--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're rotten about yourself, you…" description: "\"When you're rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.\" — Mitch Albom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/mitch-albom-187_about-yourself_when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-be_2932521.png" --- # When you're rotten about yourself, you become rotten to… ![“When you're rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.” quote by Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/mitch-albom-187_about-yourself_when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-be_2932521.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/mitch-albom-187_about-yourself_when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-be_2932521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/mitch-albom-187_about-yourself_when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-be_2932521.png) > “When you're rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.” [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑esteem shapes how we treat others; low self‑respect spreads negativity to loved ones. **In simple terms:** Bad self‑view harms relationships. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑compassion. Themes self‑esteem relationships empathy Mood reflective hopeful Type advice motivational When to use this quote - family gatherings - workplace teams - friendship circles - personal therapy Key Concepts psychology social influence Questions to Reflect On - How does your self‑talk affect your loved ones? - What steps can you take to improve self‑respect? A Different Perspective Positive change also requires external support, not just internal work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Rotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rotten/) [Rotten Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rotten-love-4330943/) [Rotten Rotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rotten-rotten-992583/) ## Related quotes > [For God's sake build not your faith upon Tradition, 'tis as rotten as a rotten Post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-culpeper/for-god-s-sake-build-not-your-faith-upon-tradition-tis-as-rotten-as-a/) [Nicholas Culpeper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-culpeper/) > [“If the foundations are rotten - everything's rotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/if-the-foundations-are-rotten-everything-s-rotten/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [“I think the human race is pretty rotten. The more I see of it, the more rotten it becomes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-carter-woodrow/i-think-the-human-race-is-pretty-rotten-the-more-i-see-of-it-the-more/) [Jane Carter Woodrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-carter-woodrow/) > [This world is rotten. The rotten should die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tsugumi-ohba/this-world-is-rotten-the-rotten-should-die/) [Tsugumi Ohba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tsugumi-ohba/) > [sometimes what you miss the most is the way a loved one made you feel about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-what-you-miss-the-most-is-the-way-a-loved-one-made-you-feel/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [There are some sluggish men who are improved by drinking; as there are fruits that are not good until they are rotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-are-some-sluggish-men-who-are-improved-by-drinking-as-there-are/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [I follow a more easy, and, in my opinion, a wiser course, namely--to inveigh against the levity of the female sex, their fickleness, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/i-follow-a-more-easy-and-in-my-opinion-a-wiser-course-namely-to/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [If you think of the ice caps as the fridge of our planet, if your fridge at home died, the food you eat would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/if-you-think-of-the-ice-caps-as-the-fridge-of-our-planet-if-your/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [“They threw rotten fruit at me and told me next time it would be acid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/they-threw-rotten-fruit-at-me-and-told-me-next-time-it-would-be-acid/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Between the covers of the books that no one had ever read again, in the old parchments damaged by dampness, a livid flower had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/between-the-covers-of-the-books-that-no-one-had-ever-read-again-in/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [International friendly games are not worth the lives of the silk worms who perish to make the pennants. They do not even have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-baker/international-friendly-games-are-not-worth-the-lives-of-the-silk/) [Danny Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-baker/) > [“An apple with a rotten core can only last so long,” he”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-rice/an-apple-with-a-rotten-core-can-only-last-so-long-he/) [Morgan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-rice/) > [“I've always been after the trappings of great luxury. But all I've got hold of are the trappings of great poverty. I've got hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cook/i-ve-always-been-after-the-trappings-of-great-luxury-but-all-i-ve-got/) [Peter Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cook/) ## More by Mitch Albom > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [the words people do not speak are louder than the ones they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/the-words-people-do-not-speak-are-louder-than-the-ones-they-do/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Once, lovers on faraway shores sat by candlelight and dipped ink to parchment, writing words that could not be erased. They took an evening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/once-lovers-on-faraway-shores-sat-by-candlelight-and-dipped-ink-to/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Giving to other people makes me feel alive. Not my car or my house. Not what I look like in the mirror. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/giving-to-other-people-makes-me-feel-alive-not-my-car-or-my-house-not/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Life goes quickly, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/life-goes-quickly-doesn-t-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [As children grow, they gravitate to their fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/as-children-grow-they-gravitate-to-their-fates/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he's not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he's not yours;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/if-the-only-thing-wrong-with-moses-is-that-he-s-not-yours-if-the-only/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“Sometimes your kids will say the nastiest things, won't they, Rose? You want to ask,'Whose child is this?'" Rose chuckled. "But usually, they're just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/sometimes-your-kids-will-say-the-nastiest-things-won-t-they-rose-you/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“whisper their good-byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/whisper-their-good-byes/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“I had also developed my own culture. Work. Over the years, I had taken labor as my companion and had moved everything else to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-had-also-developed-my-own-culture-work-over-the-years-i-had-taken/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [When we are most alone is when we embrace another's loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-we-are-most-alone-is-when-we-embrace-another-s-loneliness/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [“You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-didn-t-get-it-sacrifice-is-a-part-of-life-it-s-supposed-to-be-it/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on the good things still in my life. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-give-myself-a-good-cry-if-i-need-it-but-then-i-concentrate-on-the/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [It was sad, the imbalance of it all. Why do kids assume so much from one parent and hold the other to a lower,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/it-was-sad-the-imbalance-of-it-all-why-do-kids-assume-so-much-from/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) [Explore all 962 Mitch Albom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) ## More About yourself quotes > [“they all have always loved you Will Herondale, for you cannot hide what is good about yourself, however har you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/they-all-have-always-loved-you-will-herondale-for-you-cannot-hide/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-can-t-love-yourself-how-in-the-hell-you-gonna-love-somebody/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [Change your thoughts, change your life. —LAO TZU When I was fighting depression, I remember hearing this expression and not understanding it at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life-lao-tzu-when-i-was-fighting/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Dreams really tell you about yourself more than anything else in this world could ever tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/dreams-really-tell-you-about-yourself-more-than-anything-else-in-this/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [Celebrate all the things you don't like about yourself. love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/celebrate-all-the-things-you-don-t-like-about-yourself-love-yourself/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-madden/start-enjoying-the-things-you-like-about-yourself-and-if-there-are/) [Benji Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-madden/) > [Always be yourself. There's only one you. You should embrace anything that you don't like about yourself because that's individual and that's you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesy-nelson/always-be-yourself-there-s-only-one-you-you-should-embrace-anything/) [Jesy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesy-nelson/) > [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/) [Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/the-only-thing-a-master-can-teach-is-how-to-learn-about-yourself/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [I don't want to sell myself short. You hurt your spouse, not so much by the infidelity, but by the negative feelings about yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-zaslow/i-don-t-want-to-sell-myself-short-you-hurt-your-spouse-not-so-much-by/) [Michael Zaslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-zaslow/) > [A stranger can see in an instant something in you that you might spend years learning about yourself. How awful we all are when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elliott/a-stranger-can-see-in-an-instant-something-in-you-that-you-might/) [Stephen Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elliott/) > [Knowing is the most profound kind of love, giving someone the gift of knowledge about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-norman/knowing-is-the-most-profound-kind-of-love-giving-someone-the-gift-of/) [Marsha Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-norman/) > [Start telling the truth now and never stop. Begin by telling the truth to yourself about yourself. Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) [Browse all 770 About yourself quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you're rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mitch Albom" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-become-rotten-to-everyone-else/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About yourself" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-become-rotten-to-everyone-else/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/mitch-albom-187_about-yourself_when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-be_2932521.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/mitch-albom-187_about-yourself_when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-be_2932521.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a0/mitch-albom-187_about-yourself_when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-be_2932521.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you're rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.” — Mitch Albom", "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": "Mitch Albom", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you're rotten about yourself, you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-become-rotten-to-everyone-else/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/when-you-re-rotten-about-yourself-you-become-rotten-to-everyone-else/#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 } } ] } ```