---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Small issues are really just large ones…"
description: "\"Small issues are really just large ones that haven't been accorded the requisite attention.\" — Alain de Botton"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/alain-de-botton-221_attention_small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones_864339.jpg"
---

#  Small issues are really just large ones that haven't been…

![“Small issues are really just large ones that haven't been accorded the requisite attention.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/alain-de-botton-221_attention_small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones_864339.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/alain-de-botton-221_attention_small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones_864339.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/alain-de-botton-221_attention_small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones_864339.jpg)

> “Small issues are really just large ones that haven't been accorded the requisite attention.”

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

## About This Quote

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

Minor problems become major when ignored; attention prevents them from growing.

**In simple terms:** Small issues become big if ignored.

Key Takeaway

Pay attention early to prevent escalation.

Themes

attention prevention scale

Mood

thoughtful practical

Type

philosophical advisory

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- project management
- health monitoring
- policy making

Key Concepts

psychology problem solving

Questions to Reflect On

- Which small issue needs your focus?
- How can you balance attention?

A Different Perspective

Over‑focus can cause anxiety.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Issues Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues-really-515053/) [Large Ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/large-ones-885612/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Requisite Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/requisite-attention-885611/) [Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small/) [Small Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-issues-885610/)

## Related quotes

> [If one finds the strength to deal with small things, one finds it to deal with the large ones as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/etty-hillesum/if-one-finds-the-strength-to-deal-with-small-things-one-finds-it-to/)

[Etty Hillesum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/etty-hillesum/)

> [The media makes a big deal of small issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahid-afridi/the-media-makes-a-big-deal-of-small-issues/)

[Shahid Afridi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahid-afridi/)

> [“Tania, you are too much for me...I can't take you, not in small doses, not in large ones, not here, not on the street,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulina-simmons/tania-you-are-too-much-for-me-i-can-t-take-you-not-in-small-doses-not/)

[Paulina Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulina-simmons/)

> [Some people begets small issues into heated arguments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuvika/some-people-begets-small-issues-into-heated-arguments/)

[Yuvika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuvika/)

> [People are really looking for greater sense of control of what happens in their lives, about the issues they really care about, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/people-are-really-looking-for-greater-sense-of-control-of-what/)

[Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/)

> [Sometimes all people need is someone to look past their issues to who they really are and say Ill help you through it cuz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/sometimes-all-people-need-is-someone-to-look-past-their-issues-to-who/)

[Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/)

> [There is kind of this spirit in journalism to tell both sides of the story and to just let the listeners choose what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-king/there-is-kind-of-this-spirit-in-journalism-to-tell-both-sides-of-the/)

[Shaun King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-king/)

> [I absolutely believe that a lot of the issues raised in 'Amped' about technology migrating into our bodies are issues that we're really going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/i-absolutely-believe-that-a-lot-of-the-issues-raised-in-amped-about/)

[Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/)

> [There are all these massive issues, and really life-threatening things that people in corporations need to change drastically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hechinger/there-are-all-these-massive-issues-and-really-life-threatening-things/)

[Fred Hechinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hechinger/)

> [Evangelicals need to take a good look at what their issues are. Are they really being faithful to Jesus? Are they being faithful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/evangelicals-need-to-take-a-good-look-at-what-their-issues-are-are/)

[Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/)

> [The national security issues are a really good window into the character of the person that somebody wants to have as commander in chief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/the-national-security-issues-are-a-really-good-window-into-the/)

[Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/)

> [Much of the work of midlife is to tell the difference between those who are dealing with their issues through you and those who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/much-of-the-work-of-midlife-is-to-tell-the-difference-between-those/)

[Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/)

> [Movements like Time's Up and #MeToo are putting the problems out there and creating conversations about the issues, and that's really how the healing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-labaki/movements-like-time-s-up-and-metoo-are-putting-the-problems-out-there/)

[Nadine Labaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-labaki/)

> [I think we have to choose, what are the issues that really matter? We have to trust that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/i-think-we-have-to-choose-what-are-the-issues-that-really-matter-we/)

[Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/)

> [When you are playing someone who is dealing with issues on a really personal level, if you don't bring your own issues into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-winstead/when-you-are-playing-someone-who-is-dealing-with-issues-on-a-really/)

[Mary Elizabeth Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-winstead/)

## More by Alain de Botton

> [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

[Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

## More Attention quotes

> [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/)

[David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/)

> [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/)

[Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/)

> [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/)

[Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/)

[Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/)

> [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/)

[Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/)

> [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/)

[Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/)

> [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/)

[Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/)

> [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/)

[Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/)

> [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/)

[Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/)

> [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/)

[Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/)

> [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/)

[Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/)

> [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/)

[Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/)

[Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Small issues are really just large ones that haven't been accorded the requisite attention.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alain de Botton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones-that-haven-t-been-accorded/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Attention"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones-that-haven-t-been-accorded/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/alain-de-botton-221_attention_small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones_864339.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/alain-de-botton-221_attention_small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones_864339.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa6/alain-de-botton-221_attention_small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones_864339.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Small issues are really just large ones that haven't been accorded the requisite attention.” — Alain de Botton",
                "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": "Alain de Botton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Small issues are really just large...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones-that-haven-t-been-accorded/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/small-issues-are-really-just-large-ones-that-haven-t-been-accorded/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
