--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A primary flaw in my psychology is that…" description: "\"A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a hundred yards' worth of rope with which to hang themselves, but once they reach that hundred..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/jim-goad-4989_flaws_a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that_411734.png" --- # A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a… ![“A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a hundred yards' worth of rope with which to hang themselves, but once they reach that hundred-yard line, I strangle them to death with it.” quote by Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/jim-goad-4989_flaws_a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that_411734.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/jim-goad-4989_flaws_a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that_411734.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/jim-goad-4989_flaws_a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that_411734.png) > “A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a hundred yards' worth of rope with which to hang themselves, but once they reach that hundred-yard line, I strangle them to death with it.” [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admits to deliberately sabotaging people after giving them enough freedom to fail, highlighting a manipulative, punitive approach. **In simple terms:** He lets people fail then punishes them for it. Key Takeaway Avoid giving destructive freedom; set healthy boundaries. Themes manipulation control punishment Mood cynical dark critical Type advice warning When to use this quote - Workplace - personal relationships - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts Psychology power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever set limits that become traps? - How can you balance freedom with responsibility? A Different Perspective Such cruelty can backfire, eroding trust and morale. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't like him," I explained. "He annoys the hell out of me ninety-six percent of the time, and sometimes I'd like nothing better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kody-keplinger/i-don-t-like-him-i-explained-he-annoys-the-hell-out-of-me-ninety-six/) [Kody Keplinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kody-keplinger/) > [I'll fight anybody who grabs the rope to hang themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrien-broner/i-ll-fight-anybody-who-grabs-the-rope-to-hang-themselves/) [Adrien Broner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrien-broner/) > [When I can make Of ten small words a rope to hang the world! "I had you and I have you now no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-st-vincent-millay/when-i-can-make-of-ten-small-words-a-rope-to-hang-the-world-i-had-you/) [Edna St. Vincent Millay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-st-vincent-millay/) > [Unix gives you just enough rope to hang yourself - and then a couple of more feet, just to be sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-allman/unix-gives-you-just-enough-rope-to-hang-yourself-and-then-a-couple-of/) [Eric Allman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-allman/) > [First you find a little thread, a little thread leads you to a string, and the string leads you to a rope. And from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-you-find-a-little-thread-a-little-thread-leads-you-to-a-string/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He was giving me enough rope to hang myself with. Apparently he didn't realize that once a noose is tied it will fit one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/he-was-giving-me-enough-rope-to-hang-myself-with-apparently-he-didn-t/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Give him enough rope and he will hang himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/give-him-enough-rope-and-he-will-hang-himself/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Capitalists will sell us the rope we will hang them with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/capitalists-will-sell-us-the-rope-we-will-hang-them-with/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [This you can count on...give people enough time, space and rope, and they will hang themselves every single time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/this-you-can-count-on-give-people-enough-time-space-and-rope-and-they/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“give the devil rope, and he will hang himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/give-the-devil-rope-and-he-will-hang-himself/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [“Plainly said, he was giving me enough rope to hang myself with. Apparently he didn’t realize that once a noose is tied, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/plainly-said-he-was-giving-me-enough-rope-to-hang-myself-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) Alexander Agassiz > [The past is an anchor with suffering written on the rope. I don't live there now. I am cutting myself free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-millar/the-past-is-an-anchor-with-suffering-written-on-the-rope-i-don-t-live/) [Mark Millar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-millar/) > [I've been working with a holistic specialist, trying to bring my body into balance, and part of making that happen is putting my mom's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/i-ve-been-working-with-a-holistic-specialist-trying-to-bring-my-body/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [Great blunders are often made, like large ropes, of a multitude of fibres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/great-blunders-are-often-made-like-large-ropes-of-a-multitude-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More by Jim Goad > [Homosexuality is genetically hardwired but race and gender are only ideas. OK. Just trying to keep up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/homosexuality-is-genetically-hardwired-but-race-and-gender-are-only/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [To think that humans evolved from lower species BUT the evolutionary process somehow came to a halt and we all arrived at the finish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/to-think-that-humans-evolved-from-lower-species-but-the-evolutionary/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The vegan diet is obviously lacking whatever essential nutrient it is that makes people likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-vegan-diet-is-obviously-lacking-whatever-essential-nutrient-it-is/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The leftist drive for control is insatiable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-leftist-drive-for-control-is-insatiable/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Hatespeak is usually more honest than lovespeak, and it's always better than doublespeak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/hatespeak-is-usually-more-honest-than-lovespeak-and-it-s-always/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [What you accomplish in life is limited only by your imagination and the fear of reprisal. Life is too fleeting and unrewarding to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/what-you-accomplish-in-life-is-limited-only-by-your-imagination-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I could have completely lost my mind or became a junkie or abandoned all sense and judgment and committed some rash, stupid act that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-could-have-completely-lost-my-mind-or-became-a-junkie-or-abandoned/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [the fact that they stole their whole shtick from Woody Guthrie and the coal-mining bards. While the alternative nation meows about personal fashion angst,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-fact-that-they-stole-their-whole-shtick-from-woody-guthrie-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Though your major media kept smacking me upside the head with the word "multicultural," you goddamned Australians are the most racist bunch of people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/though-your-major-media-kept-smacking-me-upside-the-head-with-the/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The criticism that has most consistently bothered me is the allegation that I'm a schlockmeister whose only objective is to shock people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/the-criticism-that-has-most-consistently-bothered-me-is-the/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I don't regret any of my transgressions, because I believe I paid for them a million times over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-don-t-regret-any-of-my-transgressions-because-i-believe-i-paid-for/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [My hatred is diamond-hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/my-hatred-is-diamond-hard/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [I think that 99% of the snipers who take shots at me from electronic foxholes also realize they could never withstand the sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/i-think-that-99-of-the-snipers-who-take-shots-at-me-from-electronic/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Nowadays, you suffer the same risks - ostracism, career loss, possible assault - for being perceived as racist that you would have encountered a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/nowadays-you-suffer-the-same-risks-ostracism-career-loss-possible/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [Society's only real 'progressives' are the deviants and mutants. Look at evolution - fish who didn't deviate never became amphibians; frogs who didn't mutate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/society-s-only-real-progressives-are-the-deviants-and-mutants-look-at/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) [Explore all 104 Jim Goad quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) ## More Flaws quotes > [I'm perfectly flawed... I've got tons of flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/i-m-perfectly-flawed-i-ve-got-tons-of-flaws/) [Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/) > [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/) > [The queen of virtues is the recognition of one's own flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/the-queen-of-virtues-is-the-recognition-of-one-s-own-flaws/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [That's your friend. My husband is my best friend. He's not the mirror that holds up my flaws. He's just the guy who's like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/that-s-your-friend-my-husband-is-my-best-friend-he-s-not-the-mirror/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I almost always mess up. I fall too easily in love. I cry over boys. I'm not the prettiest girl you can find. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-almost-always-mess-up-i-fall-too-easily-in-love-i-cry-over-boys-i-m/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [Louisville is a place with no labels. It’s not the South, it’s not Chicago, and you don’t think of it as you think of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-james/louisville-is-a-place-with-no-labels-it-s-not-the-south-it-s-not/) [Jim James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-james/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Heroes became heroes flaws and all gives us hope. "You mean I don't have to be perfect to fulfill my Dream, to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/heroes-became-heroes-flaws-and-all-gives-us-hope-you-mean-i-don-t/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [“Perfection was a myth. Beauty was in the flaws." - Tommas de Rossi “Chicago War: The Complete Series”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bethany-kris/perfection-was-a-myth-beauty-was-in-the-flaws-tommas-de-rossi-chicago/) [Bethany-Kris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bethany-kris/) > [Liberalism's fatal flaw,... is that it has no permanent norms, only a succession of enthusiasms espoused by minor prophets. Each of these seems like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/liberalism-s-fatal-flaw-is-that-it-has-no-permanent-norms-only-a/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [Pure essence, and pure matter, and the two joined into one were shot forth without flaw, like three bright arrows from a three-string bow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-alighieri/pure-essence-and-pure-matter-and-the-two-joined-into-one-were-shot/) [Dante Alighieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-alighieri/) > [I'm attracted to playing characters that have flaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-shahi/i-m-attracted-to-playing-characters-that-have-flaws/) [Sarah Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-shahi/) > [Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/certain-flaws-are-necessary-for-the-whole-it-would-seem-strange-if/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Rich men are resolved to be astonished at nothing. When they see a masterpiece, they must needs at one glance recognize some flaw to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/rich-men-are-resolved-to-be-astonished-at-nothing-when-they-see-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) [Browse all 1,403 Flaws quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a hundred yards' worth of rope with which to hang themselves, but once they reach that hundred-yard line, I strangle them to death with it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jim Goad" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that-i-ll-give-people-a-hundred/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Flaws" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that-i-ll-give-people-a-hundred/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/jim-goad-4989_flaws_a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that_411734.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/jim-goad-4989_flaws_a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that_411734.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4c/jim-goad-4989_flaws_a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that_411734.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A primary flaw in my psychology is that I'll give people a hundred yards' worth of rope with which to hang…” — Jim Goad", "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": "Jim Goad", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A primary flaw in my psychology...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that-i-ll-give-people-a-hundred/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/a-primary-flaw-in-my-psychology-is-that-i-ll-give-people-a-hundred/#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 } } ] } ```