We are all blind to some truths… because our survival once depended on it. This isn’t about ignorance, it’s a built-in psychological feature. Goleman argues we filter out painful realities to keep functioning, a mechanism that’s both a gift and a curse.
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Meaning
At its core, this quote means that our minds actively filter out information that would be too psychologically devastating or disruptive for us to handle. It’s not a bug; it’s an ancient feature.
Explanation
Let me break this down the way I’ve come to understand it after seeing it play out in teams and companies for years. Think of your consciousness not as a spotlight illuminating everything, but as a bouncer at a very exclusive club. Its main job is to keep the peace. So when a “truth” shows up that’s too threatening, too chaotic, too painful—the bouncer simply doesn’t let it in.
And here’s the crucial part Goleman nails: this was adaptive. For our ancestors, fully grasping their own mortality or the constant dangers around them could have been paralyzing. So the mind developed a brilliant, simple coping mechanism: strategic ignorance. Don’t see what you can’t handle. The problem is, that ancient survival mechanism is now running in a modern world where the “threats” are often complex social dynamics, uncomfortable feedback, or inconvenient facts about our own behavior. We’re blind to the very things we need to see to grow.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Life (320) |
| Topics | blindness (2), survival (10), truth (77) |
| Literary Style | reflective (255) |
| Emotion / Mood | somber (55), understanding (17) |
| Overall Quote Score | 76 (131) |
Origin & Factcheck
This insight comes straight from Daniel Goleman’s 1985 book, Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception. It’s a foundational text that came before his blockbuster work on Emotional Intelligence. You sometimes see this idea floating around unattributed, but it’s pure Goleman, exploring how families and groups collude to ignore painful realities.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Goleman (125) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception (61) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Modern (530) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Daniel Goleman is a psychologist and bestselling author whose journalism at The New York Times brought brain and behavior science to a wide audience. He earned a BA from Amherst and a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and studied in India on a Harvard fellowship. Goleman’s research and writing helped mainstream emotional intelligence, leadership competencies, attention, and contemplative science. He co-founded CASEL and a leading research consortium on EI at work. The Daniel Goleman book list includes Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Primal Leadership, Social Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | We are all blind to some truths because our survival once depended on not seeing them |
| Book Details | Publication Year: 1985; ISBN: 9780743240156; Last edition: 1996 Harper Perennial; Number of pages: 288. |
| Where is it? | Approximate page from 1996 edition, Chapter 6: The Adaptive Mind |