--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Better to be happy with the cod fish in…" description: "\"Better to be happy with the cod fish in your plate now, than to linger for the taste of a tuna that is still swimming in the sea.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/anonymous-1_contentment_better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in_2686154.jpg" --- # Better to be happy with the cod fish in your plate now… ![“Better to be happy with the cod fish in your plate now, than to linger for the taste of a tuna that is still swimming in the sea.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/anonymous-1_contentment_better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in_2686154.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/anonymous-1_contentment_better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in_2686154.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/anonymous-1_contentment_better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in_2686154.jpg) > “Better to be happy with the cod fish in your plate now, than to linger for the taste of a tuna that is still swimming in the sea.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing a modest, certain gain now is wiser than chasing an uncertain, possibly better future. **In simple terms:** Take what you have now rather than risk for something uncertain. Key Takeaway Value present security over uncertain promises. Themes contentment risk decision making patience Mood pragmatic thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - financial choices - career moves - relationship decisions Key Concepts opportunity cost certainty vs. uncertainty short-term vs. long-term Questions to Reflect On - What present opportunities are you overlooking? - How do you balance risk and reward? A Different Perspective Overvaluing future possibilities can cause missed present benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cod Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cod-fish-252444/) [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Fishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishes/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Happy Cod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-cod-2621047/) [Plates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plates/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Swimming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/swimming/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) [Taste Tuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste-tuna-2621045/) [Tuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tuna/) [Tuna Swimming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tuna-swimming-2621046/) ## Related quotes > [Be happy with the cod fish in your plate now, than to linger for the taste of a tuna that is still swimming in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-e-adonis/be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in-your-plate-now-than-to-linger-for-the/) [Dennis E Adonis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-e-adonis/) > [Taste my tuna casserole - tell me if I put in too much hot fudge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/taste-my-tuna-casserole-tell-me-if-i-put-in-too-much-hot-fudge/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [The biggest predator of fish like cod is other fish - and seals keep fish like that in check.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-watson/the-biggest-predator-of-fish-like-cod-is-other-fish-and-seals-keep/) [Paul Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-watson/) > [Would you Kill flipper for a tuna sandwich?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/would-you-kill-flipper-for-a-tuna-sandwich/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jamie, you know, you could go clear around the world and still come home wondering if the tuna fish sandwiches at Chock Full O'Nuts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jamie-you-know-you-could-go-clear-around-the-world-and-still-come/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What kind of a maniac needed over five thousand plates?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-kind-of-a-maniac-needed-over-five-thousand-plates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A plate of apples, an open fire, and a jolly good book are a fair substitute for heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-plate-of-apples-an-open-fire-and-a-jolly-good-book-are-a-fair/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And indeed there will be time for the yellow smoke that slides along the street rubbing its back upon the window-panes; there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-indeed-there-will-be-time-for-the-yellow-smoke-that-slides-along/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So with Easter. It was fun, as a child, to bound down the stairs to find seasonal sweet-treats under each plate, but again, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-with-easter-it-was-fun-as-a-child-to-bound-down-the-stairs-to-find/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-that-but-looketh-on-a-plate-of-ham-and-eggs-to-lust-after-it-hath/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-you-have-told-us-is-rubbish-the-world-is-really-a-flat-plate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Your people eat dry and tasteless flesh but it is off plates as smooth as ivory and as round as the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-people-eat-dry-and-tasteless-flesh-but-it-is-off-plates-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [That's a lot of vegetables. "It is, yes, and if you eat them like a good girl..." He lifted the silver lid on another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-s-a-lot-of-vegetables-it-is-yes-and-if-you-eat-them-like-a-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You can get a large audience together for a strip-tease act—that is, to watch a girl undress on the stage. Now suppose you came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-get-a-large-audience-together-for-a-strip-tease-act-that-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There was something I was always very good at, however, and that was teaching myself not to be frightened while frightening things are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-something-i-was-always-very-good-at-however-and-that-was/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Contentment quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/) [Jennie Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-rooney/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) [Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/) > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) [Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Better to be happy with the cod fish in your plate now, than to linger for the taste of a tuna that is still swimming in the sea.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in-your-plate-now-than-to-linger/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contentment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in-your-plate-now-than-to-linger/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/anonymous-1_contentment_better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in_2686154.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/anonymous-1_contentment_better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in_2686154.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f8/anonymous-1_contentment_better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in_2686154.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Better to be happy with the cod fish in your plate now, than to linger for the taste of a tuna that is still…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Better to be happy with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in-your-plate-now-than-to-linger/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/better-to-be-happy-with-the-cod-fish-in-your-plate-now-than-to-linger/#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 } } ] } ```