--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My mother was a very difficult woman to…" description: "\"My mother was a very difficult woman to please. She was the sort of woman who thought that if I were praised I would get above myself.\" — Mem Fox" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/mem-fox-21289_difficult_my-mother-was-a-very-difficult-woman-to_1585293.png" --- # My mother was a very difficult woman to please. She was… ![“My mother was a very difficult woman to please. She was the sort of woman who thought that if I were praised I would get above myself.” quote by Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/mem-fox-21289_difficult_my-mother-was-a-very-difficult-woman-to_1585293.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/mem-fox-21289_difficult_my-mother-was-a-very-difficult-woman-to_1585293.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2fa/mem-fox-21289_difficult_my-mother-was-a-very-difficult-woman-to_1585293.png) > “My mother was a very difficult woman to please. She was the sort of woman who thought that if I were praised I would get above myself.” [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeking approval from a demanding mother can erode self‑worth and foster perpetual striving. **In simple terms:** Trying to please a hard‑to‑satisfy mother harms self‑esteem. Key Takeaway Set personal standards, not others’. Themes family self‑esteem expectations Mood reflective empathetic Type advice psychological When to use this quote - family dynamics - personal growth - boundary setting Key Concepts parental influence psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you define your own success? - What boundaries protect your self‑worth? A Different Perspective Constant approval‑seeking can become unhealthy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [I was completely unconventional in everything, which my mother found very difficult. I was a huge tomboy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toyah-willcox/i-was-completely-unconventional-in-everything-which-my-mother-found/) [Toyah Willcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toyah-willcox/) > [I like to write, but being a busy mother, it is difficult to sit down and write at a stretch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/navya-nair/i-like-to-write-but-being-a-busy-mother-it-is-difficult-to-sit-down/) [Navya Nair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/navya-nair/) > [Being a mother must be the most difficult task in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koena-mitra/being-a-mother-must-be-the-most-difficult-task-in-the-world/) [Koena Mitra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koena-mitra/) > [We are oceans apart. My mother had a very difficult life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-dell-orefice/we-are-oceans-apart-my-mother-had-a-very-difficult-life/) [Carmen Dell'Orefice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-dell-orefice/) > [The fact of leaving one's country, one's family, one's roots, can be painful. My father had already found his place, but for us, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najat-vallaud-belkacem/the-fact-of-leaving-one-s-country-one-s-family-one-s-roots-can-be/) [Najat Vallaud-Belkacem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najat-vallaud-belkacem/) > [In between being born in Nazi Germany, and marriage to my dad - of which I think marriage to my dad might have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baddiel/in-between-being-born-in-nazi-germany-and-marriage-to-my-dad-of-which/) [David Baddiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baddiel/) > [They can become very irritated. They can become very aggressive. Not all Alzheimer's patients are that way, but many are. My mother was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-aga-khan/they-can-become-very-irritated-they-can-become-very-aggressive-not/) [Yasmin Aga Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-aga-khan/) > [My mother had a very difficult childhood, having seen her own mother kill herself. So she didnt always know how to be the nurturing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/my-mother-had-a-very-difficult-childhood-having-seen-her-own-mother/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [What I hope the most is to be more successful as a mother than in show business, because to be a mother is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/what-i-hope-the-most-is-to-be-more-successful-as-a-mother-than-in/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [I had difficult mother, difficult childhood like she had. She is Sagittarius like I am. I almost died from broken heart because of love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/i-had-difficult-mother-difficult-childhood-like-she-had-she-is/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [When I hear that a project takes place out of town, the material better be terrific, and it has to come at the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-holofcener/when-i-hear-that-a-project-takes-place-out-of-town-the-material/) [Nicole Holofcener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-holofcener/) > [I understand that for an average working mother it is difficult to take out lots of time for their child. But make sure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poonam-dhillon/i-understand-that-for-an-average-working-mother-it-is-difficult-to/) [Poonam Dhillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poonam-dhillon/) > [I've chosen difficult men. But then I'm sure they'd say they'd chosen a difficult woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-davidson/i-ve-chosen-difficult-men-but-then-i-m-sure-they-d-say-they-d-chosen/) [Robyn Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-davidson/) > [Without security it is difficult for a woman to look or feel beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-oberon/without-security-it-is-difficult-for-a-woman-to-look-or-feel-beautiful/) Merle Oberon > [It becomes difficult for a woman to become part of a lobby without eyebrows being raised. Even if she has proved herself with sheer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagma/it-becomes-difficult-for-a-woman-to-become-part-of-a-lobby-without/) [Nagma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagma/) ## More by Mem Fox > [Writing a picture book is like writing 'War and Peace' in Haiku.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/writing-a-picture-book-is-like-writing-war-and-peace-in-haiku/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [“As adults we choose our own reading material. Depending on our moods and needs we might read the newspaper, a blockbuster novel, an academic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/as-adults-we-choose-our-own-reading-material-depending-on-our-moods/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [I was the most Australian child ever in the world, even though my home was in Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/i-was-the-most-australian-child-ever-in-the-world-even-though-my-home/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [The fire of literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading. It isn’t achieved by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/the-fire-of-literacy-is-created-by-the-emotional-sparks-between-a/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [I don't go to church much anymore, but Methodist values still wind me up and send me ticking into my daily life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/i-don-t-go-to-church-much-anymore-but-methodist-values-still-wind-me/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [The fastest way to teach a child to read is to teach them to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/the-fastest-way-to-teach-a-child-to-read-is-to-teach-them-to-write/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [Books don't harm kids; they arm them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/books-don-t-harm-kids-they-arm-them/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [I think sometimes we rush through countries, ticking off the attractions, but that's missing the point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/i-think-sometimes-we-rush-through-countries-ticking-off-the/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [If you are not a writer, you will not understand the difficulties of writing. If you are not a writer, you will not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/if-you-are-not-a-writer-you-will-not-understand-the-difficulties-of/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [The fire of literacy is created by the emotional sparks between a child, a book, and the person reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/the-fire-of-literacy-is-created-by-the-emotional-sparks-between-a-2/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/experts-in-literacy-and-child-development-have-discovered-that-if/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [You're not lonely when you're teaching, you're not quiet, you're laughing most of the time, you're having a wonderful time interacting with young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/you-re-not-lonely-when-you-re-teaching-you-re-not-quiet-you-re/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [Putting babies as young as two weeks into child care for the first year of their life, for 60 hours a week, will cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/putting-babies-as-young-as-two-weeks-into-child-care-for-the-first/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [As everyone knows, nothing is sweeter than tiny baby fingers and chubby baby toes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/as-everyone-knows-nothing-is-sweeter-than-tiny-baby-fingers-and/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) > [I don't know why some people have children at all if they know that they can only take a few weeks off work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mem-fox/i-don-t-know-why-some-people-have-children-at-all-if-they-know-that/) [Mem Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) [Explore all 29 Mem Fox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mem-fox/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. 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Organic cotton can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/consumers-can-choose-organic-cotton-grown-without-pesticides-but-it/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. 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