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Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due.
William Ralph Inge
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Worrying about future problems only burdens us and does not prevent those problems.

This quote suggests that spending time worrying about potential troubles is futile and only causes unnecessary stress. It implies that, just as one pays interest on a loan, we often pay a psychological toll by allowing ourselves to dwell on anxieties that may never materialize, thus encouraging a more mindful approach to life without excessive worrying.

Themes

WorryTroubleStressMindfulnessAnxiety

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about mental health and coping strategies.

More from William Ralph Inge

A man is never so truly and intensely himself as when he is most possessed by God. It is impossible to say where, in the spiritual life, the human will leaves off and divine grace begins.
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Don't get up from the feast of life without paying for your share of it.
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Deliberate cruelty to our defenceless and beautiful little cousins is surely one of the meanest and most detestable vices of which a human being can be guilty.
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The enemies of freedom do not argue; they shout and they shoot.
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Bereavement is the deepest initiation into the mysteries of human life, an initiation more searching and profound than even happy love.
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The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except that they are so.
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