--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Recently he has noticed idiocy creeping…" description: "\"“Recently he has noticed idiocy creeping up on him. His resolve to keep his head on straight, his feet on the ground, is failing and he has observed, q..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/david-nicholls-873_feet-on-the-ground_recently-he-has-noticed-idiocy-creeping_3134716.png" --- # Recently he has noticed idiocy creeping up on him. His… ![“Recently he has noticed idiocy creeping up on him. His resolve to keep his head on straight, his feet on the ground, is failing and he has observed, quite objectively, that he is becoming more thoughtless, selfish, making more and more stupid remarks. He has tried to do something about this but it…” quote by David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/david-nicholls-873_feet-on-the-ground_recently-he-has-noticed-idiocy-creeping_3134716.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/david-nicholls-873_feet-on-the-ground_recently-he-has-noticed-idiocy-creeping_3134716.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/760/david-nicholls-873_feet-on-the-ground_recently-he-has-noticed-idiocy-creeping_3134716.png) > ““Recently he has noticed idiocy creeping up on him. His resolve to keep his head on straight, his feet on the ground, is failing and he has observed, quite objectively, that he is becoming more thoughtless, selfish, making more and more stupid remarks. He has tried to do something about this but it almost feels out of his control now, like pattern baldness. Why not just give in and be an idiot? Stop caring.”” [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He feels his mental discipline eroding, leading to selfish, thoughtless behavior, and wonders if surrendering to idiocy is easier than fighting it. **In simple terms:** He feels his becoming less thoughtful and selfish, and doubts he can stop. Key Takeaway Recognize the decline and seek help before it worsens. Themes self‑control decline identity resilience Mood anxious reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - stress at - workplace conflict - relationship strain Key Concepts psychology habit formation ego self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - What habits could restore mental clarity? - How can you seek support without feeling weak? A Different Perspective Self‑critical view may ignore external factors influencing behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feet on the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet-on-the-ground/) [Idiocy Creeping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiocy-creeping-5558520/) [Idiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idiot/) [Noticed Idiocy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticed-idiocy-5558519/) [Stop caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-caring/) [Stupid Remarks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stupid-remarks-3173319/) [Thoughtless Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughtless-selfish-5558521/) ## Related quotes > [These players are prima donnas. They need to educate themselves so they don't make such stupid remarks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-williams/these-players-are-prima-donnas-they-need-to-educate-themselves-so/) [Richard Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-williams/) > [Surely nothing has to listen to so many stupid remarks as a painting in a museum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-de-goncourt/surely-nothing-has-to-listen-to-so-many-stupid-remarks-as-a-painting/) [Edmond de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-de-goncourt/) > [Do you know why some people feel jealousy from me? Because I don't like to comment back on their stupid remarks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wiz-khalifa/do-you-know-why-some-people-feel-jealousy-from-me-because-i-don-t/) [Wiz Khalifa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wiz-khalifa/) > [I don't think many people would think I'm a designer. I behave in a different way. I'd get knocked down and cut to pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-temperley/i-don-t-think-many-people-would-think-i-m-a-designer-i-behave-in-a/) [Alice Temperley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-temperley/) > [You can't change your attitude because you're the champion. I've always kept my feet on the ground and never wanted to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renan-barao/you-can-t-change-your-attitude-because-you-re-the-champion-i-ve/) [Renan Barao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renan-barao/) > [I will always continue to work hard and keep my feet on the ground, regardless of whether I stay at Porto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk/i-will-always-continue-to-work-hard-and-keep-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Hulk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk/) > [If we are to live with our feet on the ground, in touch with reality, we must help one another accept the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/if-we-are-to-live-with-our-feet-on-the-ground-in-touch-with-reality/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/repentance-is-a-realization-that-what-god-wants-from-you-and-what-you/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [I don't kid myself in thinking that I'm on the front lines. I know the people who are on the front lines. I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-harper/i-don-t-kid-myself-in-thinking-that-i-m-on-the-front-lines-i-know-the/) [Ben Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-harper/) > [You got to keep your feet on the ground, and it is what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-holloway/you-got-to-keep-your-feet-on-the-ground-and-it-is-what-it-is/) [Max Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-holloway/) > [Be with the one who¦. Loves to see you smile and promises to make you laugh and giggle¦ The one Who supports you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kostyla/be-with-the-one-who-loves-to-see-you-smile-and-promises-to-make-you/) [Karen Kostyla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kostyla/) > [You be the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground. I'll be the wings that keep your heart in the clouds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-be-the-anchor-that-keeps-my-feet-on-the-ground-i-ll-be-the-wings/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I try to, pardon the expression, stay with my feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-zanardi/i-try-to-pardon-the-expression-stay-with-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Alex Zanardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-zanardi/) > [I'm a legend now. But I'll keep my feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-oliveira/i-m-a-legend-now-but-i-ll-keep-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Charles Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-oliveira/) > [Griezmann is an exceptional player. He's brimming with talent, and he knows how to keep his feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-matuidi/griezmann-is-an-exceptional-player-he-s-brimming-with-talent-and-he/) [Blaise Matuidi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-matuidi/) ## More by David Nicholls > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Good God, 'the elusive thing'. She had reached a turning point. She no longer believed that a situation could be made better by writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/good-god-the-elusive-thing-she-had-reached-a-turning-point-she-no/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Emma was a shocking driver, simultaneously sloppy and petrified, and for the first fifty miles had been absent-mindedly driving with her spectacles on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/emma-was-a-shocking-driver-simultaneously-sloppy-and-petrified-and/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [I still find it absurdly difficult to concentrate on a novel if there's a phone or computer to hand; I have taken to locking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/i-still-find-it-absurdly-difficult-to-concentrate-on-a-novel-if-there/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [You've got to stop letting women slip drugs into your mouth, Dex, it's unhygienic. And dangerous. One day it'll be a cyanide capsule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/you-ve-got-to-stop-letting-women-slip-drugs-into-your-mouth-dex-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“He presses two fingers against each eye and attempts to account for this crippling melancholy, but is having trouble with rational thought. It feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/he-presses-two-fingers-against-each-eye-and-attempts-to-account-for/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Live each day as if it's our last', that was the conventional advice, but really who had the energy for that? What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [She was reaching the limits of how much its possible to change a man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/she-was-reaching-the-limits-of-how-much-its-possible-to-change-a-man/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“How would she fill the days? She had no idea. The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/how-would-she-fill-the-days-she-had-no-idea-the-trick-of-it-she-told/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/what-if-it-rained-or-you-felt-a-bit-glandy-it-just-wasn-t-practical/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Sometimes, when it is going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/sometimes-when-it-is-going-badly-she-wonders-if-what-she-believes-to/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [The city had defeated her, just like they said it would. Like some overcrowded party, no one had noticed her arrival, and would notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/the-city-had-defeated-her-just-like-they-said-it-would-like-some/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/better-by-far-to-be-good-and-courageous-and-bold-and-to-make/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [A screenplay is really an instruction manual, and it can be interpreted in any number of ways. The casting, the choice of location, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/a-screenplay-is-really-an-instruction-manual-and-it-can-be/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Most of the books and films I love walk a knife edge between romance and cynicism, and I wanted 'One Day' to stay on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/most-of-the-books-and-films-i-love-walk-a-knife-edge-between-romance/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Explore all 332 David Nicholls quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) ## More Feet on the ground quotes > [Griezmann is an exceptional player. He's brimming with talent, and he knows how to keep his feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-matuidi/griezmann-is-an-exceptional-player-he-s-brimming-with-talent-and-he/) [Blaise Matuidi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-matuidi/) > [I'm a legend now. But I'll keep my feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-oliveira/i-m-a-legend-now-but-i-ll-keep-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Charles Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-oliveira/) > [I try to, pardon the expression, stay with my feet on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-zanardi/i-try-to-pardon-the-expression-stay-with-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Alex Zanardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-zanardi/) > [You be the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground. I'll be the wings that keep your heart in the clouds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-be-the-anchor-that-keeps-my-feet-on-the-ground-i-ll-be-the-wings/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Be with the one who¦. Loves to see you smile and promises to make you laugh and giggle¦ The one Who supports you in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kostyla/be-with-the-one-who-loves-to-see-you-smile-and-promises-to-make-you/) [Karen Kostyla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kostyla/) > [You got to keep your feet on the ground, and it is what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-holloway/you-got-to-keep-your-feet-on-the-ground-and-it-is-what-it-is/) [Max Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-holloway/) > [I don't kid myself in thinking that I'm on the front lines. I know the people who are on the front lines. I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-harper/i-don-t-kid-myself-in-thinking-that-i-m-on-the-front-lines-i-know-the/) [Ben Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-harper/) > [Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/repentance-is-a-realization-that-what-god-wants-from-you-and-what-you/) [Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/) > [If we are to live with our feet on the ground, in touch with reality, we must help one another accept the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-heyward/if-we-are-to-live-with-our-feet-on-the-ground-in-touch-with-reality/) [Carter Heyward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-heyward/) > [I will always continue to work hard and keep my feet on the ground, regardless of whether I stay at Porto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk/i-will-always-continue-to-work-hard-and-keep-my-feet-on-the-ground/) [Hulk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk/) > [You can't change your attitude because you're the champion. I've always kept my feet on the ground and never wanted to change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renan-barao/you-can-t-change-your-attitude-because-you-re-the-champion-i-ve/) [Renan Barao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renan-barao/) > [I don't think many people would think I'm a designer. I behave in a different way. I'd get knocked down and cut to pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-temperley/i-don-t-think-many-people-would-think-i-m-a-designer-i-behave-in-a/) [Alice Temperley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-temperley/) > [“You can't grasp the wonderful and keep your feet on the ground.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-afters/you-can-t-grasp-the-wonderful-and-keep-your-feet-on-the-ground/) [The Afters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-afters/) > [“When your dreams are reaching for the stars, there's no point in keeping your feet on the ground. Take a chance and leap!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-sawyer/when-your-dreams-are-reaching-for-the-stars-there-s-no-point-in/) [A.M. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-sawyer/) > [“She was a hunchback with a sweet smile. She smiled sweetly at anything; she couldn't help it; the trees, me, the grass, anything. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fante/she-was-a-hunchback-with-a-sweet-smile-she-smiled-sweetly-at-anything/) [John Fante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fante/) [Browse all 187 Feet on the ground quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet-on-the-ground/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Recently he has noticed idiocy creeping up on him. His resolve to keep his head on straight, his feet on the ground, is failing and he has observed, quite objectively, that he is becoming more thoughtless, selfish, making more and more stupid remarks. He has tried to do something about this but it almost feels out of his control now, like pattern baldness. Why not just give in and be an idiot? 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