---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had had to learn the difference between…"
description: "\"I had had to learn the difference between the bearable fatigue and the unbearable, the fatigue of fear. The first can be cured by a night's sleep; the ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/agnes-de-mille-14468_bearable_i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-betwee_3172765.png"
---

#  I had had to learn the difference between the bearable…

![“I had had to learn the difference between the bearable fatigue and the unbearable, the fatigue of fear. The first can be cured by a night's sleep; the second kills.” quote by Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/agnes-de-mille-14468_bearable_i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-betwee_3172765.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/agnes-de-mille-14468_bearable_i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-betwee_3172765.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/agnes-de-mille-14468_bearable_i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-betwee_3172765.png)

> “I had had to learn the difference between the bearable fatigue and the unbearable, the fatigue of fear. The first can be cured by a night's sleep; the second kills.”

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

She distinguishes between manageable fatigue and the paralyzing fatigue caused by fear, noting sleep can heal the former but not the latter.

**In simple terms:** Fear‑induced fatigue is deadly; rest cures ordinary tiredness.

Key Takeaway

Address fear directly rather than just resting.

Themes

fear fatigue psychology

Mood

anxious thoughtful

Type

advisory reflective

When to use this quote

- work deadlines
- athletic training
- personal crises
- nighttime rest

Key Concepts

mental health stress management

Questions to Reflect On

- What fears are draining you?
- How can you transform fear into energy?

A Different Perspective

Fear may require more than sleep to overcome.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearable/) [Bearable Fatigue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearable-fatigue-5782160/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Fatigue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatigue/) [Fatigue Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fatigue-fear-3737104/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Cured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-cured-5782161/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Sleep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleep/) [Unbearable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable/) [Unbearable Fatigue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbearable-fatigue-5782162/)

## Related quotes

> [As for the reasons behind my retirement, they mostly center around simple fatigue and a fear that if I continue for many more years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-larson/as-for-the-reasons-behind-my-retirement-they-mostly-center-around/)

[Gary Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-larson/)

> [Life is bearable even when it's unbearable: that is what's so terrible, that is the unbearable thing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/life-is-bearable-even-when-it-s-unbearable-that-is-what-s-so-terrible/)

[Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/)

> [Luxury cruises were designed to make something unbearable (a two week transatlantic crossing) seem bearable. There's no need to do it now, there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-fey/luxury-cruises-were-designed-to-make-something-unbearable-a-two-week/)

[Tina Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-fey/)

> [I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-have-seen-what-a-laugh-can-do-it-can-transform-almost-unbearable/)

[Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/)

> [Humour is the best way to make the unbearable bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/humour-is-the-best-way-to-make-the-unbearable-bearable/)

[Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/)

> [When pain is unbearable it destroys us; when it does not it is bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/when-pain-is-unbearable-it-destroys-us-when-it-does-not-it-is-bearable/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet-2/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [You can’t change the tale so that you turned left one day instead of right, or didn’t make the mistake that might have saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/you-can-t-change-the-tale-so-that-you-turned-left-one-day-instead-of/)

[Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/)

> [Divorce is my generation's coming of age ceremony - a ritual scarring that makes anything that happens afterward seem bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/divorce-is-my-generation-s-coming-of-age-ceremony-a-ritual-scarring/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [For me, friendship has always been the most accessible of relationships - certainly far more so than romantic love. Friendship, I learned, provided a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/for-me-friendship-has-always-been-the-most-accessible-of/)

[Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/)

> [“shared pain is more bearable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/shared-pain-is-more-bearable/)

[Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/)

> [Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/intense-unexpected-suffering-passes-more-quickly-than-suffering-that/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [How will it ever be bearable, Priestess?” His voice was rough. He sounded completely broken. “You’ll see her again. She’s with Nyx now. She’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-will-it-ever-be-bearable-priestess-his-voice-was-rough-he-sounded/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

## More by Agnes de Mille

> [I studied the way I danced- to the point of dropping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-studied-the-way-i-danced-to-the-point-of-dropping/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [I learned three important things in college-to use a library, to memorize quickly and visually, to drop asleep at any time given a horizontal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-learned-three-important-things-in-college-to-use-a-library-to/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/to-dance-is-to-be-out-of-yourself-larger-more-beautiful-more-powerful/)

[Agnes De Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [Modern dancers give a sinister portent about our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/modern-dancers-give-a-sinister-portent-about-our-times/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/living-is-a-form-of-not-being-sure-not-knowing-what-next-or-how-the/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [Ballet technique is arbitrary and very difficult. It never becomes easy...it becomes possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/ballet-technique-is-arbitrary-and-very-difficult-it-never-becomes/)

[Agnes De Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [We can't stand silence, because silence induces thinking. And if we thought, we would have to face ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/we-can-t-stand-silence-because-silence-induces-thinking-and-if-we/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [What have we got here in America that we believe we cannot live without? We have the most varied and imaginative bathrooms in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/what-have-we-got-here-in-america-that-we-believe-we-cannot-live/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [To make up a dance, I still need, as I needed then, a pot of tea, walking space, privacy and an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/to-make-up-a-dance-i-still-need-as-i-needed-then-a-pot-of-tea-walking/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made. Destiny is made known silently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/no-trumpets-sound-when-the-important-decisions-of-our-life-are-made/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [Modern dancers give a sinister portent about our times. The dancers don't even look at one another. They are just a lot of isolated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/modern-dancers-give-a-sinister-portent-about-our-times-the-dancers/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/living-is-a-form-of-not-being-sure-not-knowing-what-next-or-how-the-2/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [Friends die one by one, but so, thank God, do enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/friends-die-one-by-one-but-so-thank-god-do-enemies/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [The universe lies before you on the floor, in the air, in the mysterious bodies of your dancers, in your mind. From this voyage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/the-universe-lies-before-you-on-the-floor-in-the-air-in-the/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

> [I want one word on my tombstone - dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-want-one-word-on-my-tombstone-dancer/)

[Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

[Explore all 46 Agnes de Mille quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/)

## More Bearable quotes

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [How will it ever be bearable, Priestess?” His voice was rough. He sounded completely broken. “You’ll see her again. She’s with Nyx now. She’ll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-will-it-ever-be-bearable-priestess-his-voice-was-rough-he-sounded/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/intense-unexpected-suffering-passes-more-quickly-than-suffering-that/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“shared pain is more bearable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/shared-pain-is-more-bearable/)

[Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/)

> [For me, friendship has always been the most accessible of relationships - certainly far more so than romantic love. Friendship, I learned, provided a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sullivan/for-me-friendship-has-always-been-the-most-accessible-of/)

[Andrew Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sullivan/)

> [Divorce is my generation's coming of age ceremony - a ritual scarring that makes anything that happens afterward seem bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/divorce-is-my-generation-s-coming-of-age-ceremony-a-ritual-scarring/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [You can’t change the tale so that you turned left one day instead of right, or didn’t make the mistake that might have saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-caldwell/you-can-t-change-the-tale-so-that-you-turned-left-one-day-instead-of/)

[Gail Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-caldwell/)

> [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet-2/)

[Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/)

> [The doctors may be mapping out the war games, but it is the nurses who make the conflict bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-doctors-may-be-mapping-out-the-war-games-but-it-is-the-nurses-who/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [Prayer can come in only when fasting has done its work. It can make fasting easy and bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/prayer-can-come-in-only-when-fasting-has-done-its-work-it-can-make/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [Well, it seems like a miracle to be able to look forward-to-to see all the minutes in front of one come hopping along with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/well-it-seems-like-a-miracle-to-be-able-to-look-forward-to-to-see-all/)

[Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/)

> [When pain is unbearable it destroys us; when it does not it is bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/when-pain-is-unbearable-it-destroys-us-when-it-does-not-it-is-bearable/)

[Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/)

> [If Jesus gives us a task or assigns us to a difficult season, every ounce of our experience is meant for our instruction and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/if-jesus-gives-us-a-task-or-assigns-us-to-a-difficult-season-every/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-arts-are-not-a-way-to-make-a-living-they-are-a-very-human-way-of/)

[Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/)

[Browse all 174 Bearable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bearable/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I had had to learn the difference between the bearable fatigue and the unbearable, the fatigue of fear. The first can be cured by a night's sleep; the second kills.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Agnes de Mille"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-between-the-bearable-fatigue-and/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bearable"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-between-the-bearable-fatigue-and/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/agnes-de-mille-14468_bearable_i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-betwee_3172765.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/agnes-de-mille-14468_bearable_i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-betwee_3172765.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/744/agnes-de-mille-14468_bearable_i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-betwee_3172765.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I had had to learn the difference between the bearable fatigue and the unbearable, the fatigue of fear. The…” — Agnes de Mille",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Agnes de Mille",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I had had to learn the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-between-the-bearable-fatigue-and/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/i-had-had-to-learn-the-difference-between-the-bearable-fatigue-and/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
