---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a reflection on yourself to despise…"
description: "\"“What a reflection on yourself to despise those who admire you! That said, one's usually of two minds: 1. You're ludicrously overdoing it; 2. You don't..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/eva-brann-34836_psychology_what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise_1904656.jpg"
---

#  What a reflection on yourself to despise those who admire…

![“What a reflection on yourself to despise those who admire you! That said, one's usually of two minds: 1. You're ludicrously overdoing it; 2. You don't know the half of it.” quote by Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/eva-brann-34836_psychology_what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise_1904656.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/eva-brann-34836_psychology_what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise_1904656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/eva-brann-34836_psychology_what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise_1904656.jpg)

> ““What a reflection on yourself to despise those who admire you! That said, one's usually of two minds: 1. You're ludicrously overdoing it; 2. You don't know the half of it.””

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote reflects on self‑criticism and the paradox of despising admirers while being misunderstood.

**In simple terms:** Self‑critique can be paradoxical.

Key Takeaway

Beware of contradictory judgments.

Themes

self‑reflection criticism paradox

Mood

thoughtful philosophical

Type

reflective insightful

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- literary analysis
- psychology

Key Concepts

ego perception humility

Questions to Reflect On

- Why do we judge admirers harshly?
- What does this reveal about self‑esteem?

A Different Perspective

Over‑analysis may hinder confidence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/) [Despise Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise-admire-2831782/) [Minds Ludicrously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minds-ludicrously-2831783/) [Overdoing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overdoing/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reflection Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection-despise-2497654/) [Two minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-minds/)

## Related quotes

> [What would it be like to look in the mirror and actually accept what you see? Not loathe the reflection, or despise it, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-would-it-be-like-to-look-in-the-mirror-and-actually-accept-what/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I just can't feel lukewarm about a character. I either despise her, admire her, or don't understand her and want to understand her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/i-just-can-t-feel-lukewarm-about-a-character-i-either-despise-her/)

[Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/)

> [“I over analyze situations because Im scared of what may happen if I'm not prepared for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/turcois-ominek/i-over-analyze-situations-because-im-scared-of-what-may-happen-if-i-m/)

[Turcois Ominek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/turcois-ominek/)

> [If something is worth doing, it's worth overdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nile-rodgers/if-something-is-worth-doing-it-s-worth-overdoing/)

[Nile Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nile-rodgers/)

> [I don't like overdoing my makeup, especially with the face powder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-don-t-like-overdoing-my-makeup-especially-with-the-face-powder/)

[Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/)

> [Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seal/anything-in-life-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing-moderation-is-for/)

[Seal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seal/)

> [Take big bites. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/take-big-bites-anything-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing/)

[Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/)

> [If a thing's worth doing, it's worth overdoing. (Lazarus Long)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-thing-s-worth-doing-it-s-worth-overdoing-lazarus-long/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Are you overdone yet?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-henley-babb/anything-worth-doing-is-worth-overdoing-are-you-overdone-yet/)

[Charlotte Henley Babb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-henley-babb/)

> [We all had our reservations about possibly overdoing it but, you know, the script was great. Basically it stuck to the formula that worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-biggs/we-all-had-our-reservations-about-possibly-overdoing-it-but-you-know/)

[Jason Biggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-biggs/)

> [“Already he knew that to overdo a thing is to destroy it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-enright/already-he-knew-that-to-overdo-a-thing-is-to-destroy-it/)

[elizabeth enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-enright/)

> [Everyone is taking selfies. Everyone's actually getting that - looking at themselves and they filter. Now if they do a little filtering, it's OK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-nassif/everyone-is-taking-selfies-everyone-s-actually-getting-that-looking/)

[Paul Nassif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-nassif/)

> [When a thing is not worth overdoing, leave it alone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-s-haskins/when-a-thing-is-not-worth-overdoing-leave-it-alone/)

[Henry S. Haskins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-s-haskins/)

> [The choice is between which mistake is easier to correct: underdoing it or overdoing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-geithner/the-choice-is-between-which-mistake-is-easier-to-correct-underdoing/)

[Timothy Geithner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-geithner/)

> [“I enjoyed my exhaustion, though; I liked overdoing things”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/i-enjoyed-my-exhaustion-though-i-liked-overdoing-things/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

## More by Eva Brann

> [“Wonder is the sense, which comes in a flash but won’t go away, that things are not as straightforward as they seem, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/wonder-is-the-sense-which-comes-in-a-flash-but-won-t-go-away-that/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“Odysseus is the statesman of the Iliad, the man in the middle, keeping what balance he can among the parties. He shows himself at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/odysseus-is-the-statesman-of-the-iliad-the-man-in-the-middle-keeping/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [A gentleman is someone who never gives offense unintentionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/a-gentleman-is-someone-who-never-gives-offense-unintentionally/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [You will be educated, which means that you will be interested where others are bored, that you will notice unities where others experience randomness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/you-will-be-educated-which-means-that-you-will-be-interested-where/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“It is a maxim of learning: To learn anything requires letting it be, but not letting it alone. Is there a way, a mode…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/it-is-a-maxim-of-learning-to-learn-anything-requires-letting-it-be/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“Respect is better than tolerance (2) for the very obverse and complement of its sternness: It does not just “bear” the others, nor just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/respect-is-better-than-tolerance-2-for-the-very-obverse-and/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“So I imagine that the soul is in one aspect a pervasive, transformable matter and in another a particular, personal intelligence; it is envelopingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/so-i-imagine-that-the-soul-is-in-one-aspect-a-pervasive-transformable/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“This lack of leisure and of intimacy is not a peripheral matter—nothing Socrates thinks can be expeditiously conveyed by public deliverance; it must always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/this-lack-of-leisure-and-of-intimacy-is-not-a-peripheral-matter/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“Wisdom-loving” translates philosophos. (If I dared, I’d translate it “wannabe-wise” as opposed to sophos, “having smarts,” skillful.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/wisdom-loving-translates-philosophos-if-i-dared-i-d-translate-it/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“A wisdom-loving man must be inquiring into many things. (35)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/a-wisdom-loving-man-must-be-inquiring-into-many-things-35/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“In learning as in traveling and, of course, in lovemaking, all the charm lies in not coming too quickly to the point, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/in-learning-as-in-traveling-and-of-course-in-lovemaking-all-the-charm/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [Did the gods once mingle with humankind, or is Homer a visionary madman, or, what is worse, a mere poet, a maker-up of beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/did-the-gods-once-mingle-with-humankind-or-is-homer-a-visionary/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [“an engaged solitary, an inward-turned observer of the world,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/an-engaged-solitary-an-inward-turned-observer-of-the-world/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

[Explore all 14 Eva Brann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

## More Despise quotes

> [My whole life has conspired to bring me to this place, and I can’t despise my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-whole-life-has-conspired-to-bring-me-to-this-place-and-i-can-t/)

[Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/)

> [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [“You don’t know what it’s like to worry you’ll start to despise the people who help you, the ones you should love, because they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-guzeman/you-don-t-know-what-it-s-like-to-worry-you-ll-start-to-despise-the/)

[Tracy Guzeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-guzeman/)

> [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/)

[Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/)

> [Everyone has conscience enough to hate; few have religion enough to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/everyone-has-conscience-enough-to-hate-few-have-religion-enough-to/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [I agree that biphobia is real, but I think it's absolutely worth considering that someone who "despises" having sex with her husband - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/i-agree-that-biphobia-is-real-but-i-think-it-s-absolutely-worth/)

[Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/)

> [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/)

[Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/)

> [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [I despise a person of little mind - one might as well not have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/i-despise-a-person-of-little-mind-one-might-as-well-not-have-any/)

[Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/)

> [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/with-the-single-exception-of-homer-there-is-no-eminent-writer-not/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [I despise the pleasure of pleasing people that I despise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/i-despise-the-pleasure-of-pleasing-people-that-i-despise/)

[Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/)

> [It was beautiful and rare, and you have every right to despise me." She stood pressed to the wall, not moving. "When you came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-was-beautiful-and-rare-and-you-have-every-right-to-despise-me-she/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [“I'm really starting to despise good -nights and good -byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mi-juan-yu-tu/i-m-really-starting-to-despise-good-nights-and-good-byes/)

[Mi Juan Yu tu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mi-juan-yu-tu/)

> [But miserable most, to love unloved? This you should pity rather than despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-miserable-most-to-love-unloved-this-you-should-pity-rather-than/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

[Browse all 918 Despise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“What a reflection on yourself to despise those who admire you! That said, one's usually of two minds: 1. You're ludicrously overdoing it; 2. You don't know the half of it.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eva Brann"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise-those-who-admire-you-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Despise"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise-those-who-admire-you-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/eva-brann-34836_psychology_what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise_1904656.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/eva-brann-34836_psychology_what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise_1904656.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e63/eva-brann-34836_psychology_what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise_1904656.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What a reflection on yourself to despise those who admire you! That said, one's usually of two minds: 1…” — Eva Brann",
                "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": "Eva Brann",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“What a reflection on yourself to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise-those-who-admire-you-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/what-a-reflection-on-yourself-to-despise-those-who-admire-you-that/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
