague but very real fears of children, which are quite independent of experience, are the inherited effects of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/may-we-not-suspect-that-the-vague-but-very-real-fears-of-children/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-may-be-said-that-natural-selection-is-daily-and-hourly/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Darwin, landing in Brazil in 1832, had a similar reaction, colored by his reading of his predecessor." Humboldt's glorious descriptions are & will for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/darwin-landing-in-brazil-in-1832-had-a-similar-reaction-colored-by/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [...all nature is perverse & will not do as I wish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/all-nature-is-perverse-will-not-do-as-i-wish-it/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“To admit that species generally become rare before they become extinct—to feel no surprise at the comparative rarity of one species with another, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-admit-that-species-generally-become-rare-before-they-become/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [To suppose that the eye could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/to-suppose-that-the-eye-could-have-been-formed-by-natural-selection/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank clothed with many plants of many kinds with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-interesting-to-contemplate-an-entangled-bank-clothed-with-many/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Explore all 497 Charles Darwin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## More Can do quotes > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [It's nice when you've done enough movies that you can do your own anthology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/it-s-nice-when-you-ve-done-enough-movies-that-you-can-do-your-own/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [If people don't have their own vision, all they can do is 'sign-up' for someone else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/if-people-don-t-have-their-own-vision-all-they-can-do-is-sign-up-for/) [Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/) > [The one thing that flies in the face of all human history and experience, is that the government can do a superior job than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/the-one-thing-that-flies-in-the-face-of-all-human-history-and/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/what-i-can-do-is-offer-myself-wholehearted-and-present-to-walk-with/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [A professional is a man who can do his job when he doesn't feel like it. An amateur is a man who can't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agate/a-professional-is-a-man-who-can-do-his-job-when-he-doesn-t-feel-like/) [James Agate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agate/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [I'm not an educated man. I only know what I'm told, and I'm not told that much; I have no frame of reference for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-m-not-an-educated-man-i-only-know-what-i-m-told-and-i-m-not-told/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) Browse all 5,673 Can do quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whenever I have found that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfected, and when I have been contemptuously criticised, and even when I have been overpraised, so that I have felt mortified, it has been my greatest comfort to say hundreds of times to myself that 'I have worked as hard as I could, and no man can do more than this.'", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Darwin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blundered-or-that-my-work-has-been/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Can do" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blundered-or-that-my-work-has-been/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/charles-darwin-507_can-do_whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blunde_1286868.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/charles-darwin-507_can-do_whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blunde_1286868.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9a/charles-darwin-507_can-do_whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blunde_1286868.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whenever I have found that I have blundered, or that my work has been imperfected, and when I have been…” — Charles Darwin", "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": "Charles Darwin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whenever I have found that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blundered-or-that-my-work-has-been/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/whenever-i-have-found-that-i-have-blundered-or-that-my-work-has-been/#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 } } ] } ```