--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a fool I would have been to let…" description: "\"What a fool I would have been to let self-respect interfere with my happiness!\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/kurt-vonnegut-41_fool_what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-sel_283642.jpg" --- # What a fool I would have been to let self-respect… ![“What a fool I would have been to let self-respect interfere with my happiness!” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/kurt-vonnegut-41_fool_what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-sel_283642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/kurt-vonnegut-41_fool_what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-sel_283642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/kurt-vonnegut-41_fool_what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-sel_283642.jpg) > “What a fool I would have been to let self-respect interfere with my happiness!” [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. Prioritizing self‑respect over happiness can lead to unnecessary suffering; balance self‑esteem with joy. **In simple terms:** Self‑respect can block happiness if misaligned. Key Takeaway Balance self‑respect with personal joy. Themes self‑respect happiness balance Mood reflective optimistic empathetic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - relationship decisions - career choices - personal goals - mental health practices Key Concepts psychology philosophy well‑being Questions to Reflect On - When does self‑respect hinder happiness? - How can you honor yourself while seeking joy? A Different Perspective Excessive self‑respect may become egoism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-let-2744973/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Interfere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interfere/) [Interfere Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interfere-happiness-2684725/) [Respect Interfere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect-interfere-2744972/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-respect/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing that happened in the past is anything we can change. And it shouldn’t interfere with the happiness of the present.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-armstrong/nothing-that-happened-in-the-past-is-anything-we-can-change-and-it/) [Linda Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-armstrong/) > [..Such practices and beliefs, which interfere with happiness, are neither inevitable nor necessary; they evolved by chance, as a result of random responses to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/such-practices-and-beliefs-which-interfere-with-happiness-are-neither/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The obstacles in our path are not blocking us-they are redirecting us. Their purpose is not to interfere with our happiness; it is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-de-angelis/the-obstacles-in-our-path-are-not-blocking-us-they-are-redirecting-us/) [Barbara De Angelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-de-angelis/) > [Only a fool would let his enemy teach his children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/only-a-fool-would-let-his-enemy-teach-his-children/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“More fool he to let himself become an addict to anything, even to living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/more-fool-he-to-let-himself-become-an-addict-to-anything-even-to/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Love a fool or let a fool love you, but don't let love fool you:)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/love-a-fool-or-let-a-fool-love-you-but-don-t-let-love-fool-you/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [“He is a fool to let you go. No, I'm the fool for not hearing him when he told me in no uncertain terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genna-rulon/he-is-a-fool-to-let-you-go-no-i-m-the-fool-for-not-hearing-him-when/) [Genna Rulon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genna-rulon/) > [You can fool me until I let you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepa-rana/you-can-fool-me-until-i-let-you/) [DEEPA RANA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepa-rana/) > [Don't cry because he left you but smile because he is a fool to let you slip away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noxolo-zulu/don-t-cry-because-he-left-you-but-smile-because-he-is-a-fool-to-let/) [Noxolo Zulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noxolo-zulu/) > [You can't fight progress. The best you can do is ignore it, until it finally takes your livelihood and self-respect away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-can-t-fight-progress-the-best-you-can-do-is-ignore-it-until-it/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Not everyone likes the stable, gradual rise of our country. There are some who are using the democratic ideology to interfere in our internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/not-everyone-likes-the-stable-gradual-rise-of-our-country-there-are/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/the-voice-of-the-natural-world-would-be-could-you-please-give-us/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [As long as the state permits itself to interfere in the affairs of literature, literature has the right to interfere with the affairs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/as-long-as-the-state-permits-itself-to-interfere-in-the-affairs-of/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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 Fool quotes > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [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/) > [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/) [Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [A fool and his money get a lot of publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-bernstein/a-fool-and-his-money-get-a-lot-of-publicity/) [Al Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-bernstein/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wc-fields/if-at-first-you-don-t-succeed-try-try-again-then-quit-no-use-being-a/) [WC Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wc-fields/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I'd be a fool to be in this for the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/i-d-be-a-fool-to-be-in-this-for-the-money/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 5,535 Fool quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a fool I would have been to let self-respect interfere with my happiness!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kurt Vonnegut" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-self-respect-interfere-with-my/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fool" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-self-respect-interfere-with-my/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/kurt-vonnegut-41_fool_what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-sel_283642.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/kurt-vonnegut-41_fool_what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-sel_283642.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/kurt-vonnegut-41_fool_what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-sel_283642.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What a fool I would have been to let self-respect interfere with my happiness!” — Kurt Vonnegut", "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": "Kurt Vonnegut", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What a fool I would have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-self-respect-interfere-with-my/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-a-fool-i-would-have-been-to-let-self-respect-interfere-with-my/#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 } } ] } ```