--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The fact is that everyone is much too…" description: "\"“The fact is that everyone is much too busily preoccupied with himself to be able to form a serious opinion about another person. The indolent world is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c8/thomas-mann-1103_preoccupied_the-fact-is-that-everyone-is-much-too-bu_838476.jpg" --- # The fact is that everyone is much too busily preoccupied… ![“The fact is that everyone is much too busily preoccupied with himself to be able to form a serious opinion about another person. The indolent world is all too ready to treat any man with whatever degree of respect corresponds to his own self-confidence.” quote by Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c8/thomas-mann-1103_preoccupied_the-fact-is-that-everyone-is-much-too-bu_838476.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c8/thomas-mann-1103_preoccupied_the-fact-is-that-everyone-is-much-too-bu_838476.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c8/thomas-mann-1103_preoccupied_the-fact-is-that-everyone-is-much-too-bu_838476.jpg) > ““The fact is that everyone is much too busily preoccupied with himself to be able to form a serious opinion about another person. The indolent world is all too ready to treat any man with whatever degree of respect corresponds to his own self-confidence.”” [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are so self‑absorbed they cannot fairly judge others; respect often mirrors one's own confidence. **In simple terms:** Self‑interest blocks objective judgment and respect follows self‑confidence. Key Takeaway Recognize your bias and evaluate others on their own merits. Themes self‑awareness judgment respect Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - workplace meetings - friendship circles - online discussions - leadership decisions Key Concepts ego social perception confidence Questions to Reflect On - How does your own confidence shape how you treat others? - Can you separate self‑esteem from respect for others? A Different Perspective Bias can be unconscious and hard to detect without deliberate reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Busily Preoccupied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busily-preoccupied-621450/) [Opinion Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion-person-405456/) [Person Indolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-indolent-621449/) [Preoccupied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preoccupied/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Self confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-confidence/) ## Related quotes > [People can have their opinions about everything in the world, but people's opinions end where the tip of my nose begins. Your opinions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-can-have-their-opinions-about-everything-in-the-world-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't have an opinion about a person until you know them. And then when you do know the person, know him or her in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/don-t-have-an-opinion-about-a-person-until-you-know-them-and-then-2/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [“That what one person sees as a difference of opinion can be, to the other person, a sign of great disrespect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/that-what-one-person-sees-as-a-difference-of-opinion-can-be-to-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [There is no man who hates the power of the crown more, or who has a worse opinion of the Person to whom it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-james-fox/there-is-no-man-who-hates-the-power-of-the-crown-more-or-who-has-a/) [Charles James Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-james-fox/) > [I should be very sorry to see the United States holding anyone in confinement on account of any opinion that that person might hold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/i-should-be-very-sorry-to-see-the-united-states-holding-anyone-in/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [Never let other's opinions about someone change your opinion about that person. Do not judge anyone on the basis of other's judgement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-mustafa/never-let-other-s-opinions-about-someone-change-your-opinion-about/) [Farah Mustafa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-mustafa/) > [Don't have an opinion about a person until you know them. And then when you do know the person, know him or her in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-have-an-opinion-about-a-person-until-you-know-them-and-then/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I feel like everyone judges people: regardless of whether they know someone or not, they have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-sturridge/everyone-is-entitled-to-their-opinions-and-i-feel-like-everyone/) [Daniel Sturridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-sturridge/) > [“We're all in the dark. We try to find out, but can you imagine anything more ludicrous than one person's opinion of another person?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/we-re-all-in-the-dark-we-try-to-find-out-but-can-you-imagine-anything/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I think there is a rage against women. I've come to see that now although at the time I did not notice it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-young/i-think-there-is-a-rage-against-women-i-ve-come-to-see-that-now/) [Marguerite Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-young/) > [To keep yourself preoccupied, thousand excuses.but havent reason to meet themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/to-keep-yourself-preoccupied-thousand-excuses-but-havent-reason-to/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Everywhere I go, everyone I talk with, everyone I think about - their salvation is what is on my mind. I love fellowship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cameron/everywhere-i-go-everyone-i-talk-with-everyone-i-think-about-their/) [Kirk Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cameron/) > [Without deadlines and restrictions I just tend to become preoccupied with other things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/without-deadlines-and-restrictions-i-just-tend-to-become-preoccupied/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [I feel domesticity just slipping off me. It is a choice. Either one can let it go or one can intensify it. The people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-feel-domesticity-just-slipping-off-me-it-is-a-choice-either-one-can/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [When you stand up there and do a press conference, it's a very preoccupied moment. You're standing in front of cameras; people are watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-quinn/when-you-stand-up-there-and-do-a-press-conference-it-s-a-very/) [Christine Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-quinn/) ## More by Thomas Mann > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“Solitude favors the original, the daringly and otherworldly beautiful, the poem. But it also favors the wrongful, the extreme, the absurd, and the forbidden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-favors-the-original-the-daringly-and-otherworldly-beautiful/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“But what would be our readers’ reaction if we simply refused to get to the bottom of that question?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/but-what-would-be-our-readers-reaction-if-we-simply-refused-to-get-to/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [What good would politics be, if it didn’t give everyone the opportunity to make moral compromises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/what-good-would-politics-be-if-it-didn-t-give-everyone-the/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“O, čarobna organsko lepoto, koja se ne sastojiš ni iz uljane boje ni iz kamena, već iz materije žive i raspadljive, pune grozničave tajne…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/o-arobna-organsko-lepoto-koja-se-ne-sastoji-ni-iz-uljane-boje-ni-iz/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [Opinions cannot survive if one has no chance to fight for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/opinions-cannot-survive-if-one-has-no-chance-to-fight-for-them/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“I hope that you have nothing against malice, my good engineer. 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Yes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/the-days-began-to-fly-now-and-yet-each-one-of-them-was-stretched-by/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“The average man thinks that a little falseness goes with beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/the-average-man-thinks-that-a-little-falseness-goes-with-beauty/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“A stimulus is a stimulus. The body doesn't give a damn about the meaning of the stimulus. Whether minnows or communion, the sebaceous glands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/a-stimulus-is-a-stimulus-the-body-doesn-t-give-a-damn-about-the/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [It is remarkable how a man cannot summarize his thoughts in even the most general sort of way without betraying himself completely, without putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/it-is-remarkable-how-a-man-cannot-summarize-his-thoughts-in-even-the/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [“One always needs to be reminded; one is by no means always in possession of one’s whole self. Our consciousness is feeble; only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/one-always-needs-to-be-reminded-one-is-by-no-means-always-in/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [Everything is politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/everything-is-politics/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [Is not life in itself a thing of goodness, irrespective of whether the course it takes for us can be called a 'happy' one?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/is-not-life-in-itself-a-thing-of-goodness-irrespective-of-whether-the/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Explore all 239 Thomas Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) ## More Preoccupied quotes > [I feel domesticity just slipping off me. It is a choice. Either one can let it go or one can intensify it. 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I love fellowship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cameron/everywhere-i-go-everyone-i-talk-with-everyone-i-think-about-their/) [Kirk Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cameron/) > [To keep yourself preoccupied, thousand excuses.but havent reason to meet themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/to-keep-yourself-preoccupied-thousand-excuses-but-havent-reason-to/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [I think there is a rage against women. I've come to see that now although at the time I did not notice it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marguerite-young/i-think-there-is-a-rage-against-women-i-ve-come-to-see-that-now/) [Marguerite Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marguerite-young/) > [When you stand up there and do a press conference, it's a very preoccupied moment. You're standing in front of cameras; people are watching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-quinn/when-you-stand-up-there-and-do-a-press-conference-it-s-a-very/) [Christine Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-quinn/) > [“But like many who are lonely, I was more preoccupied with others than were those who lived to socialize...Everyone I hated was always with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arbinger-institute/but-like-many-who-are-lonely-i-was-more-preoccupied-with-others-than/) [Arbinger Institute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arbinger-institute/) > [Of course, you see your body changing as you age, but it's more important to live than be too preoccupied with that sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-bisset/of-course-you-see-your-body-changing-as-you-age-but-it-s-more/) [Jacqueline Bisset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-bisset/) > [Consider any individual at any period of his life, and you will always find him preoccupied with fresh plans to increase his comfort. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/consider-any-individual-at-any-period-of-his-life-and-you-will-always/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I'm more preoccupied with furnishing my head than the place where I live. The most beautiful rooms I have entered have been empty ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-m-more-preoccupied-with-furnishing-my-head-than-the-place-where-i/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [When you make movies, you have to be preoccupied with the social problems, otherwise there is no point in making a movie. To have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/when-you-make-movies-you-have-to-be-preoccupied-with-the-social/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [I am not preoccupied about my future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-tevez/i-am-not-preoccupied-about-my-future/) [Carlos Tevez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-tevez/) > [Just the fact that I've lived more, and I'm not concerned about when I am going to get my next job anymore. This business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-julia/just-the-fact-that-i-ve-lived-more-and-i-m-not-concerned-about-when-i/) [Raul Julia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-julia/) > [“The reason he could do none of the necessary things to take care of himself, on the few occasions when he thought of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pouncey/the-reason-he-could-do-none-of-the-necessary-things-to-take-care-of/) [Peter Pouncey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pouncey/) > [“Preoccupied with a single leaf you won't see the tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vagabond/preoccupied-with-a-single-leaf-you-won-t-see-the-tree/) [Vagabond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vagabond/) [Browse all 77 Preoccupied quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preoccupied/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The fact is that everyone is much too busily preoccupied with himself to be able to form a serious opinion about another person. 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