--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Modesty is a learned adaptation. It’s…" description: "\"“Modesty is a learned adaptation. It’s stuck on like decals. As soon as life slams a modest person against the wall, that modesty will fall off faster ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/maya-angelou-104_humility_modesty-is-a-learned-adaptation-it-s-stu_1424470.png" --- # Modesty is a learned adaptation. It’s stuck on like… ![“Modesty is a learned adaptation. It’s stuck on like decals. As soon as life slams a modest person against the wall, that modesty will fall off faster than a G-string will fall off a stripper.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/maya-angelou-104_humility_modesty-is-a-learned-adaptation-it-s-stu_1424470.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/maya-angelou-104_humility_modesty-is-a-learned-adaptation-it-s-stu_1424470.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/maya-angelou-104_humility_modesty-is-a-learned-adaptation-it-s-stu_1424470.png) > ““Modesty is a learned adaptation. It’s stuck on like decals. As soon as life slams a modest person against the wall, that modesty will fall off faster than a G-string will fall off a stripper.”” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modesty is a social mask that breaks under pressure, revealing true self. **In simple terms:** Modesty is a façade that falls when tested. Key Takeaway Recognize and drop false modesty. Themes confidence authenticity vulnerability Mood reflective provocative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - career advancement - public speaking - stressful events Key Concepts social conditioning self‑presentation Questions to Reflect On - When does modesty help versus hinder? - Can you identify your own “decals”? A Different Perspective Modesty can be protective in some cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Humility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Modest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modest/) [Modest Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modest-person-458121/) [Modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty/) [Modesty Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty-fall-5053768/) [Modesty Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty-learned-307584/) [Wall Modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall-modesty-458120/) ## Related quotes > [Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/modesty-is-a-learned-affectation-and-as-soon-as-life-slams-the-modest/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I have no modesty. Modesty is a learned affectation. It's like decal stuck up on a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-have-no-modesty-modesty-is-a-learned-affectation-it-s-like-decal/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [A modest person seldom fails to gain the goodwill of those he converses with, because nobody envies a man who does not appear to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-steele/a-modest-person-seldom-fails-to-gain-the-goodwill-of-those-he/) [Richard Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-steele/) > [Modesty is a learned affectation. It's no good. Humility is great, because humility says, 'There was someone before me. I'm following in somebody's footsteps.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/modesty-is-a-learned-affectation-it-s-no-good-humility-is-great/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The modest person is usually admired, if people ever hear of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/the-modest-person-is-usually-admired-if-people-ever-hear-of-them/) [E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/) > [I'm a very modest person. But I'm also extremely confident. And if you put me in the situation or in the moment, I'm gonna…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-brees/i-m-a-very-modest-person-but-i-m-also-extremely-confident-and-if-you/) [Drew Brees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-brees/) > [I'm a very modest person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-brees/i-m-a-very-modest-person/) [Drew Brees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-brees/) > [I'm a very, very modest person and with limited abilities. I do have the wish to succeed in anything I undertake, and that does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-hillary/i-m-a-very-very-modest-person-and-with-limited-abilities-i-do-have/) [Edmund Hillary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-hillary/) > [Whenever I'm around some who is modest, I think, 'Run like hell and all of fire.' You don't want modesty, you want humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/whenever-i-m-around-some-who-is-modest-i-think-run-like-hell-and-all/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“I'm not modest,' she said last year. 'I have no modesty. Modesty is a learned behavior. But I do pray for humility, because humility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-modest-she-said-last-year-i-have-no-modesty-modesty-is-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not too modest of a person. I've got a pretty blue sense of humor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-monaghan/i-m-not-too-modest-of-a-person-i-ve-got-a-pretty-blue-sense-of-humor/) [Michelle Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-monaghan/) > [I'm much too modest a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-m-much-too-modest-a-person/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Usually the modest person passes for someone reserved, the silent for a sullen person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/usually-the-modest-person-passes-for-someone-reserved-the-silent-for/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You can be the most talented, the most intelligent or the most successful man in the world, but if you're not a modest person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/you-can-be-the-most-talented-the-most-intelligent-or-the-most/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Mere bashfulness without merit is awkward; and merit without modesty, insolent. But modest merit has a double claim to acceptance, and generally meets with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/mere-bashfulness-without-merit-is-awkward-and-merit-without-modesty/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Humility quotes > [You just have to stay humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/you-just-have-to-stay-humble/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great lesson in modesty that you realize you're illiterate in a field that you think you're an expert in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-wenders/it-s-a-great-lesson-in-modesty-that-you-realize-you-re-illiterate-in/) [Wim Wenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-wenders/) > [The more holy, the more humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-more-holy-the-more-humble/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But, like all indulgences that are valued not just for their product but for their process, the sento will never entirely disappear. For in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/but-like-all-indulgences-that-are-valued-not-just-for-their-product/) [Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/) > [“Humility and Trustworthiness are not rooted only in Presentation, Voice modulation or Nice Jorgan but in Actions and Intentions that speak louder than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venkat-gandhi/humility-and-trustworthiness-are-not-rooted-only-in-presentation/) [Venkat Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venkat-gandhi/) > [I think being vulnerable paves the way for humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sadowski/i-think-being-vulnerable-paves-the-way-for-humility/) [Jonathan Sadowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sadowski/) > [I need to look like an idiot at least twice a day to keep myself humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-need-to-look-like-an-idiot-at-least-twice-a-day-to-keep-myself/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“I am waiting for the meek to be blessed and inherit the earth... without taxes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-ferlinghetti/i-am-waiting-for-the-meek-to-be-blessed-and-inherit-the-earth-without/) [Lawrence Ferlinghetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-ferlinghetti/) > [Rukmini Devi was an icon for all the Bharat Natyam students at Kalakshetra. I grew up watching her at dance school and I associate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/rukmini-devi-was-an-icon-for-all-the-bharat-natyam-students-at/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [“Oh where is the noble face of modesty, or the strength of virtue, now that blasphemy is in power and men have put justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/oh-where-is-the-noble-face-of-modesty-or-the-strength-of-virtue-now/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Modesty is the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/modesty-is-the-gentle-art-of-enhancing-your-charm-by-pretending-not/) [Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. I'll take that over a goddess any day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/to-be-part-of-the-creation-i-must-act-humbly-i-ll-take-that-over-a/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) [Browse all 4,759 Humility quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humility/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Modesty is a learned adaptation. It’s stuck on like decals. 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