--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I thought I was terrible at everything…" description: "\"“I thought I was terrible at everything, but it turns out I was only terrible at spreadsheets.”\" — Sheryl Sandberg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/sheryl-sandberg-439_terrible_i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-b_2777939.png" --- # I thought I was terrible at everything, but it turns out I… ![“I thought I was terrible at everything, but it turns out I was only terrible at spreadsheets.” quote by Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/sheryl-sandberg-439_terrible_i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-b_2777939.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/sheryl-sandberg-439_terrible_i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-b_2777939.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/sheryl-sandberg-439_terrible_i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-b_2777939.png) > ““I thought I was terrible at everything, but it turns out I was only terrible at spreadsheets.”” [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acknowledges early self-doubt but discovers a specific weakness that can be improved **In simple terms:** She thought she was bad at everything, but only at spreadsheets Key Takeaway Identify and address specific skill gaps for growth Themes self‑assessment growth skill development Mood motivational honest Type career self‑help When to use this quote - job interviews - professional training - personal improvement - skill workshops Key Concepts psychology career development learning theory Questions to Reflect On - What skill do you struggle with most? - How can you turn a weakness into an advantage? A Different Perspective Focusing on one weakness may ignore broader strengths ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [When I read the first 'Sharknado' movie, I thought it was terrible. I told my wife that I couldn't do this movie, that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-ziering/when-i-read-the-first-sharknado-movie-i-thought-it-was-terrible-i/) [Ian Ziering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-ziering/) > [ I thought I was terrible \[to play a cameo\] and decided never to act again. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-thought-i-was-terrible-to-play-a-cameo-and-decided-never-to-act/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was so nervous about dancing because I've always thought of myself as a terrible dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-dynevor/i-was-so-nervous-about-dancing-because-i-ve-always-thought-of-myself/) [Phoebe Dynevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-dynevor/) > [To be relieved of love, she thought, was to give up a terrible burden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/to-be-relieved-of-love-she-thought-was-to-give-up-a-terrible-burden/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [I thought it was terrible. I don't know who to believe. Williams was very loyal and honest. Nobody could ever say different. Sometimes, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-gowdy/i-thought-it-was-terrible-i-don-t-know-who-to-believe-williams-was/) [Curt Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-gowdy/) > [Truth, she thought. As terrible as death. But harder to find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/truth-she-thought-as-terrible-as-death-but-harder-to-find/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [I thought it was a terrible idea being a supporting character on a football show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-britton/i-thought-it-was-a-terrible-idea-being-a-supporting-character-on-a/) [Connie Britton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-britton/) > [We must rely less on spreadsheets and funding formulas and more on common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-guinn/we-must-rely-less-on-spreadsheets-and-funding-formulas-and-more-on/) [Kenny Guinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-guinn/) > [“Their mantra is “don’t take my spreadsheets away,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-mcneill/their-mantra-is-don-t-take-my-spreadsheets-away/) [Dwight McNeill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-mcneill/) > [Spreadsheets are fiction. Believing in what you're doing and what you're building is what's important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-khosla/spreadsheets-are-fiction-believing-in-what-you-re-doing-and-what-you/) [Vinod Khosla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinod-khosla/) > [The consequences of decisions don't just affect spreadsheets... They affect, in fundamental ways, the lives of people and they often mean the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-bredesen/the-consequences-of-decisions-don-t-just-affect-spreadsheets-they/) [Phil Bredesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-bredesen/) > [“Lottie did everything the old fashioned way, including the bookkeeping, which was fine with me since I knew nothing about accounting software anyway. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-collins/lottie-did-everything-the-old-fashioned-way-including-the-bookkeeping/) Kate Collins > [I love spreadsheets. I do all the finances. I pay the publicists. I have to compartmentalize the creative and the business, so there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verite/i-love-spreadsheets-i-do-all-the-finances-i-pay-the-publicists-i-have/) Verite > [Trust your gut instinct over spreadsheets. There are too many variables in the real world that you simply can't put into a spreadsheet. Spreadsheets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/trust-your-gut-instinct-over-spreadsheets-there-are-too-many/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [For every one of our failures, we had spreadsheets that looked awesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-d-cook/for-every-one-of-our-failures-we-had-spreadsheets-that-looked-awesome/) Scott D. Cook ## More by Sheryl Sandberg > [“Still, my argument was that if she was going to work for the next 30 years, what difference does "going back" 4 years really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/still-my-argument-was-that-if-she-was-going-to-work-for-the-next-30/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Reverend Veronica Goines sums this up as, “Peace is joy at rest, and joy is peace on its feet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/reverend-veronica-goines-sums-this-up-as-peace-is-joy-at-rest-and-joy/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [ “\[Eric Schmidt\] explained that only one criterion that mattered when picking a job- fat growth. When companies grow quickly, there are more things to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/eric-schmidt-explained-that-only-one-criterion-that-mattered-when/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Go to a playground: Little girls get called 'bossy' all the time, a word that's almost never used for boys. And that leads directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/go-to-a-playground-little-girls-get-called-bossy-all-the-time-a-word/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“One of my favorite quotes comes from author Alice Walker, who observed, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/one-of-my-favorite-quotes-comes-from-author-alice-walker-who-observed/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/aggressive-and-hard-charging-women-violate-unwritten-rules-about/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“When I wrote Lean In, some people argued that I did not spend enough time writing about the difficulties women face when they don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-wrote-lean-in-some-people-argued-that-i-did-not-spend-enough/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Survivor guilt is a thief of joy—yet another secondary loss from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/survivor-guilt-is-a-thief-of-joy-yet-another-secondary-loss-from-death/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [I am a bigger-picture manager because I've lived through something that's a big picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-am-a-bigger-picture-manager-because-i-ve-lived-through-something/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical, and performance-ori ented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/presenting-leadership-as-a-list-of-carefully-defined-qualities-like/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [So there's no such thing as work-life balance. There's work, and there's life, and there's no balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/so-there-s-no-such-thing-as-work-life-balance-there-s-work-and-there/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [Men can comfortably claim credit for what they do as long as they don't veer into arrogance. For women, taking credit comes at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/men-can-comfortably-claim-credit-for-what-they-do-as-long-as-they-don/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“As Helen Keller put it, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/as-helen-keller-put-it-when-one-door-of-happiness-closes-another/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [“Forty percent of employed mothers lack sick days and vacation leave, and about 50 percent of employed mothers are unable to take time off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/forty-percent-of-employed-mothers-lack-sick-days-and-vacation-leave/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) [Explore all 557 Sheryl Sandberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## More Terrible quotes > [Not reassuring when weathermen say 'Today will be terrible but don't worry it won't be as terrible as tomorrow or Friday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/not-reassuring-when-weathermen-say-today-will-be-terrible-but-don-t/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [I was terrible student. I was capable, but I never like being told what to do, so I was always in the bottom class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lilley/i-was-terrible-student-i-was-capable-but-i-never-like-being-told-what/) [Chris Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lilley/) > [She still felt shell-shocked by all of it, numb. Beneath the numbness, though, was a raw and terrible anger that was unlike anything she'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/she-still-felt-shell-shocked-by-all-of-it-numb-beneath-the-numbness/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [I had always assumed that the right way to do it was to these engineers, put them in offices by themselves with doors that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-schmidt/i-had-always-assumed-that-the-right-way-to-do-it-was-to-these/) [Eric Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-schmidt/) > [In my former life I was in insider, as much as anybody else. And I knew what it's like, and I still know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/in-my-former-life-i-was-in-insider-as-much-as-anybody-else-and-i-knew/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I earnestly feel terrible for any mistakes at the bank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mnuchin/i-earnestly-feel-terrible-for-any-mistakes-at-the-bank/) [Steve Mnuchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mnuchin/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [This is the gift of your species and this is the danger, because you do not choose to control your imaginings. You imagine wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/this-is-the-gift-of-your-species-and-this-is-the-danger-because-you/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [I broke up with my first girlfriend because I was out of love. I was crushing so hard on her for a whole year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-and-the-queens/i-broke-up-with-my-first-girlfriend-because-i-was-out-of-love-i-was/) [Christine and the Queens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-and-the-queens/) > [A thing of orchestrated hell-a terrible symphony of light and flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/a-thing-of-orchestrated-hell-a-terrible-symphony-of-light-and-flame/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [I was landscaping not too long ago, so I'm extremely grateful for the people supporting me in wrestling. Not that landscaping is terrible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-riddle/i-was-landscaping-not-too-long-ago-so-i-m-extremely-grateful-for-the/) [Matt Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-riddle/) > [I shaved my head a week or two before senior year. People used to ask me why, and the main reason is that having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-gonzalez/i-shaved-my-head-a-week-or-two-before-senior-year-people-used-to-ask/) [Emma Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-gonzalez/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) Browse all 4,937 Terrible quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I thought I was terrible at everything, but it turns out I was only terrible at spreadsheets.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sheryl Sandberg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-but-it-turns-out-i-was-only/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Terrible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-but-it-turns-out-i-was-only/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/sheryl-sandberg-439_terrible_i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-b_2777939.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/sheryl-sandberg-439_terrible_i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-b_2777939.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56a/sheryl-sandberg-439_terrible_i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-b_2777939.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I thought I was terrible at everything, but it turns out I was only terrible at spreadsheets.” — Sheryl Sandberg", "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": "Sheryl Sandberg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I thought I was terrible at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-but-it-turns-out-i-was-only/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/i-thought-i-was-terrible-at-everything-but-it-turns-out-i-was-only/#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 } } ] } ```