--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before I realized I had faults, I was…" description: "\"Before I realized I had faults, I was already joking about it, to get attention. By the time I went to high school, I had a pretty practiced routine do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/jason-mulgrew-48304_attention_before-i-realized-i-had-faults-i-was-alr_1141373.jpg" --- # Before I realized I had faults, I was already joking about… ![“Before I realized I had faults, I was already joking about it, to get attention. By the time I went to high school, I had a pretty practiced routine down.” quote by Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/jason-mulgrew-48304_attention_before-i-realized-i-had-faults-i-was-alr_1141373.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/jason-mulgrew-48304_attention_before-i-realized-i-had-faults-i-was-alr_1141373.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/jason-mulgrew-48304_attention_before-i-realized-i-had-faults-i-was-alr_1141373.jpg) > “Before I realized I had faults, I was already joking about it, to get attention. By the time I went to high school, I had a pretty practiced routine down.” [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits using self‑deprecation for attention before recognizing his own flaws, revealing a pattern of defensive humor. **In simple terms:** Used jokes to hide flaws and seek attention. Key Takeaway Recognize humor as a shield, not a solution. Themes self-awareness humor attention seeking Mood reflective critical Type psychological self‑help When to use this quote - social media interaction - school life - personal growth Key Concepts psychology defense mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - When did humor stop helping you? - How can you seek validation authentically? A Different Perspective Humor can alienate genuine connections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The short version is that I started an internet diary a long, long time ago (six years!) because I was bored with my job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mulgrew/the-short-version-is-that-i-started-an-internet-diary-a-long-long/) [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [The most excellent and divine counsel, the best and most profitable advertisement of all others, but the least practiced, is to study and learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-charron/the-most-excellent-and-divine-counsel-the-best-and-most-profitable/) [Pierre Charron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-charron/) > [I haven't been in a position to have the luxury to pick roles for most of my career, so I'm not practiced in that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-leung/i-haven-t-been-in-a-position-to-have-the-luxury-to-pick-roles-for/) [Ken Leung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-leung/) > [The older I grow the more I see the influence of my family on my life. I didn't always see it. It was up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunham/the-older-i-grow-the-more-i-see-the-influence-of-my-family-on-my-life/) [Katherine Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunham/) > [You do not know anything until you have practiced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/you-do-not-know-anything-until-you-have-practiced/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [When I was young, I had this feeling that there was this handbook that I had never gotten that explained how to be, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ze-frank/when-i-was-young-i-had-this-feeling-that-there-was-this-handbook-that/) [Ze Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ze-frank/) > [Its attitude, which it has preached and practiced, is skepticism. 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Fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-mayer/i-always-practiced-in-my-working-clothes-so-that-whatever/) [Shannon Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-mayer/) > [When the war ends, it will be found that there was an equal amount of 'thuggery' practiced on both sides, that terrible things were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-jones/when-the-war-ends-it-will-be-found-that-there-was-an-equal-amount-of/) [Rufus Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-jones/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [America has become amnesiac, a country in which forms of historical, political, and moral forgetting are not only willfully practiced but celebrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/america-has-become-amnesiac-a-country-in-which-forms-of-historical/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More by Jason Mulgrew > [The short version is that I started an internet diary a long, long time ago (six years!) because I was bored with my job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mulgrew/the-short-version-is-that-i-started-an-internet-diary-a-long-long/) [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) > [When you're younger and dumber, as a guy, you do things because you think you have to, because that's how things are done. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mulgrew/when-you-re-younger-and-dumber-as-a-guy-you-do-things-because-you/) [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) > [I'm really only capable to two emotions at this point: lust and hunger. I lost revenge a few years back, and even then, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mulgrew/i-m-really-only-capable-to-two-emotions-at-this-point-lust-and-hunger/) [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) > [My dad and I are very different people. For example, he's been stabbed; I'm afraid of bugs. He's a mechanic; I once had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mulgrew/my-dad-and-i-are-very-different-people-for-example-he-s-been-stabbed/) [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) > [The first rule of PR is to get out in front of the story, and I think I was practicing that. 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At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. 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