--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People are almost always better than…" description: "\"People are almost always better than their neighbors think they are.\" — George Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/george-eliot-84_better_people-are-almost-always-better-than-the_1779383.png" --- # People are almost always better than their neighbors think… ![“People are almost always better than their neighbors think they are.” quote by George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/george-eliot-84_better_people-are-almost-always-better-than-the_1779383.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/george-eliot-84_better_people-are-almost-always-better-than-the_1779383.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/778/george-eliot-84_better_people-are-almost-always-better-than-the_1779383.png) > “People are almost always better than their neighbors think they are.” [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) ## 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 be kinder and more capable than others assume. **In simple terms:** People exceed expectations. Key Takeaway Give others the benefit of the doubt. Themes trust perception human nature optimism Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - community interaction - teamwork - leadership Key Concepts social psychology bias compassion Questions to Reflect On - How can we better assess others’ abilities? - What biases affect our judgments? A Different Perspective Over‑optimism can ignore real flaws; balance needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Better Neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-neighbors-1849921/) [Neighbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbor/) [Neighbors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbors/) [Neighbors Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neighbors-think-1849922/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-better/) [Slander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slander/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [We need better neighbors, neighbors that care about the schools in their neighborhood whether they have kids in them or not, because they know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-friedman/we-need-better-neighbors-neighbors-that-care-about-the-schools-in/) [Thomas Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-friedman/) > [If your neighbors think you're a detective because a cop always brings you home, you might be a redneck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-foxworthy/if-your-neighbors-think-you-re-a-detective-because-a-cop-always/) [Jeff Foxworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-foxworthy/) > [“The neighbors only think about how we are different. 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In many of our neighbors’ lives there is much not only of error and lapse, but of a certain exquisite goodness which can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/enough-in-many-of-our-neighbors-lives-there-is-much-not-only-of-error/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [I am actually working on The Neighbors sitcom. We are starting from scratch. I am also working on a comedy movie and a vampire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-wiseau/i-am-actually-working-on-the-neighbors-sitcom-we-are-starting-from/) [Tommy Wiseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-wiseau/) > [All will concede that in order to have good neighbors, we must also be good neighbors. That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) ## More by George Eliot > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-the-effect-of-her-being-on-those-around-her-was-incalculably/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Scepticismcan never be thoroughly applied, else life would come to a standstill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/scepticismcan-never-be-thoroughly-applied-else-life-would-come-to-a/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The most powerful movement of feeling with a liturgy is the prayer which seeks for nothing special, but is a yearning to escape from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/the-most-powerful-movement-of-feeling-with-a-liturgy-is-the-prayer/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Mr. Casaubon had never had a strong bodily frame, and his soul was sensitive without being enthusiastic: it was too languid to thrill out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/mr-casaubon-had-never-had-a-strong-bodily-frame-and-his-soul-was/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“... she took her husband's jokes and joviality as patiently as everything else, considering that "men would be so", and viewing the stronger sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/she-took-her-husband-s-jokes-and-joviality-as-patiently-as-everything/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [What is opportunity to the man who can't use it? An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/what-is-opportunity-to-the-man-who-can-t-use-it-an-unfecundated-egg/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [And, of course men know best about everything, except what women know better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/and-of-course-men-know-best-about-everything-except-what-women-know/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“But any one watching keenly the stealthy convergence of human lots, sees a slow preparation of effects from one life on another, which tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-any-one-watching-keenly-the-stealthy-convergence-of-human-lots/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Perspective, as its inventor remarked, is a beautiful thing. 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