--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Look, people need to conform the external…" description: "\"“Look, people need to conform the external reality they face daily with this subjective feeling they likewise experience constantly. To do this they ha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_look-people-need-to-conform-the-external_1024190.jpg" --- # Look, people need to conform the external reality they… ![“Look, people need to conform the external reality they face daily with this subjective feeling they likewise experience constantly. To do this they have two options. First, they can achieve what passes for great things. Now the external reality matches their feeling; they really are better than…” quote by Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_look-people-need-to-conform-the-external_1024190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_look-people-need-to-conform-the-external_1024190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de0/sergio-de-la-pava-22552_average-person_look-people-need-to-conform-the-external_1024190.jpg) > ““Look, people need to conform the external reality they face daily with this subjective feeling they likewise experience constantly. To do this they have two options. First, they can achieve what passes for great things. Now the external reality matches their feeling; they really are better than the rest and maybe they'll even be remembered as such. These are the ambitious people, the overachievers. These are also, however, the people who go on these abominable talk shows where they can trade their psychoses for exposure on that box, modernity's ultimate achievement. Not that this tact, being ambitious, is not the preferred course of action. The reason is it's the equivalent of sticking your neck out which we all know is dangerous. Instead many act like they have no ambition whatsoever. Their necks come back in and they're safe. Only problem is now they're at everyone else's level, which we've seen is untenable. The remedy of course is that everyone else needs to be sunk. This helps explain racism's enduring popularity. If I myself don't appear to be markedly superior to everyone else at least I'm part of the better race, country, religion et cetera. This in turn reflects well on my individual worth. There are other options, of course. For example, you can constantly bemoan others' lack of moral worth by extension elevating yourself. Think of the average person's reaction to our clients. Do these people strike you as so truly righteous that they are viscerally pained by our clients' misdeeds or are they similarly flawed people looking for anything to hang their hat on? The latter obviously, they're vermin.”” [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage examines how people reconcile external reality with internal feelings, describing two paths: ambitious over‑achievers who seek validation through superiority, and those who suppress ambition to avoid risk, leading to social hierarchies and racism. **In simple terms:** People either strive for greatness to feel superior or stay safe by blending in, which fuels social divisions. Key Takeaway Understand the psychological trade‑off between ambition and safety. Themes ambition identity social hierarchy Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - career planning - social activism - personal development - media analysis Key Concepts psychology philosophy politics Questions to Reflect On - Why do people choose safety over ambition? - How does perceived superiority fuel prejudice? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex social dynamics into binary choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambitious People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitious-people-548240/) [Average person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-person/) [Criminal justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criminal-justice/) [Domination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domination/) [Flawed People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flawed-people-446161/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Overachievers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overachievers/) [Overachievers People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overachievers-people-2301937/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Overachievers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-overachievers-2301938/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Righteousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/righteousness/) ## Related quotes > [What turns ordinary people into overachievers is the way they use their minds when they are called on to perform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eliot/what-turns-ordinary-people-into-overachievers-is-the-way-they-use/) [John Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eliot/) > [We have always been dreamers, and we are admittedly overachievers, and coming out of high school, we didn't want to be struggling artists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-scott/we-have-always-been-dreamers-and-we-are-admittedly-overachievers-and/) [Jonathan Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-scott/) > [“Overachievers, here's some good and some bad news. 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No matter what the goal is, the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/ambition-is-a-path-not-a-destination-and-it-is-essentially-the-same/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“We like to stress the commonness of heroes. Essences seem undemocratic. We feel oppressed by the call to greatness. We regard an interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-like-to-stress-the-commonness-of-heroes-essences-seem-undemocratic/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Overachievers look forward to the finish line, underachievers look back to see who they are beating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-hoffman/overachievers-look-forward-to-the-finish-line-underachievers-look/) [Bobby Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-hoffman/) > [“Being the underachiever in a family of overachievers was hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-marton/being-the-underachiever-in-a-family-of-overachievers-was-hell/) [Sandra Marton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-marton/) > [Overachievers don't think reasonably, sensibly, or rationally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eliot/overachievers-don-t-think-reasonably-sensibly-or-rationally/) [John Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eliot/) > [When you're a kid, you don't understand your parents are flawed people. You want them to be perfect, and when they aren't, it's hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemele-hill/when-you-re-a-kid-you-don-t-understand-your-parents-are-flawed-people/) [Jemele Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemele-hill/) > [I don’t know a perfect person. I only know flawed people who are still worth loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-don-t-know-a-perfect-person-i-only-know-flawed-people-who-are-still/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Sergio De La Pava > [“The relevant question is not whether back then a few extraordinary individuals could overcome a system strongly weighted against them or whether today an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-relevant-question-is-not-whether-back-then-a-few-extraordinary/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“Undone by your own protective measures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/undone-by-your-own-protective-measures/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“Let us continue to hone and hone the methods by which man hangs his fellow man and be done, once and for all, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/let-us-continue-to-hone-and-hone-the-methods-by-which-man-hangs-his/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“The real problem is I'm greedy. 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You should never vote, everyone knows that. If you vote and your guy wins you can't later complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/vote-what-s-so-fun-about-voting-you-should-never-vote-everyone-knows/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [There's a manner of speaking you use while lawyering. A manner as affected and rife with artifice as your average campaign speech, with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/there-s-a-manner-of-speaking-you-use-while-lawyering-a-manner-as/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“And if you learn only one thing from the ensuing maybe let it be this: the police were not merely interested observers who occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/and-if-you-learn-only-one-thing-from-the-ensuing-maybe-let-it-be-this/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“But insensate Time is nothing if not cruel and heartless. It corrodes then destroys, so that the man you literally and figuratively looked up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/but-insensate-time-is-nothing-if-not-cruel-and-heartless-it-corrodes/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“I know this is going to sound weird but this kind of love is almost too intense. It hurts a bit. It feels almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/i-know-this-is-going-to-sound-weird-but-this-kind-of-love-is-almost/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“The overwhelming noise we live with has made a fundamental pleasure like sex somehow less exciting, less satisfying, than it was for our libidinous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/the-overwhelming-noise-we-live-with-has-made-a-fundamental-pleasure/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“Appeal. Guy's like you get all excited about the appeal. Don't you see that I view the very existence of an appeal as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/appeal-guy-s-like-you-get-all-excited-about-the-appeal-don-t-you-see/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“And I don't give a cow's dick what Hume said, science rules!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/and-i-don-t-give-a-cow-s-dick-what-hume-said-science-rules/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) > [“How do we not have money? This is a country of organizations. Everywhere you look people are organizing themselves into groups, one joining many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-de-la-pava/how-do-we-not-have-money-this-is-a-country-of-organizations/) [Sergio De La Pava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) [Explore all 27 Sergio De La Pava quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-de-la-pava/) ## More Average person quotes > [“She'd always been a little excitable, a little more passionate about books than your average person, but she was supposed to be -- she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-beth-durst/she-d-always-been-a-little-excitable-a-little-more-passionate-about/) [Sarah Beth Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-beth-durst/) > [I feel like what motivates me is what would motivate the regular average person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/i-feel-like-what-motivates-me-is-what-would-motivate-the-regular/) [Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/) > [We're trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-silbermann/we-re-trying-to-do-something-so-that-when-the-average-person-uses/) [Ben Silbermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-silbermann/) > [My dad was not a footballer. 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Most of them are made for personal satisfaction, to impress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-day/some-of-the-downbeat-pictures-in-my-opinion-should-never-be-made-at/) [Doris Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-day/) [Browse all 443 Average person quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-person/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Look, people need to conform the external reality they face daily with this subjective feeling they likewise experience constantly. To do this they have two options. First, they can achieve what passes for great things. Now the external reality matches their feeling; they really are better than the rest and maybe they'll even be remembered as such. These are the ambitious people, the overachievers. These are also, however, the people who go on these abominable talk shows where they can trade their psychoses for exposure on that box, modernity's ultimate achievement. Not that this tact, being ambitious, is not the preferred course of action. The reason is it's the equivalent of sticking your neck out which we all know is dangerous. Instead many act like they have no ambition whatsoever. Their necks come back in and they're safe. Only problem is now they're at everyone else's level, which we've seen is untenable. The remedy of course is that everyone else needs to be sunk. This helps explain racism's enduring popularity. If I myself don't appear to be markedly superior to everyone else at least I'm part of the better race, country, religion et cetera. This in turn reflects well on my individual worth. There are other options, of course. For example, you can constantly bemoan others' lack of moral worth by extension elevating yourself. Think of the average person's reaction to our clients. Do these people strike you as so truly righteous that they are viscerally pained by our clients' misdeeds or are they similarly flawed people looking for anything to hang their hat on? 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