There are no perfect human beings! Persons can be found who are good, very good indeed, in fact, great. There do in fact exist creators, seers, sages, saints, shakers, and movers...even if they are uncommon and do not come by the dozen. And yet these very same people can at times be boring, irritating, petulant, selfish, angry, or depressed. To avoid disillusionment with human nature, we must first give up our illusions about it.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the imperfection of human beings and the importance of adjusting our expectations about them.
Abraham Maslow highlights that while some individuals may possess exceptional qualities, they are not devoid of flaws. This quote serves as a reminder to embrace the complexity of human nature, understanding that everyone has both positive and negative traits. It urges us to relinquish unrealistic ideals about humanity to foster a healthier perspective on our relationships and interactions.
In practice
In a discussion about teamwork, this quote can illustrate the importance of understanding colleagues' imperfections.
It looks as if there were a single ultimate goal for mankind, a far goal toward which all persons strive. This is called variously by different authors self-actualization, self-realization, integration, psychological health, individuation, autonomy, creativity, productivity, but they all agree that this amounts to realizing the potentialities of the person, that is to say, becoming fully human, everything that person can be.
Dispassionate objectivity is itself a passion, for the real and for the truth.
The study of crippled, stunted, immature, and unhealthy specimens can yield only a cripple psychology and a cripple philosophy
Marriage is a school itself. Also, having children. Becoming a father changed my whole life. It taught me as if by revelation.
It seems that the necessary thing to do is not to fear mistakes, to plunge in, to do the best that one can, hoping to learn enough from blunders to correct them eventually.
I was awfully curious to find out why I didn't go insane.
there are worse things than being alone but it often takes decades to realize this and most often when you do it's too late and there's nothing worse than too late
Outer beauty is inner beauty made visible, and it manifests itself in the light that flows in our eyes.
The bureaucracy is a circle from which no one can escape. Its hierarchy is a hierarchy of knowledge.
Our notion of an optimist is a man who knowing that each year was worse than the preceding, thinks next year will be better. And a pessimist is a man who knows the next year can't be worse than the last one.
Flee the country where a lone man holds all power: It is a nation of slaves.
The best reason for exposing oneself to foreign ways is to generate a sense of vitality and awareness - an interest in life which can come only when one lives through the shock of contrast and difference.
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