--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I behaved poorly by starting this whole…" description: "\"I behaved poorly by starting this whole thing and I made some mistakes in dealing with it, and they made some mistakes in dealing with me, and taking d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/gregg-easterbrook-16327_behaved_i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole_2896231.jpg" --- # I behaved poorly by starting this whole thing and I made… ![“I behaved poorly by starting this whole thing and I made some mistakes in dealing with it, and they made some mistakes in dealing with me, and taking down all my stuff was probably one of them.” quote by Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/gregg-easterbrook-16327_behaved_i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole_2896231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/gregg-easterbrook-16327_behaved_i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole_2896231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/gregg-easterbrook-16327_behaved_i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole_2896231.jpg) > “I behaved poorly by starting this whole thing and I made some mistakes in dealing with it, and they made some mistakes in dealing with me, and taking down all my stuff was probably one of them.” [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Admitting personal fault and reciprocal errors highlights how conflict escalates when parties blame each other and retaliate. **In simple terms:** Owning mistakes leads to more mistakes and retaliation. Key Takeaway Recognize and break cycles of blame. Themes responsibility conflict accountability Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - team projects - online disputes - customer service Key Concepts reciprocity self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How can you shift from blame to collaborative problem solving? - What steps can repair trust after mutual mistakes? A Different Perspective Blame can prevent constructive resolution and deepen resentment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behaved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaved/) [Behaved Poorly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaved-poorly-4094623/) [Dealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dealing/) [Dealing Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dealing-mistakes-4094625/) [Down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes/) [Mistakes Dealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistakes-dealing-4094624/) [Poorly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poorly/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Some](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/some/) [Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Taking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-mistakes-3426794/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [That's the thing about mistakes, you don't dwell on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/that-s-the-thing-about-mistakes-you-don-t-dwell-on-them/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [“Ain’t no such thing as mistakes,” he said. “There’s only shit that happens and shit that don’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-sheehan/ain-t-no-such-thing-as-mistakes-he-said-there-s-only-shit-that/) [Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-sheehan/) > [“There ain’t no such thing as mistakes, Dorothy. There’s only shit that happens and shit that don’t.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-sheehan/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-mistakes-dorothy-there-s-only-shit-that/) [Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-sheehan/) > ["There’s no such thing as mistakes – only a lack of foresight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/there-s-no-such-thing-as-mistakes-only-a-lack-of-foresight/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [“Only fools saw mistakes as a bad thing—mistakes were experience, no matter how good or bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-r-frazier/only-fools-saw-mistakes-as-a-bad-thing-mistakes-were-experience-no/) [Sean R. Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-r-frazier/) > [It was Orwellian. I completely disappeared, and disappeared the same day. It was by early that evening when the Times story ran. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/it-was-orwellian-i-completely-disappeared-and-disappeared-the-same/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [I am not particularly well-behaved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-welby/i-am-not-particularly-well-behaved/) [Justin Welby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-welby/) > [I've behaved badly in my life. I hope I haven't behaved as badly as Dickens! In a way, if you're a woman, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-ve-behaved-badly-in-my-life-i-hope-i-haven-t-behaved-as-badly-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I was a complete brat but was an angel with my mother. I used to be perfectly behaved, and my mother used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kajol/i-was-a-complete-brat-but-was-an-angel-with-my-mother-i-used-to-be/) [Kajol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kajol/) > [“People behaved mostly well and then they died.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/people-behaved-mostly-well-and-then-they-died/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [A WELL BEHAVED WOMEN NEVER MAKES HISTORY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/a-well-behaved-women-never-makes-history/) [MARILYN MONROE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [One Direction. Proper pop band. There has to be a band that people want to scream at. I don't think I've ever behaved like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lowe/one-direction-proper-pop-band-there-has-to-be-a-band-that-people-want/) [Chris Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lowe/) > [It is important to understand the continuing, confused fascination with the Second World War. For most of us, the great unspoken question is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/it-is-important-to-understand-the-continuing-confused-fascination/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [You can't talk your way out of a problem you behaved your way into!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-talk-your-way-out-of-a-problem-you-behaved-your-way-into/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Yes, I am not well-behaved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/yes-i-am-not-well-behaved/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) ## More by Gregg Easterbrook > [Seek happiness and you may or may not find it; seek grievances and you are guaranteed success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/seek-happiness-and-you-may-or-may-not-find-it-seek-grievances-and-you/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [Set aside the many competing explanations of the Big Bang; something made an entire cosmos out of nothing. It is this realization-that something transcendent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/set-aside-the-many-competing-explanations-of-the-big-bang-something/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [The science has changed from ambiguous to near-unanimous... Based on the data I'm now switching sides regarding global warming, from skeptic to convert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/the-science-has-changed-from-ambiguous-to-near-unanimous-based-on-the/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [I'm working seven days a week in the fall. I couldn't possibly keep that up. This is only for the fall. In the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/i-m-working-seven-days-a-week-in-the-fall-i-couldn-t-possibly-keep/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [A spacecraft is a metaphor of national inspiration: majestic, technologically advanced, produced at dear cost and entrusted with precious cargo, rising above the constraints…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/a-spacecraft-is-a-metaphor-of-national-inspiration-majestic/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [When television producers say it is the parents obligation to keep children away from the tube, they reach the self satire point of warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/when-television-producers-say-it-is-the-parents-obligation-to-keep/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [For what I wrote that started this whole controversy, I deserved to be criticized, and I felt bad about writing it. I felt bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/for-what-i-wrote-that-started-this-whole-controversy-i-deserved-to-be/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [How many times have you bought something thinking it would make you happy, and found it does not?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/how-many-times-have-you-bought-something-thinking-it-would-make-you/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [But if you could make that mistake and press the send button and the entire world sees it forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/but-if-you-could-make-that-mistake-and-press-the-send-button-and-the/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [Even though Rush is not me and the situations were very different, I think, in the Rush Limbaugh thing, ESPN was criticized for not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/even-though-rush-is-not-me-and-the-situations-were-very-different-i/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [Inevitably, these sorts of things are going to come back to blow up in people's faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/inevitably-these-sorts-of-things-are-going-to-come-back-to-blow-up-in/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [If our goal in legislating against carbon releases is not simply punishing the West and its power companies but truly trying to reduce the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/if-our-goal-in-legislating-against-carbon-releases-is-not-simply/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [“The Blue Hose of Presbyterian College and the Ichabods of Washburn University are perhaps the most amusing nicknames in collegiate sports; Blue Hose refers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/the-blue-hose-of-presbyterian-college-and-the-ichabods-of-washburn/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [... the consensus of the scientific community has shifted from skepticism to near-unanimous acceptance of the evidence of an artificial greenhouse effect. Second, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/the-consensus-of-the-scientific-community-has-shifted-from-skepticism/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) > [Jewish persecution is a historical memory of the present generation and people fear it in the present day, and that's why those references are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/jewish-persecution-is-a-historical-memory-of-the-present-generation/) [Gregg Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) [Explore all 40 Gregg Easterbrook quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/) ## More Behaved quotes > [Yes, I am not well-behaved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/yes-i-am-not-well-behaved/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [You can't talk your way out of a problem you behaved your way into!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-talk-your-way-out-of-a-problem-you-behaved-your-way-into/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is important to understand the continuing, confused fascination with the Second World War. For most of us, the great unspoken question is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/it-is-important-to-understand-the-continuing-confused-fascination/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [One Direction. Proper pop band. There has to be a band that people want to scream at. I don't think I've ever behaved like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lowe/one-direction-proper-pop-band-there-has-to-be-a-band-that-people-want/) [Chris Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lowe/) > [A WELL BEHAVED WOMEN NEVER MAKES HISTORY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/a-well-behaved-women-never-makes-history/) [MARILYN MONROE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [“People behaved mostly well and then they died.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/people-behaved-mostly-well-and-then-they-died/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I was a complete brat but was an angel with my mother. I used to be perfectly behaved, and my mother used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kajol/i-was-a-complete-brat-but-was-an-angel-with-my-mother-i-used-to-be/) [Kajol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kajol/) > [I've behaved badly in my life. I hope I haven't behaved as badly as Dickens! In a way, if you're a woman, you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-tomalin/i-ve-behaved-badly-in-my-life-i-hope-i-haven-t-behaved-as-badly-as/) [Claire Tomalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-tomalin/) > [I am not particularly well-behaved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-welby/i-am-not-particularly-well-behaved/) [Justin Welby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-welby/) > [Playing well behaved, pretending to be nice, being two-faced is just…not my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/playing-well-behaved-pretending-to-be-nice-being-two-faced-is-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wrote books to entertain. I'm not trying to teach anything! If I suspected the author was trying to show me how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-wrote-books-to-entertain-i-m-not-trying-to-teach-anything-if-i/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [Post-traumatic stress disorder didn't surface as a condition until 1980... that fact was very relevant when I remember back to how these men behaved.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-nable/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-didn-t-surface-as-a-condition-until/) [Matthew Nable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-nable/) > [I've always been told I was extremely well-behaved as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-andrew/i-ve-always-been-told-i-was-extremely-well-behaved-as-a-kid/) [Prince Andrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-andrew/) > [Well-behaved: he always speaks as if his mother might be listening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/well-behaved-he-always-speaks-as-if-his-mother-might-be-listening/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“A well-behaved person is not always well-dressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussain-rasheed/a-well-behaved-person-is-not-always-well-dressed/) [Hussain Rasheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussain-rasheed/) [Browse all 69 Behaved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behaved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I behaved poorly by starting this whole thing and I made some mistakes in dealing with it, and they made some mistakes in dealing with me, and taking down all my stuff was probably one of them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gregg Easterbrook" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole-thing-and-i-made-some/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Behaved" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole-thing-and-i-made-some/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/gregg-easterbrook-16327_behaved_i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole_2896231.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/gregg-easterbrook-16327_behaved_i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole_2896231.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06e/gregg-easterbrook-16327_behaved_i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole_2896231.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I behaved poorly by starting this whole thing and I made some mistakes in dealing with it, and they made…” — Gregg Easterbrook", "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": "Gregg Easterbrook", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-easterbrook/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I behaved poorly by starting this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole-thing-and-i-made-some/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-easterbrook/i-behaved-poorly-by-starting-this-whole-thing-and-i-made-some/#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 } } ] } ```