QuoteProject
People are always trying to be on top. And not always with a macabre agenda, but I think that people are desperately trying to remain in control, rather than being honest.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote reflects on people's desire for control and the challenges of authenticity.

In this quote, Phoebe Waller-Bridge examines the human tendency to seek power and control over our circumstances. She suggests that this pursuit often comes at the expense of honesty, as individuals may prioritize maintaining their position instead of embracing vulnerability and truthfulness. The underlying message prompts reflection on the nature of ambition and the importance of authenticity in our interactions.

Themes

ControlHonestyAuthenticityPowerHuman Nature

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about business ethics, this quote could highlight the importance of honesty in leadership.

More from Phoebe Waller-Bridge

As women, we get the message about how to be a good girl - how to be a good, pretty girl - from such an early age. Then, at the same time, we're told that well-behaved girls won't change the world or ever make a splash.
Phoebe Waller-BridgeRead
You don't often see a cross section of female characters interacting with each other at the top of a chain.
Phoebe Waller-BridgeRead
I think, a lot of time, I'm just writing my worst fears, of the idea of losing my mom or my best friend or doing something so terrible to somebody that's kind of deemed unforgivable or having a really broken family.
Phoebe Waller-BridgeRead
You're allowed to bore your friends and family, but to bore your audience is unforgivable.
Phoebe Waller-BridgeRead
If you hear somebody say something absolutely horrendous about their own life, in quite a flippant, offbeat kind of way, when you meet people clearly trying to be strong and brave, the ones who are really good at it are the ones who break my heart the most.
Phoebe Waller-BridgeRead
When an audience is laughing with a character, they make themselves so vulnerable, and they open up. They expose their heart the moment they're laughing, because they're relaxed and they're disarmed.
Phoebe Waller-BridgeRead

Similar quotes

I pity the man who wants a coat so cheap that the man or woman who produces the cloth will starve in the process.
Benjamin HarrisonRead
It is customary to complain of the bustle and strenuousness of our epoch. But in truth the chief mark of our epoch is a profound laziness and fatigue; and the fact is that the real laziness is the cause of the apparent bustle.
Gilbert K. ChestertonRead
The central purpose of the Work that Reconnects is to help people uncover and experience their innate connections with each other and with the systemic, self-healing powers of the web of life, so that they may be enlivened and motivated to play their part in creating a sustainable civilization.
Joanna MacyRead
The true man wants two things: danger and play. For that reason he wants woman, as the most dangerous plaything.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
Democracy divides people into workers and loafers. It makes no provision for those who have no time to work.
Karl KrausRead
Nostalgia, more than anything, gives us the shudder of our own imperfection. This is why with Chopin we feel so little like gods.
Emile M. CioranRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.