--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I happen to think we’ve set our ideal on…" description: "\"I happen to think we’ve set our ideal on the wrong objects; I happen to think that the greatest ideal man can set before himself is self-perfection.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/w-somerset-maugham-237_ideal-man_i-happen-to-think-we-ve-set-our-ideal-on_1917976.jpg" --- # I happen to think we’ve set our ideal on the wrong… ![“I happen to think we’ve set our ideal on the wrong objects; I happen to think that the greatest ideal man can set before himself is self-perfection.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/w-somerset-maugham-237_ideal-man_i-happen-to-think-we-ve-set-our-ideal-on_1917976.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/w-somerset-maugham-237_ideal-man_i-happen-to-think-we-ve-set-our-ideal-on_1917976.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/200/w-somerset-maugham-237_ideal-man_i-happen-to-think-we-ve-set-our-ideal-on_1917976.jpg) > “I happen to think we’ve set our ideal on the wrong objects; I happen to think that the greatest ideal man can set before himself is self-perfection.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True fulfillment comes from striving toward self‑perfection rather than external ideals. **In simple terms:** Seek self‑perfection for true fulfillment. Key Takeaway Pursue personal growth over material goals. Themes self‑improvement idealism ful growth Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - education - creative projects - relationship building Key Concepts existentialism humanism Questions to Reflect On - What does self‑perfection mean to you? - How to balance personal growth with helping others? 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Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Ideal man quotes > [my definition of the ideal man is 'that particular man with whom a woman happens to be in love at that particular time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-boothe-luce/my-definition-of-the-ideal-man-is-that-particular-man-with-whom-a/) [Clare Boothe Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-boothe-luce/) > [Conservatism defends those coercive arrangements which a still-lingering savageness makes requisite. Radicalism endeavours to realize a state more in harmony with the character of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/conservatism-defends-those-coercive-arrangements-which-a-still/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [The ideal man takes joy in doing favors for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ideal-man-takes-joy-in-doing-favors-for-others/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [You can never find your ideal Man but you can make you ideal Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rt/you-can-never-find-your-ideal-man-but-you-can-make-you-ideal-man/) [Rt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rt/) > [“Money is nothing to us; it's merely the symbol of success. We are the greatest idealists in the world; I happen to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/money-is-nothing-to-us-it-s-merely-the-symbol-of-success-we-are-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The highest ideal man can form of his own powers, is that which he is destined to attain. Whatever the soul knows how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-fuller/the-highest-ideal-man-can-form-of-his-own-powers-is-that-which-he-is/) [Margaret Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-fuller/) > [Ideal mental health, like freedom, exists for one person only if it exists for all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-chesler/ideal-mental-health-like-freedom-exists-for-one-person-only-if-it/) [Phyllis Chesler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-chesler/) > [Every human being has within him an ideal man, just as every piece of marble contains in a rough state a statue as beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/every-human-being-has-within-him-an-ideal-man-just-as-every-piece-of/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [Valentine's Day is a perfect time to reject the idea that the ideal man is taller, richer, more knowledgeable, more renowned, or more powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-coontz/valentine-s-day-is-a-perfect-time-to-reject-the-idea-that-the-ideal/) [Stephanie Coontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-coontz/) > [Firstly, there is no perfect man. 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For it is clear that each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/among-this-bewildering-multiplicity-of-ideals-which-shall-we-choose/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Browse all 58 Ideal man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I happen to think we’ve set our ideal on the wrong objects; I happen to think that the greatest ideal man can set before himself is self-perfection.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. 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