Quotes About Self-deception

Go on with your judas ginger self

I had reached a level of sophistication at which I could know I was fooling myself and still fool myself.

As the open confession of my sins to a brother insures me against self-deception, so, too, the assurance of forgiveness becomes fully certain to me only when it is spoken by a brother in the name of God. Mutual, brotherly confession is given to us by God in order that we may be sure of divine forgiveness." —LIFE TOGETHER

It's relatively easy, you know, when you don't see someone. To kid yourself that you really don't love them any more.

Some of the often told stories we use to con ourselves: It's getting better. Nobody's perfect. S/he had a hard childhood. I know s/he really loves me, s/he just has a hard time showing it. S/he has so much potential. I'm sure it will get better. Don't ever marry potential or plan on someone changing. Ask yourself, why would it get better? Why would this person change?

That woman was always very good at not seeing what was in front of her. In my experience, people who lie to themselves long enough don't even know when they're blind.

It's a lie you've told yourself that has flattened down whatever hurts.

Vanity plays lurid tricks with our memory, and the truth of every passion wants some pretence to make it live.

If you were half as funny as you think you are, you'd be twice as funny as you really are.

when I stopped lying to myself, stopped trying to make excuses for her. It was as if I woke up from some feverish dream and found myself locked into a nightmare.

Amazing what we can self-rationalize when we really want something

There's never been an act done since the beginning, from a kid stealing candy to a dictator committing genocide, that the person doing it didn't think he was fully justified. That's a mental trick called rationalizing, and it's done the human race more harm than anything else you can name.

Oh, we all are, my young friend! We all deceive. Some of us deceive the whole world, every single fellow creature we meet. Some of us deceive only selected people, wives and lovers, or mothers and fathers. And some of us deceive only ourselves. But none of us is totally honest with everyone all the time, in all matters. Hell, the need to deceive is just one more curse that our sorry species has to bear.

People always have been the foolish victims of deception and self-deception in politics, and they always will be until they have learnt to seek out the interests of some class or other behind all moral, religious, political and social phrases, declarations and promises.

It is easy to become the dupe of a deferred purpose, of the promise the future can never keep, and I had fallen into the meanest type of self-deception in making myself believe that all this was in preparation for great things to come.

It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us. Women fancy admiration means more than it does. And men take care that they should.

It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.

We must not be so ready to fancy ourselves intentionally injured... It is very often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.

it is often nothing but our own vanity that decieves us

She had always wanted to do every thing, and had made more progress in both drawing and music than many might have done with so little labour as she ever would submit to... She was not much deceived as to her own skill either as an artist or a musician, but she was not unwilling to have others deceived, or sorry to know her reputation for accomplishment often higher than it deserved.

often nothing but our own vanity that deceives us.

To such perseverance in willful self-deception Elizabeth would make no reply, and immediately and in silence withdrew; determined, that if he persisted in considering her repeated refusals as flattering encouragement, to apply to her father, whose negative might be uttered in such a manner as must be decisive, and whose behavior at least could not be mistaken for the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female.

There is nothing people are so often deceived in, as the state of their own affections.

She was not much deceived as to her own skill either as an artist or a musician, but she was not unwilling to have others deceived