--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop." description: "\"Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop.\" — Alexandra Petri" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/alexandra-petri-5715_fear_once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-sto_2993927.jpg" --- # Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop. ![“Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop.” quote by Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/alexandra-petri-5715_fear_once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-sto_2993927.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/alexandra-petri-5715_fear_once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-sto_2993927.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/alexandra-petri-5715_fear_once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-sto_2993927.jpg) > “Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop.” [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Worrying initiates a cycle that is difficult to break once it begins. **In simple terms:** Worry starts a hard-to-stop cycle. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness to interrupt worry loops. Themes mental health anxiety habit Mood anxious hopeful Type self-help reflective When to use this quote - therapy - self-help - daily routine - productivity Key Concepts cognitive patterns stress management Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your worry? - How can you reframe anxious thoughts? A Different Perspective Habitual worry may be rooted in deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-stop-1076017/) [Once](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/once/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Start Worrying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-worrying-290605/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Worrying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worrying/) [Worrying Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worrying-hard-4718268/) ## Related quotes > [If one keeps working hard then no one can stop them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaideep-ahlawat/if-one-keeps-working-hard-then-no-one-can-stop-them/) [Jaideep Ahlawat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaideep-ahlawat/) > [When you start worrying about who you're going to play, it could bite you. Because it really shouldn't matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-maddon/when-you-start-worrying-about-who-you-re-going-to-play-it-could-bite/) [Joe Maddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-maddon/) > [Kids can handle a lot more than you think they can. It's when they get to be grown up that you have to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/kids-can-handle-a-lot-more-than-you-think-they-can-it-s-when-they-get/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Stop worrying about what you have to loose and start worrying about what you have to gain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/stop-worrying-about-what-you-have-to-loose-and-start-worrying-about/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [Listen, if you start worrying about the people in the stands, before too long you're up in the stands with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lasorda/listen-if-you-start-worrying-about-the-people-in-the-stands-before/) [Tommy Lasorda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lasorda/) > [When you start worrying about form, then you're not in the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-monk/when-you-start-worrying-about-form-then-you-re-not-in-the-moment/) [Meredith Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-monk/) > [I fight with you because I care. Now, when I stop fighting with you, that's when you should really start worrying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-pheona/i-fight-with-you-because-i-care-now-when-i-stop-fighting-with-you/) [Mercy Pheona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercy-pheona/) > [You shouldn't worry because I care, start worrying when I don't](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drusila-t/you-shouldn-t-worry-because-i-care-start-worrying-when-i-don-t/) [Drusila T](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drusila-t/) > [You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic enough worrying about what's happening now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/you-can-t-start-worrying-about-what-s-going-to-happen-you-get-spastic/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [“This is a bad idea." "If you ever stop saying that, I'll know it's time to start worrying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/this-is-a-bad-idea-if-you-ever-stop-saying-that-i-ll-know-it-s-time/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [“Planning destroys worry. It's when you don't plan that you start worrying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mlungisi-simelane/planning-destroys-worry-it-s-when-you-don-t-plan-that-you-start/) [Mlungisi Simelane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mlungisi-simelane/) > [It's not that perfection cannot be achieved. It's that it's so hard to stop there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-not-that-perfection-cannot-be-achieved-it-s-that-it-s-so-hard-to/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [We left no doubt that we are one heartbeat And something like that is pretty hard to stop Once it gets going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-lua/we-left-no-doubt-that-we-are-one-heartbeat-and-something-like-that-is/) [Oscar Lua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-lua/) > [It's hard to stop thinking. That's why we got to keep it positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/it-s-hard-to-stop-thinking-that-s-why-we-got-to-keep-it-positive/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [Sometimes it's hard to stop loving someone, who has always been there...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lonniedagreat/sometimes-it-s-hard-to-stop-loving-someone-who-has-always-been-there/) [Lonniedagreat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lonniedagreat/) ## More by Alexandra Petri > [They will wrest 'dull words' from my cold dead hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/they-will-wrest-dull-words-from-my-cold-dead-hands/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [Standup comedy was my weird hobby. I would drag my poor parents out to the only open mics that were in coffee shops instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/standup-comedy-was-my-weird-hobby-i-would-drag-my-poor-parents-out-to/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [You can be brilliant in some ways and despicable in others. You can be a clean, upright, moral individual in your private life who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/you-can-be-brilliant-in-some-ways-and-despicable-in-others-you-can-be/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [Almost nothing anyone told me about Harvard has been accurate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/almost-nothing-anyone-told-me-about-harvard-has-been-accurate/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [Success is like food caught in your teeth: much more noticeable when it happens to other people. If it happens to you, other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/success-is-like-food-caught-in-your-teeth-much-more-noticeable-when/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [I majored in extracurriculars, honestly. I joined the Harvard Stand Up Comedy Society, which is a ragtag band of misfits. I wrote for 'On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/i-majored-in-extracurriculars-honestly-i-joined-the-harvard-stand-up/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [Dull words are what make many bright sentences shine. They do not call attention to themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/dull-words-are-what-make-many-bright-sentences-shine-they-do-not-call/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [Bills ought to be passed with deliberation by committees. Change should be achieved in a bipartisan manner. Incrementally, day by day, we should reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/bills-ought-to-be-passed-with-deliberation-by-committees-change/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [Although no one explicitly wants a president who could have a reliable fall back career in stand-up comedy, everyone shudders at the thought of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/although-no-one-explicitly-wants-a-president-who-could-have-a/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [George Washington didn't have to make us laugh; he just had to establish precedents and avoid chopping down more cherry trees than he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/george-washington-didn-t-have-to-make-us-laugh-he-just-had-to/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [At Harvard, people like to impart the idea that you are a mover and shaker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/at-harvard-people-like-to-impart-the-idea-that-you-are-a-mover-and/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [It's easier to find the joke in something when you think, 'This - this is ridiculous.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/it-s-easier-to-find-the-joke-in-something-when-you-think-this-this-is/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [The desire for attention has become a primal need along the lines of food, water, and clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/the-desire-for-attention-has-become-a-primal-need-along-the-lines-of/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [The biggest way to be productive is if you're procrastinating on another more important project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/the-biggest-way-to-be-productive-is-if-you-re-procrastinating-on/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [As long as cantankerous old people have existed, they have complained that kids nowadays don't seem to know anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/as-long-as-cantankerous-old-people-have-existed-they-have-complained/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) [Explore all 100 Alexandra Petri quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) ## More Fear quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [“That horrible stinging sensation returned, the muscles behind my eyes straining as the first tear began to fall. “I’m scared, too. For eighteen months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/that-horrible-stinging-sensation-returned-the-muscles-behind-my-eyes/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [“...Often that which most we fear births the resolve that spurs us on to altitudes we could not have achieved, had we continued walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/often-that-which-most-we-fear-births-the-resolve-that-spurs-us-on-to/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Anything that you find yourself worrying about regularly may find you suddenly wanting unrealistic changes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nagisa-tatsumi/anything-that-you-find-yourself-worrying-about-regularly-may-find-you/) [Nagisa Tatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nagisa-tatsumi/) > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [“I had nowhere to go and did not wish to be seen by anyone for fear they would recognize my sadness and so for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dewitt/i-had-nowhere-to-go-and-did-not-wish-to-be-seen-by-anyone-for-fear/) [Patrick deWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dewitt/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“Snip off the little worries and expressions of worry” like little branches atop a tall tree.28 If you are truly worried, sharing your concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-sanders/snip-off-the-little-worries-and-expressions-of-worry-like-little/) [Tim Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-sanders/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Don't be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don't let others discourage you or tell you that you can't do it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-b-elion/don-t-be-afraid-of-hard-work-nothing-worthwhile-comes-easily-don-t/) [Gertrude B. Elion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-b-elion/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) [Browse all 35,569 Fear quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alexandra Petri" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-stop/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fear" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-stop/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/alexandra-petri-5715_fear_once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-sto_2993927.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/alexandra-petri-5715_fear_once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-sto_2993927.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d14/alexandra-petri-5715_fear_once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-sto_2993927.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Once you start worrying, it's hard to stop.” — Alexandra Petri", "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": "Alexandra Petri", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Once you start worrying, it's hard...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-stop/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/once-you-start-worrying-it-s-hard-to-stop/#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 } } ] } ```