--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not taking yourself seriously is one of…" description: "\"Not taking yourself seriously is one of the most elegant things in the world.\" — Rick Owens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/rick-owens-3754_elegant_not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of_42502.png" --- # Not taking yourself seriously is one of the most elegant… ![“Not taking yourself seriously is one of the most elegant things in the world.” quote by Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/rick-owens-3754_elegant_not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of_42502.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/rick-owens-3754_elegant_not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of_42502.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/rick-owens-3754_elegant_not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of_42502.png) > “Not taking yourself seriously is one of the most elegant things in the world.” [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embracing self‑deprecation frees us from ego‑driven constraints, allowing genuine creativity and humility. **In simple terms:** Humility fuels authentic expression. Key Takeaway Don't let ego dictate your path. Themes humility self‑acceptance creativity authenticity lightheartedness ego Mood playful reflective Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - creative brainstorming - public speaking - social gatherings - personal growth workshops Key Concepts self‑awareness psychological freedom artistic innovation Practical Applications - Encourage teams to mock‑up ideas without fear of judgment. - Use humor to defuse tension in conflict resolution. Questions to Reflect On - When does self‑deprecation become self‑sabotage? - How can humility be balanced with confidence? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elegant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegant/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I've been sexy for a while. Ever since I crossed 30, women have started taking me seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-kapoor/i-ve-been-sexy-for-a-while-ever-since-i-crossed-30-women-have-started/) [Shahid Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-kapoor/) > [There is no point in taking yourself too seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayushmann-khurrana/there-is-no-point-in-taking-yourself-too-seriously/) [Ayushmann Khurrana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayushmann-khurrana/) > [No matter how you cut them, paste them, rotate them, or distort them, lip syncing and air-guitar playing are fundamentally foolish activities, and anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/no-matter-how-you-cut-them-paste-them-rotate-them-or-distort-them-lip/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [I have had all I can stand of not taking myself seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-have-had-all-i-can-stand-of-not-taking-myself-seriously/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [All writers want to know that someone is reading their work, taking them seriously. It provides a kind of moral support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felice-picano/all-writers-want-to-know-that-someone-is-reading-their-work-taking/) [Felice Picano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felice-picano/) > [If you start taking yourself more seriously than you do God then there's a problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bieber/if-you-start-taking-yourself-more-seriously-than-you-do-god-then/) [Justin Bieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bieber/) > [Other actors have come up and told me that I don't take my work seriously. How am I not taking it seriously? Ask the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riya-sen/other-actors-have-come-up-and-told-me-that-i-don-t-take-my-work/) [Riya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riya-sen/) > [Taking me seriously is a big mistake. I certainly wouldn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/taking-me-seriously-is-a-big-mistake-i-certainly-wouldn-t/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [You are there to score goals, and doing so shows respect for your opponent, it demonstrates that you are taking him seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-mancini/you-are-there-to-score-goals-and-doing-so-shows-respect-for-your/) [Roberto Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-mancini/) > [The gesture of taking the watch from the pocket and looking at the time is very elegant for a man, but if I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-mille/the-gesture-of-taking-the-watch-from-the-pocket-and-looking-at-the/) [Richard Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-mille/) > [Take your work seriously, but don't take yourself seriously](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/take-your-work-seriously-but-don-t-take-yourself-seriously/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [When something takes itself too seriously, you're not going to take it seriously. There's a disconnect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-thatcher/when-something-takes-itself-too-seriously-you-re-not-going-to-take-it/) [Sophie Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-thatcher/) > [Take your work seriously but never take yourself seriously and do not take what happens either to yourself or your work seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booth-tarkington/take-your-work-seriously-but-never-take-yourself-seriously-and-do-not/) [Booth Tarkington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booth-tarkington/) > [“Don't take it personally. Just take it seriously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-ramsay/don-t-take-it-personally-just-take-it-seriously/) [Gordon Ramsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-ramsay/) > [Dont take yourself so seriously. No one else does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idntsmoke/dont-take-yourself-so-seriously-no-one-else-does/) [IDNTSMOKE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idntsmoke/) ## More by Rick Owens > [Art is supposed to be some kind of transcendent moment. Fashion has sometimes done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/art-is-supposed-to-be-some-kind-of-transcendent-moment-fashion-has/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I'm not a Buddhist, but there is something lovely about thinking of yourself in a bigger picture, and thinking of yourself as part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-m-not-a-buddhist-but-there-is-something-lovely-about-thinking-of/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I'm not a foodie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-m-not-a-foodie/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [The reading I did do that stuck with me was usually somewhat breathless and brittle - I suppose camp. But my definition of camp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/the-reading-i-did-do-that-stuck-with-me-was-usually-somewhat/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [The whole fashion thing is so oversaturated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/the-whole-fashion-thing-is-so-oversaturated/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I think death is part of all of our lives and everything needs to evolve into something else. Anyway, that's my fatalistic attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-think-death-is-part-of-all-of-our-lives-and-everything-needs-to/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I don't fool myself; I know I'm not a genius... I have good ideas, but also many great partners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-don-t-fool-myself-i-know-i-m-not-a-genius-i-have-good-ideas-but/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I always have longiflorum lilies in my proximity - I love them in bud with a sharp fresh scent, I love them at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-always-have-longiflorum-lilies-in-my-proximity-i-love-them-in-bud/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [The coolest thing is when you don’t care about being cool anymore. Indifference is the greatest aphrodisiac - that’s what really sums up style…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/the-coolest-thing-is-when-you-don-t-care-about-being-cool-anymore/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I think in times of hardship, you have to step up your game and fight back, and creating is the strongest way to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-think-in-times-of-hardship-you-have-to-step-up-your-game-and-fight/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [My designs might be considered bold but the foundation is one of benevolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/my-designs-might-be-considered-bold-but-the-foundation-is-one-of/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I was a pretty fey kid, pretty fragile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-was-a-pretty-fey-kid-pretty-fragile/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I think spontaneity may be overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-think-spontaneity-may-be-overrated/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I have been very self-destructive and self-critical, and I learnt how to accept a lot of my faults and flaws and not make such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-have-been-very-self-destructive-and-self-critical-and-i-learnt-how/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I prefer e-mailing to phone calls - I like how thoughts can be reconsidered, corrected, and improved in an e-mail. Like an old-fashioned love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-prefer-e-mailing-to-phone-calls-i-like-how-thoughts-can-be/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) [Explore all 122 Rick Owens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) ## More Elegant quotes > [I swam with my first shark in the 1980s. I was 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, working with a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/i-swam-with-my-first-shark-in-the-1980s-i-was-20-miles-off-the-coast/) [Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/) > [This is a time in my life where I'm gonna behave like an elegant human being. Or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/this-is-a-time-in-my-life-where-i-m-gonna-behave-like-an-elegant/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [Even if I did have, you know, a 'Sports Illustrated' body, I'd still wear elegant clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/even-if-i-did-have-you-know-a-sports-illustrated-body-i-d-still-wear/) [Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/) > [My dad had a personal style which was very attractive. It was quite reserved and quite elegant, and it was infectious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nighy/my-dad-had-a-personal-style-which-was-very-attractive-it-was-quite/) [Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nighy/) > [When you first start off trying to solve a problem, the first solutions you come up with are very complex, and most people stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/when-you-first-start-off-trying-to-solve-a-problem-the-first/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [White makes your house more peaceful and elegant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sana-khan/white-makes-your-house-more-peaceful-and-elegant/) [Sana Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sana-khan/) > [Coming from Haiti and growing up in Brooklyn, there's a lot of European influence when I get dressed up. I wear a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyclef-jean/coming-from-haiti-and-growing-up-in-brooklyn-there-s-a-lot-of/) [Wyclef Jean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyclef-jean/) > [The acute experience of great beauty readily evokes a nameless yearning for something more than earth can offer. Elegant splendor reawakens our spirit's aching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dubay/the-acute-experience-of-great-beauty-readily-evokes-a-nameless/) [Thomas Dubay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dubay/) > [We endeavour to employ only symmetrical figures, such as should not only be an aid to reasoning, through the sense of sight, but should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-venn/we-endeavour-to-employ-only-symmetrical-figures-such-as-should-not/) John Venn > [In mathematics, if I find a new approach to a problem, another mathematician might claim that he has a better, more elegant solution. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-lasker/in-mathematics-if-i-find-a-new-approach-to-a-problem-another/) [Emanuel Lasker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-lasker/) > [It is by far the most elegant worship, hardly excepting the Greek mythology. What with incense, pictures, statues, altars, shrines, relics, and the real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/it-is-by-far-the-most-elegant-worship-hardly-excepting-the-greek/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [Engineers love to optimize problems. Now I optimize logistical problems. I ask: 'What's the goal? What are our constraints? What is the optimal, elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruchi-sanghvi/engineers-love-to-optimize-problems-now-i-optimize-logistical/) [Ruchi Sanghvi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruchi-sanghvi/) > [Growing up in New Jersey, bat mitzvas were all about the elegant parties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-gold/growing-up-in-new-jersey-bat-mitzvas-were-all-about-the-elegant/) [Judy Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-gold/) > [ My colleagues in elementary particle theory in many lands \[and I\] are driven by the usual insatiable curiosity of the scientist, and our work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-gell-mann/my-colleagues-in-elementary-particle-theory-in-many-lands-and-i-are/) [Murray Gell-Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-gell-mann/) [Browse all 507 Elegant quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegant/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Not taking yourself seriously is one of the most elegant things in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Owens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of-the-most-elegant-things-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Elegant" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of-the-most-elegant-things-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/rick-owens-3754_elegant_not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of_42502.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/rick-owens-3754_elegant_not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of_42502.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71f/rick-owens-3754_elegant_not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of_42502.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Not taking yourself seriously is one of the most elegant things in the world.” — Rick Owens", "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": "Rick Owens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Not taking yourself seriously is one...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of-the-most-elegant-things-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/not-taking-yourself-seriously-is-one-of-the-most-elegant-things-in/#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 } } ] } ```