--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The deepest longing in the human breast…" description: "\"The deepest longing in the human breast is the desire for appreciation.\" — William James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/william-james-228_appreciation_the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast_534697.png" --- # The deepest longing in the human breast is the desire for… ![“The deepest longing in the human breast is the desire for appreciation.” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/william-james-228_appreciation_the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast_534697.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/william-james-228_appreciation_the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast_534697.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/william-james-228_appreciation_the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast_534697.png) > “The deepest longing in the human breast is the desire for appreciation.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It suggests that the deepest human need is to feel valued and recognized by others. **In simple terms:** People crave appreciation above all. Key Takeaway Show appreciation to others. Themes psychology human nature need esteem Mood empathetic inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - leadership - relationships - mental health Key Concepts self‑esteem social validation Questions to Reflect On - How do you express appreciation? - What happens when appreciation is lacking? A Different Perspective May ignore other motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Appreciation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Gratitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gratitude/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Longing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longing/) [Nostalgia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nostalgia/) ## Related quotes > [The deepest longing of the human heart is to know and enjoy the glory of God. We were made for this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/the-deepest-longing-of-the-human-heart-is-to-know-and-enjoy-the-glory/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [We all had a desire and appreciation for such a wide range of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-capaldi/we-all-had-a-desire-and-appreciation-for-such-a-wide-range-of-music/) [Jim Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-capaldi/) > [The human longings that are deep inside of us never go away. They exist across cultures; they exist throughout life. When people were first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/the-human-longings-that-are-deep-inside-of-us-never-go-away-they/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [If we really face our sadness, we find it speaks with the voice of our deepest longing. And if we face it a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kingsley/if-we-really-face-our-sadness-we-find-it-speaks-with-the-voice-of-our/) Peter Kingsley > [This is destiny so why pretend close your eye's and kiss me once again.I'll always be the only one you'll need. So go where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-destiny-so-why-pretend-close-your-eye-s-and-kiss-me-once/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is nothing on earth that can satisfy our deepest longing. We long to see God. The leaves of life are rustling with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/there-is-nothing-on-earth-that-can-satisfy-our-deepest-longing-we/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Our deepest fear is judgment. Our deepest longing is love. The gospel of grace removes the one and provides the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/our-deepest-fear-is-judgment-our-deepest-longing-is-love-the-gospel/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [“Perhaps our loneliness can never be filled with even the best of human love. Maybe the longing for human love is just the beginning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-e-isaacs/perhaps-our-loneliness-can-never-be-filled-with-even-the-best-of/) [Susan E. Isaacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-e-isaacs/) > [“There is a German word, Sehnsucht, which has no English equivalent; it means “the longing for something.” It has Romantic and mystical connotations; C.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-a-german-word-sehnsucht-which-has-no-english-equivalent-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That the real source of all true longing is the human desire to attach ourselves to something infinite.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shmuley-boteach/that-the-real-source-of-all-true-longing-is-the-human-desire-to/) [Shmuley Boteach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shmuley-boteach/) > [We all have a relentless yearning to attach and connect, to love and be loved. This relationship hunger is the fiercest longing of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-earley/we-all-have-a-relentless-yearning-to-attach-and-connect-to-love-and/) [Dave Earley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-earley/) > [“Love is a longing for becoming one with another human being that nobody of us can avoid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatjana-ostojic/love-is-a-longing-for-becoming-one-with-another-human-being-that/) [Tatjana Ostojic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatjana-ostojic/) > [“Anyone longing to become a writer, for even a few moments of his life, will vainly weave fantastic events unless he has experienced that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-klima/anyone-longing-to-become-a-writer-for-even-a-few-moments-of-his-life/) [Ivan Klima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-klima/) > [If you give appreciation to people, you win their goodwill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/if-you-give-appreciation-to-people-you-win-their-goodwill/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Appreciation quotes > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) Daniel K Judd > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [A very small percentage of the people in this world will actually experience and live today. So many people will be stuck on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/a-very-small-percentage-of-the-people-in-this-world-will-actually/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [Stop chasing the things you want and embrace all that you already have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-chasing-the-things-you-want-and-embrace-all-that-you-already-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Appreciation is the purest vibration that exists on the planet today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/appreciation-is-the-purest-vibration-that-exists-on-the-planet-today/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Like gratitude, authentic appreciation in the workplace is a realisation that can be nurtured and accessed with daily mindful practice. By and large, people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/like-gratitude-authentic-appreciation-in-the-workplace-is-a/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [Think of your mind, your emotions, and your spirit as the ultimate garden. The way to ensure a bountiful, nourishing harvest is to plant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/think-of-your-mind-your-emotions-and-your-spirit-as-the-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“Recognize and appreciate little things, and enjoy what Life has to offer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-nikko-caharian-iii/recognize-and-appreciate-little-things-and-enjoy-what-life-has-to/) Cesar Nikko Caharian III > [Men, when it comes to women, value diamonds and put no stock into copper. Diamonds are rare. You can find copper anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/men-when-it-comes-to-women-value-diamonds-and-put-no-stock-into/) Enhance Dreams > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [Be very slow to believe that you are wiser than all others; it is a fatal but common error. Where one has been saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/be-very-slow-to-believe-that-you-are-wiser-than-all-others-it-is-a/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) [Browse all 2,528 Appreciation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The deepest longing in the human breast is the desire for appreciation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast-is-the-desire-for-appreciation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Appreciation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast-is-the-desire-for-appreciation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/william-james-228_appreciation_the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast_534697.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/william-james-228_appreciation_the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast_534697.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/william-james-228_appreciation_the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast_534697.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The deepest longing in the human breast is the desire for appreciation.” — William James", "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": "William James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The deepest longing in the human...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast-is-the-desire-for-appreciation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-deepest-longing-in-the-human-breast-is-the-desire-for-appreciation/#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 } } ] } ```