--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even cynical, selfish people will…" description: "\"Even cynical, selfish people will realize, one way or the other, that it's not in their self-interest to act in self-destructive ways.\" — David Grinspoon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/david-grinspoon-5141_cynical_even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize_2140558.jpg" --- # Even cynical, selfish people will realize, one way or the… ![“Even cynical, selfish people will realize, one way or the other, that it's not in their self-interest to act in self-destructive ways.” quote by David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/david-grinspoon-5141_cynical_even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize_2140558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/david-grinspoon-5141_cynical_even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize_2140558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/david-grinspoon-5141_cynical_even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize_2140558.jpg) > “Even cynical, selfish people will realize, one way or the other, that it's not in their self-interest to act in self-destructive ways.” [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even those who are cynical or self‑centered eventually recognize that self‑destructive behavior harms their own long‑term interests, prompting a shift toward more self‑preserving actions. **In simple terms:** Selfish people eventually see that harming themselves isn’t smart. Key Takeaway Recognize long‑term self‑interest over short‑term impulses. Themes self‑interest behavior change psychology long‑term planning Mood thoughtful motivational pragmatic Type advice philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - making healthier choices - avoiding harmful habits - reframing self‑interest Key Concepts cognitive dissonance self‑preservation ethical reasoning Questions to Reflect On - What personal benefits could you gain by stopping self‑destructive habits? - How can you align immediate desires with long‑term wellbeing? A Different Perspective People may resist change despite logical arguments. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cynical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Selfish people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-people/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [“Some selfish people rise because some kind people haven't learned the art of saying no to them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanhita-baruah/some-selfish-people-rise-because-some-kind-people-haven-t-learned-the/) [Sanhita Baruah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanhita-baruah/) > [I hate people who would break someone's heart, thinking of no one but themselves. Selfish people don't deserve to be treated fairly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-people-who-would-break-someone-s-heart-thinking-of-no-one-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's a good thing selfish people like themselves so much; they usually end up alone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/it-s-a-good-thing-selfish-people-like-themselves-so-much-they-usually/) [Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/) > [Sometimes I like to overlook the selfish people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-like-to-overlook-the-selfish-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Selfish people are, by definition, those whose activities are devoted to bringing themselves happiness. Yet. . . these selfish people are far less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-rimland/selfish-people-are-by-definition-those-whose-activities-are-devoted/) Bernard Rimland > [Marriage takes your whole heart; selfish people can't pull it off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt/marriage-takes-your-whole-heart-selfish-people-can-t-pull-it-off/) [Helen Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt/) > [I will no longer surround myself around selfish people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-no-longer-surround-myself-around-selfish-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Selfish people make me sick to my stomach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/selfish-people-make-me-sick-to-my-stomach/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Selfish people will never over exert themselves for you, where true genuine peeps will always go that extra mile to show they care!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/selfish-people-will-never-over-exert-themselves-for-you-where-true/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Selfish people get under my skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/selfish-people-get-under-my-skin/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are many selfish people who are extremely original, then they take those pure ideas and use them to raise themselves up, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-smith/there-are-many-selfish-people-who-are-extremely-original-then-they/) [Daniel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-smith/) > [Selfish people dont make it nowhere in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/selfish-people-dont-make-it-nowhere-in-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Politics these days is a disgusting game of mud-slinging, filled with selfish people with selfish aims. I'm very glad I've retired away from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munir-butt/politics-these-days-is-a-disgusting-game-of-mud-slinging-filled-with/) Munir Butt > [It amazes me how selfish some people are and how rude people can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-amazes-me-how-selfish-some-people-are-and-how-rude-people-can-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“ever day Maureen is Selfish To her friend and Family One she get mad at her friend and family and She need to Grad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-andeson/ever-day-maureen-is-selfish-to-her-friend-and-family-one-she-get-mad/) Maureen Andeson ## More by David Grinspoon > [I think the best SF writers are very aware of what we, in the scientific community, are doing, thinking, and discovering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-the-best-sf-writers-are-very-aware-of-what-we-in-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [If we gutted NASA Earth Science, it wouldn't be NOAA or some other agency that would take the lead. It would be the Chinese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/if-we-gutted-nasa-earth-science-it-wouldn-t-be-noaa-or-some-other/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [When you think about alien intelligences making art, you then have to think about what art is and how bound up it is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/when-you-think-about-alien-intelligences-making-art-you-then-have-to/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [What if life is not carbon-based? Can life exist as a gas or a plasma? Could planets or stars in some sense be alive?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/what-if-life-is-not-carbon-based-can-life-exist-as-a-gas-or-a-plasma/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [What I'm interested in is the conversations going on about the Anthropocene and what it means to view ourselves as a part of Earth's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/what-i-m-interested-in-is-the-conversations-going-on-about-the/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [I do comparative studies of climate evolution, and the interactions between planetary atmosphere and surfaces and their radiation environment, and try to understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-do-comparative-studies-of-climate-evolution-and-the-interactions/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [I'd been politically active ever since my parents wheeled me in a stroller in a 'ban the bomb' march in Boston in 1963.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-d-been-politically-active-ever-since-my-parents-wheeled-me-in-a/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Through space-based climate studies, my colleagues and I have learned that a stable and comfortable climate is not something to take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/through-space-based-climate-studies-my-colleagues-and-i-have-learned/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [We have all this very clever technology and all these abilities to manipulate the world in all these ways, yet we are faced with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/we-have-all-this-very-clever-technology-and-all-these-abilities-to/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [The planet Mars - crimson and bright, filling our telescopes with vague intimations of almost-familiar landforms - has long formed a celestial tabula rasa…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/the-planet-mars-crimson-and-bright-filling-our-telescopes-with-vague/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Certainly for me, as an astrobiologist, science fiction has played an important role. One of the quandaries of our field is that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/certainly-for-me-as-an-astrobiologist-science-fiction-has-played-an/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Time and time again, our species has escaped existential threats by reinventing ourselves, finding new skills not coded in our genes to survive new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/time-and-time-again-our-species-has-escaped-existential-threats-by/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [I think that an advanced planetary civilization will modify their own planets to be more stable, to prevent asteroid impacts and dangerous climate fluctuations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/i-think-that-an-advanced-planetary-civilization-will-modify-their-own/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Responsible global behaviour is ultimately an act of self-preservation of, by, and for the global beast that modern technological humanity has become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/responsible-global-behaviour-is-ultimately-an-act-of-self/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) > [Venus and Mars are our next of kin: they are the two most Earth-like planets that we know about. They're the only two other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/venus-and-mars-are-our-next-of-kin-they-are-the-two-most-earth-like/) [David Grinspoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) [Explore all 103 David Grinspoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/) ## More Cynical quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I would say most comedians have a very cynical worldview of the way the world can work. It's almost like if you didn't, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-quinn/i-would-say-most-comedians-have-a-very-cynical-worldview-of-the-way/) [Colin Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-quinn/) > [Sure, I’m dramatic and sloppily semi-cynical and semi-sentimental. But, in leisure years I could grow and choose my way. Now I am living on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/sure-i-m-dramatic-and-sloppily-semi-cynical-and-semi-sentimental-but/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [We're so immaturely cynical as a culture. We're not wise enough to look at an institution like marriage and to really things about what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/we-re-so-immaturely-cynical-as-a-culture-we-re-not-wise-enough-to/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [I'm not cynical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/i-m-not-cynical/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [A well governed people are generally a people who do not think much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-siegfried/a-well-governed-people-are-generally-a-people-who-do-not-think-much/) Andre Siegfried > [I love writers who are insightful enough to be cynical but choose not to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-d-mclaren/i-love-writers-who-are-insightful-enough-to-be-cynical-but-choose-not/) [Brian D. McLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-d-mclaren/) > [It is a very cynical, skeptical, foolish person that suggests Israel does not need a peace process to have a growing economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-quest/it-is-a-very-cynical-skeptical-foolish-person-that-suggests-israel/) [Richard Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-quest/) > [Songwriters might write cynical, world-wise lyrics and constantly talk about money, but most of us are downright naive when it comes to business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-nelson/songwriters-might-write-cynical-world-wise-lyrics-and-constantly-talk/) [Willie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-nelson/) > [No one more cynical than an idealist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/no-one-more-cynical-than-an-idealist/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I've actually always wanted to write like a one-person show that was sort of a romantic comedy - a show that was kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/i-ve-actually-always-wanted-to-write-like-a-one-person-show-that-was/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/that-s-what-i-ve-never-been-able-to-get-about-religion-that-charmless/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [As the rain falls and the sun shines, they grow, grow, grow; minds so open, they go through life aware and accepting, seeing light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/as-the-rain-falls-and-the-sun-shines-they-grow-grow-grow-minds-so/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [One of the weirdest things that happened to artists and art criticism was this moment when everyone got cynical and stopped believing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/one-of-the-weirdest-things-that-happened-to-artists-and-art-criticism/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) [Browse all 968 Cynical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even cynical, selfish people will realize, one way or the other, that it's not in their self-interest to act in self-destructive ways.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Grinspoon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize-one-way-or-the-other-that-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cynical" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize-one-way-or-the-other-that-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/david-grinspoon-5141_cynical_even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize_2140558.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/david-grinspoon-5141_cynical_even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize_2140558.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/david-grinspoon-5141_cynical_even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize_2140558.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even cynical, selfish people will realize, one way or the other, that it's not in their self-interest to act…” — David Grinspoon", "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": "David Grinspoon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-grinspoon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Even cynical, selfish people will realize,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize-one-way-or-the-other-that-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-grinspoon/even-cynical-selfish-people-will-realize-one-way-or-the-other-that-it/#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 } } ] } ```