--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one ever thinks they’re awful, even…" description: "\"No one ever thinks they’re awful, even people who really actually are. It’s some sort of survival mechanism.\" — Emily St. John Mandel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_awful_no-one-ever-thinks-they-re-awful-even-pe_1689023.jpg" --- # No one ever thinks they’re awful, even people who really… ![“No one ever thinks they’re awful, even people who really actually are. It’s some sort of survival mechanism.” quote by Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_awful_no-one-ever-thinks-they-re-awful-even-pe_1689023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_awful_no-one-ever-thinks-they-re-awful-even-pe_1689023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/emily-st-john-mandel-20783_awful_no-one-ever-thinks-they-re-awful-even-pe_1689023.jpg) > “No one ever thinks they’re awful, even people who really actually are. It’s some sort of survival mechanism.” [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People tend to deny their own flaws as a psychological defense, preserving self‑esteem despite evidence to the contrary. **In simple terms:** We ignore our own badness to protect ourselves. Key Takeaway Recognize self‑deception and seek honest self‑assessment. Themes self‑esteem psychology defense mechanisms honesty Mood reflective critical cautious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - therapy sessions - team dynamics - leadership assessments Key Concepts cognitive bias self‑perception survival instinct Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑deception affect your decisions? - What steps can you take to confront uncomfortable truths? A Different Perspective Denial can prevent growth and accountability if left unchecked. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awful People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [On the other hand, when I give it closer thought, I realize I'm not enough of a dictator to conduct an orchestra because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eberhard-weber/on-the-other-hand-when-i-give-it-closer-thought-i-realize-i-m-not/) [Eberhard Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eberhard-weber/) > [There are lots of actors who are awful people, but nobody talks about them being awful because they've made billions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/there-are-lots-of-actors-who-are-awful-people-but-nobody-talks-about/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [“I love people who play guitars on roofs!" said Rose, hopping along the pavement in one of her sudden happy moods. "Don't you?" "Never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mckay/i-love-people-who-play-guitars-on-roofs-said-rose-hopping-along-the/) [Hilary McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mckay/) > [Everyone deserves second chances but not more than it. If not, it mean you are an awful people in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-deserves-second-chances-but-not-more-than-it-if-not-it-mean/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nobody gets to the league and is awful. Some people are more built to be good in this than others, right, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-dinwiddie/nobody-gets-to-the-league-and-is-awful-some-people-are-more-built-to/) [Spencer Dinwiddie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-dinwiddie/) > [Funny,’ Will said, as they picked their way through. ‘Things are absolutely awful and yet people look much happier than usual. Look at them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cooper/funny-will-said-as-they-picked-their-way-through-things-are/) [Susan Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cooper/) > [I think that people who don't like kids are awful people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rudolph/i-think-that-people-who-don-t-like-kids-are-awful-people/) [Maya Rudolph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rudolph/) > [“My mother smiled. "I know my baby wasn't like that." I looked at her. "Like what?" "Like those awful people. Those awful dead people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/my-mother-smiled-i-know-my-baby-wasn-t-like-that-i-looked-at-her-like/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [The world isn't awful. People aren't awful. They want to be good. Something makes them bad. Something breaks them down, makes them snap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille/the-world-isn-t-awful-people-aren-t-awful-they-want-to-be-good/) [Camille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille/) > [“Even awful people can be polite for a few minutes,” their father told them. “Any longer than that and they revert to the bastards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-wilson/even-awful-people-can-be-polite-for-a-few-minutes-their-father-told/) [Kevin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-wilson/) > [“The thing I truly object to,” Kitty said, “and I know this sounds trivial and I don’t care if it sounds a bit snobbish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-hensher/the-thing-i-truly-object-to-kitty-said-and-i-know-this-sounds-trivial/) [Philip Hensher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-hensher/) > [“I'm not saying this to upset you. I'm trying to tell you what you absolutely have to do. What if we were both dead?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/i-m-not-saying-this-to-upset-you-i-m-trying-to-tell-you-what-you/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Very rarely are you going to see a story about a comic winning a fight. Yeah we're all degenerates in some way and we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-shaffir/very-rarely-are-you-going-to-see-a-story-about-a-comic-winning-a/) [Ari Shaffir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-shaffir/) > [Donald Trump is way worse than George W. Bush. George W. Bush is a fundamentally decent man of limited intelligence who surrounded himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/donald-trump-is-way-worse-than-george-w-bush-george-w-bush-is-a/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [When I left the Lampoon, I went west to try that out, and discovered that I hated it.They were awful people turning out awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/when-i-left-the-lampoon-i-went-west-to-try-that-out-and-discovered/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) ## More by Emily St. John Mandel > [“He wished he could somehow go back and find the iPhone people whom he'd jostled on the sidewalk earlier, apologize to them - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/he-wished-he-could-somehow-go-back-and-find-the-iphone-people-whom-he/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“All those people,” Clark said to Imaginary Robert, but Imaginary Robert didn’t reply.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/all-those-people-clark-said-to-imaginary-robert-but-imaginary-robert/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“... every time someone dies you start counting how much time has passed since they've been gone. First you count it in minutes, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/every-time-someone-dies-you-start-counting-how-much-time-has-passed/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“I've been thinking lately about immortality. What it means to be remembered, what I want to be remembered for, certain questions concerning memory and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/i-ve-been-thinking-lately-about-immortality-what-it-means-to-be/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“She slipped so easily into the folds of his life”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/she-slipped-so-easily-into-the-folds-of-his-life/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [What I mean to say is, the more you remember, the more you’ve lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/what-i-mean-to-say-is-the-more-you-remember-the-more-you-ve-lost/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [There are certain qualities of light that blur the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/there-are-certain-qualities-of-light-that-blur-the-years/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“All three caravans of the Travelling Symphony are labelled as such, THE TRAVELLING SYMPHONY lettered in white on both sides, but the lead caravan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/all-three-caravans-of-the-travelling-symphony-are-labelled-as-such/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“A fragment for my friend-- If your soul left this earth I would follow and find you Silent, my starship suspended in night”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/a-fragment-for-my-friend-if-your-soul-left-this-earth-i-would-follow/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [Hell is the absence of the people you long for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/hell-is-the-absence-of-the-people-you-long-for/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“You remembered.” “Of course,” Clark said. “That’s one thing I like about birthdays, they stay in one place. Same spot on the calendar, year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/you-remembered-of-course-clark-said-that-s-one-thing-i-like-about/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“Why did we always say we were going to shoot emails?” “I don’t know. I’ve wondered that too.” “Why couldn’t we just say we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/why-did-we-always-say-we-were-going-to-shoot-emails-i-don-t-know-i-ve/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“They’ve done what’s expected of them. They want to do something different but it’s impossible now, there’s a mortgage, kids, whatever, they’re trapped.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/they-ve-done-what-s-expected-of-them-they-want-to-do-something/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“Forever is the most dizzying word in the English language. The idea of staying in one place forever was like standing at the border…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/forever-is-the-most-dizzying-word-in-the-english-language-the-idea-of/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) > [“Michaela wasn't someone Lilia ever trusted, but there was a certain kinship; she shared Lilia's suspicion that the world might prove, in the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-st-john-mandel/michaela-wasn-t-someone-lilia-ever-trusted-but-there-was-a-certain/) [Emily St. John Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) [Explore all 30 Emily St. John Mandel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-st-john-mandel/) ## More Actually quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Failure actually makes you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-sharma/failure-actually-makes-you-strong/) [Neha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-sharma/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [The alternative comedy scene is actually pretty small, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-wilson/the-alternative-comedy-scene-is-actually-pretty-small-i-guess/) [Casey Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-wilson/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I actually do sing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-harket/i-actually-do-sing-sometimes/) [Morten Harket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-harket/) > [I've actually got quite a good memory. I've good recall. It's often things which other people might not notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-frame/i-ve-actually-got-quite-a-good-memory-i-ve-good-recall-it-s-often/) [Ronald Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-frame/) > [Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/because-there-is-actually-something-very-interesting-in-goodfellas/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) Browse all 4,248 Actually quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No one ever thinks they’re awful, even people who really actually are. 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