--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just because we think we're so wonderful…" description: "\"Just because we think we're so wonderful doesn't mean we really are. We could be really terrible animals and just never admit it because it would hurt ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/kurt-vonnegut-41_animal_just-because-we-think-we-re-so-wonderful_2695775.jpg" --- # Just because we think we're so wonderful doesn't mean we… ![“Just because we think we're so wonderful doesn't mean we really are. We could be really terrible animals and just never admit it because it would hurt so much.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/kurt-vonnegut-41_animal_just-because-we-think-we-re-so-wonderful_2695775.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/kurt-vonnegut-41_animal_just-because-we-think-we-re-so-wonderful_2695775.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/kurt-vonnegut-41_animal_just-because-we-think-we-re-so-wonderful_2695775.jpg) > “Just because we think we're so wonderful doesn't mean we really are. We could be really terrible animals and just never admit it because it would hurt so much.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often overestimate our moral goodness and ignore our darker instincts, fearing the pain of self‑recognition. **In simple terms:** We think we're better than we are. Key Takeaway Check your self‑image honestly. Themes humility self‑awareness morality Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - leadership - relationship building - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology ethical self‑assessment Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of yourself do you deny? - How does admitting flaws improve relationships? A Different Perspective Human nature includes both good and bad; ignoring flaws can lead to hypocrisy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admit Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admit-hurt-2694441/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Hurt so much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt-so-much/) [Just Admit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-admit-576666/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-animals-1320782/) [Think Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-wonderful/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [That's the point. Every kind of animal thinks its own kind of animal is wonderful. So people getting married think they're wonderful, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-s-the-point-every-kind-of-animal-thinks-its-own-kind-of-animal/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [We're terrible animals. I think that the Earth's immune system is trying to get rid of us, as well it should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-re-terrible-animals-i-think-that-the-earth-s-immune-system-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's a lot easier to say that you're mad than to admit that you're hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-copeland/it-s-a-lot-easier-to-say-that-you-re-mad-than-to-admit-that-you-re/) [Rachel Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-copeland/) > [If your heart is aching,admit your hurt to yourself,to others and to God.This will open the door to receiving the help you need from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/if-your-heart-is-aching-admit-your-hurt-to-yourself-to-others-and-to/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [It's a lot easier to admit you are mad than admit you are hurt.!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-a-lot-easier-to-admit-you-are-mad-than-admit-you-are-hurt/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a household tragedy, you are very much aware of being alone. It is something that is possible to grasp, and that is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/in-a-household-tragedy-you-are-very-much-aware-of-being-alone-it-is/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [It is hard to be with another's pain if we cannot be with our own. Since I was a child I have always felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriah-dreamer/it-is-hard-to-be-with-another-s-pain-if-we-cannot-be-with-our-own/) [Oriah Dreamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriah-dreamer/) > [The one thing I do find about serious reviews is that usually they tend to have a point, and that's what I find hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lennon/the-one-thing-i-do-find-about-serious-reviews-is-that-usually-they/) [Sean Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lennon/) > [ \[On her father's death:\] I didn't know his leaving would hurt so much. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/on-her-father-s-death-i-didn-t-know-his-leaving-would-hurt-so-much/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Why love, if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore: only the life I have lived. Twice in that life I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/why-love-if-losing-hurts-so-much-i-have-no-answers-anymore-only-the-2/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I wasn't a great skater and I needed my skates to be perfect - really tight around the ankles. But I couldn't break in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-gretzky/i-wasn-t-a-great-skater-and-i-needed-my-skates-to-be-perfect-really/) [Wayne Gretzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-gretzky/) > [And it hurts so much to want something you can't have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/and-it-hurts-so-much-to-want-something-you-can-t-have/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [I didn't want anyone getting close to me. I pushed people away. Built a wall around my heart to keep them out. I let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-kelly/i-didn-t-want-anyone-getting-close-to-me-i-pushed-people-away-built-a/) [Jacqueline Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-kelly/) > [Grief. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/grief-the-pain-now-is-part-of-the-happiness-then-that-s-the-deal/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [I think of you, I just can't talk to you right now. I miss you, I just can't admit right now. I need you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahleenzlie/i-think-of-you-i-just-can-t-talk-to-you-right-now-i-miss-you-i-just/) [Sahleenzlie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahleenzlie/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Just because we think we're so wonderful doesn't mean we really are. 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