--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think most of us become nicer as we get…" description: "\"I think most of us become nicer as we get older, less judgmental, less full of certitude; life tends to knock a few corners of us as we go through. Can..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/molly-ivins-1296_cancer_i-think-most-of-us-become-nicer-as-we-ge_2205649.png" --- # I think most of us become nicer as we get older, less… ![“I think most of us become nicer as we get older, less judgmental, less full of certitude; life tends to knock a few corners of us as we go through. Cancer, divorce, teenagers, and other plagues make us give up on expecting ourselves - or life - to be perfect, which is a real relief.” quote by Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/molly-ivins-1296_cancer_i-think-most-of-us-become-nicer-as-we-ge_2205649.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/molly-ivins-1296_cancer_i-think-most-of-us-become-nicer-as-we-ge_2205649.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47f/molly-ivins-1296_cancer_i-think-most-of-us-become-nicer-as-we-ge_2205649.png) > “I think most of us become nicer as we get older, less judgmental, less full of certitude; life tends to knock a few corners of us as we go through. Cancer, divorce, teenagers, and other plagues make us give up on expecting ourselves - or life - to be perfect, which is a real relief.” [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She reflects that aging and life challenges soften judgment and certainty, leading to acceptance of imperfection and relief from unrealistic expectations. **In simple terms:** Getting older and facing hardships makes us less judgmental and more accepting of imperfection. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfection and let go of unrealistic expectations. Themes aging humility life challenges Mood reflective empathetic wise Type personal development philosophical When to use this quote - dealing with illness - divorce recovery - parenting teenagers - coping with loss - self‑acceptance Key Concepts psychology personal growth resilience acceptance Questions to Reflect On - What lessons have hardships taught you about expectations? - How can we cultivate humility without losing confidence? A Different Perspective Even with acceptance, some may still struggle with regret or grief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Certitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certitude/) [Corners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corners/) [Divorce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divorce/) [Expecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expecting/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Judgmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgmental/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Tends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-tends-1267167/) [Nicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nicer/) [Nicer Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nicer-older-4863563/) [Older Judgmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-judgmental-4846723/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Plague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plague/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Relief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relief/) [Teenager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teenager/) [Think Nicer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-nicer-4863562/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [As you become older, you become less judgmental and take offense less. But marriage is hard work; the illusion that you get married and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/as-you-become-older-you-become-less-judgmental-and-take-offense-less/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [Life... It tends to respond to our outlook, to shape itself to meet our expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-it-tends-to-respond-to-our-outlook-to-shape-itself-to-meet-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As life tends to become more and more distracting, let us firmly hold on to books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-edward-newton/as-life-tends-to-become-more-and-more-distracting-let-us-firmly-hold/) [A. Edward Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-edward-newton/) > [Everything in life tends to have limit… a good example is elastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olajobishade/everything-in-life-tends-to-have-limit-a-good-example-is-elastic/) [Olajobishade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olajobishade/) > [Everything in our political life tends to hide from us that there is anything wiser than our ordinary selves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/everything-in-our-political-life-tends-to-hide-from-us-that-there-is/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Life tends to be an accumulation of a lot of mundane decisions, which often gets ignored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/life-tends-to-be-an-accumulation-of-a-lot-of-mundane-decisions-which/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [Ah, love, let us be true To one another! for the world, which seems To lie before us like a land of dreams, So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/ah-love-let-us-be-true-to-one-another-for-the-world-which-seems-to/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [I believe that ideas such as absolute certitude, absolute exactness, final truth, etc. are figments of the imagination which should not be admissible in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-born/i-believe-that-ideas-such-as-absolute-certitude-absolute-exactness/) [Max Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-born/) > [A mystic doesn’t say “I believe.” They say “I know.” A true mystic will ironically speak with that self-confidence but at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/a-mystic-doesn-t-say-i-believe-they-say-i-know-a-true-mystic-will/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [I don't like quintessential certitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/i-don-t-like-quintessential-certitude/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [We have more faith in what we imitate than in what we create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/we-have-more-faith-in-what-we-imitate-than-in-what-we-create/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) > [“Accept and express your underlying certitude, and it shall be worldwide sagacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogwo-david-emenike/accept-and-express-your-underlying-certitude-and-it-shall-be/) [Ogwo David Emenike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogwo-david-emenike/) > [I can say with unwavering certitude that I have never started a pint of Ben 'n Jerry's ice cream that I didn't finish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregor-collins/i-can-say-with-unwavering-certitude-that-i-have-never-started-a-pint/) [Gregor Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregor-collins/) > [What makes friendship indissolute and what doubles its charms is a feeling we find lacking in love: I mean certitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/what-makes-friendship-indissolute-and-what-doubles-its-charms-is-a/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [From men motivated by moral certitude, history teaches, no lasting good ever comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/from-men-motivated-by-moral-certitude-history-teaches-no-lasting-good/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) ## More by Molly Ivins > [Preemptive war is what Israel did in '67 with Arab armies on its borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/preemptive-war-is-what-israel-did-in-67-with-arab-armies-on-its/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [The idols of one's adolescence tend to endure - you never forget how you worshipped them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-idols-of-one-s-adolescence-tend-to-endure-you-never-forget-how/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Having breast cancer is massive amounts of no fun,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/having-breast-cancer-is-massive-amounts-of-no-fun/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [How the American right managed to convince itself that the programs to alleviate poverty are responsible for the consequences of poverty will someday be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/how-the-american-right-managed-to-convince-itself-that-the-programs/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [To mistake Midland for the volk heartland is the West Texas equivalent of assuming that Greenwich, Connecticut, is Levittown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/to-mistake-midland-for-the-volk-heartland-is-the-west-texas/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [I only aim at the powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/i-only-aim-at-the-powerful/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Even for southerners, Arkansans are amazingly friendly and extend hospitality to all strangers with astonishing openness. You couldn't find a pretension in that state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/even-for-southerners-arkansans-are-amazingly-friendly-and-extend/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [It's hard to convince people that you're killing them for their own good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/it-s-hard-to-convince-people-that-you-re-killing-them-for-their-own/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [the pyramids were built for pharaohs on the happy theory that they could take their stuff with them. Versailles was built for kings on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/the-pyramids-were-built-for-pharaohs-on-the-happy-theory-that-they/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Any nation that can survive what we have lately in the way of government, is on the high road to permanent glory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/any-nation-that-can-survive-what-we-have-lately-in-the-way-of/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [I think provincialism is an endemic characteristic with mankind, I think everybody everywhere is provincial, but it is particularly striking with Texans, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/i-think-provincialism-is-an-endemic-characteristic-with-mankind-i/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [During a recent panel on the numerous failures of American journalism, I proposed that almost all stories about government should begin: “Look out! They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/during-a-recent-panel-on-the-numerous-failures-of-american-journalism/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Naturally, when it comes to voting, we in Texas are accustomed to discerning that fine hair’s-breadth worth of difference that makes one hopeless dipstick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/naturally-when-it-comes-to-voting-we-in-texas-are-accustomed-to/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/be-outrageous-ridicule-the-fraidy-cats-rejoice-in-all-the-oddities/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [Texas is not a civilized place. Texans shoot one another a lot. They also knife, razor, and stomp one another to death with some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/texas-is-not-a-civilized-place-texans-shoot-one-another-a-lot-they/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) [Explore all 260 Molly Ivins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [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/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think most of us become nicer as we get older, less judgmental, less full of certitude; life tends to knock a few corners of us as we go through. 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