--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The ghosts of things that never happened…" description: "\"The ghosts of things that never happened are worse than the ghosts of things that did.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/anonymous-1_emily_the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened_1521582.jpg" --- # The ghosts of things that never happened are worse than… ![“The ghosts of things that never happened are worse than the ghosts of things that did.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/anonymous-1_emily_the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened_1521582.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/anonymous-1_emily_the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened_1521582.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/anonymous-1_emily_the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened_1521582.jpg) > “The ghosts of things that never happened are worse than the ghosts of things that did.” [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. Unrealized possibilities haunt more than past failures, highlighting fear of missed opportunities. **In simple terms:** Imagined failures haunt us. Key Takeaway Address missed opportunities directly. Themes psychology regret possibility fear Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career decisions - personal goals - relationship choices - creative projects Key Concepts counterfactual thinking mental health motivation Questions to Reflect On - What missed opportunities linger for you? - How can you turn regret into action? A Different Perspective Focusing on imagined outcomes can cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost/) [Ghosts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghosts/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) ## Related quotes > [What happened to forever, what happened to for worse or better? What happened to the romance...What happened to our love? What happened to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-happened-to-forever-what-happened-to-for-worse-or-better-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They would grow up grappling with ways of living with what happened. They would try to tell themselves that in terms of geological time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/they-would-grow-up-grappling-with-ways-of-living-with-what-happened/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [What happened to you could have been worse - it could have happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/what-happened-to-you-could-have-been-worse-it-could-have-happened-to/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“She couldn't let him get close. He would let her down. She knew it. And when that happened, she would be worse off than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyne-aarsen/she-couldn-t-let-him-get-close-he-would-let-her-down-she-knew-it-and/) [Carolyne Aarsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyne-aarsen/) > [Over time, the ghosts of things that happened start to turn distant; once they've cut you a couple of million times, their edges blunt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/over-time-the-ghosts-of-things-that-happened-start-to-turn-distant/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [I like to call up ghosts of things past for myself when I'm working a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mendelsohn/i-like-to-call-up-ghosts-of-things-past-for-myself-when-i-m-working-a/) [Ben Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mendelsohn/) > [Then he left her there, standing alone, surrounded by word ghosts; things she could have said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/then-he-left-her-there-standing-alone-surrounded-by-word-ghosts/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [I think in some way it's like that for all of us, living with the ghosts of things that used to be, or never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodman-philbrick/i-think-in-some-way-it-s-like-that-for-all-of-us-living-with-the/) [Rodman Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodman-philbrick/) > [“Then he left her there, standing along, surrounded by word ghosts; things she could have said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/then-he-left-her-there-standing-along-surrounded-by-word-ghosts/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [“Anne of Green Gables Author: L.M. Montgomery”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anne-of-green-gables-author-l-m-montgomery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Montgomery, Alabama, was dreary and hot. “I have rarely seen a more dull, lifeless place,” he wrote. “It looks like a small Russian town…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/montgomery-alabama-was-dreary-and-hot-i-have-rarely-seen-a-more-dull/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I like the influence of the macabre, but I don't believe in ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-like-the-influence-of-the-macabre-but-i-don-t-believe-in-ghosts/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [True love is like ghosts,which everybody talks about,but few have seen..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-love-is-like-ghosts-which-everybody-talks-about-but-few-have-seen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are savages without God in any proper sense of the word, but none without ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-savages-without-god-in-any-proper-sense-of-the-word-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“True love is like ghosts which many believe in, but few have seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/true-love-is-like-ghosts-which-many-believe-in-but-few-have-seen/) [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 Emily quotes > [“He dipped his head and kissed along my jaw. 'I promise, nothing about being inside you will disappoint me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-r-martin/he-dipped-his-head-and-kissed-along-my-jaw-i-promise-nothing-about/) [Kelley R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-r-martin/) > [Emily and I have some funny scenes where we quarrel and it gets quite heated, the mother-daughter relationship. You know, film mothers and daughters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/emily-and-i-have-some-funny-scenes-where-we-quarrel-and-it-gets-quite/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [“His gaze was too personal again, like we were the only two people in the room. I was the first to break eye contact,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-r-martin/his-gaze-was-too-personal-again-like-we-were-the-only-two-people-in/) [Kelley R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-r-martin/) > [Emily Dickinson did not like was one of the stated purposes of the college - to convert young women to the Christian cause, finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-benfey/emily-dickinson-did-not-like-was-one-of-the-stated-purposes-of-the/) Christopher Benfey > [As she walked along she dramatized the night. There was about it a wild, lawless charm that appealed to a certain wild, lawless strain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/as-she-walked-along-she-dramatized-the-night-there-was-about-it-a/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [Emily Procter getting pregnant changed the show for me. I got so much more involved, which was so much fun! Now I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-larue/emily-procter-getting-pregnant-changed-the-show-for-me-i-got-so-much/) [Eva LaRue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-larue/) > [“He lived to see her smile, to make her laugh, to kiss her. He wanted to spend all day reading with her, all night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-smith/he-lived-to-see-her-smile-to-make-her-laugh-to-kiss-her-he-wanted-to/) [Lauren Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-smith/) > [I had done an interview with 'Hello' magazine. In it, they asked me if I was going to marry Emily Blunt. Of course, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buble/i-had-done-an-interview-with-hello-magazine-in-it-they-asked-me-if-i/) [Michael Buble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buble/) > [Finding original source material is not easy, but when something special like 'Edge of Tomorrow' comes along, everybody recognized it. I wasn't swimming against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-liman/finding-original-source-material-is-not-easy-but-when-something/) [Doug Liman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-liman/) > [As for the multiple editions, in the case of a truly great writer - Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Proust, someone with a canon - there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-thurman/as-for-the-multiple-editions-in-the-case-of-a-truly-great-writer/) [Judith Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-thurman/) > [Even the best critical writing on Emily Dickinson underestimates her. She is frightening. To come to her directly from Dante, Spenser, Blake, and Baudelaire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/even-the-best-critical-writing-on-emily-dickinson-underestimates-her/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [My favorite piece of information is that Branwell Brontë, brother of Emily and Charlotte, died standing up leaning against a mantelpiece, in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/my-favorite-piece-of-information-is-that-branwell-bront-brother-of/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Maybe that was why he bothered me so much-I didn't want to accept that someone so lovely could really be that ugly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-r-martin/maybe-that-was-why-he-bothered-me-so-much-i-didn-t-want-to-accept/) [Kelley R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-r-martin/) > [When I looked further into my mother's history, I realised that her anxieties and her neuroses could be accounted for by facts from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/when-i-looked-further-into-my-mother-s-history-i-realised-that-her/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [Now that my kids are out of the house, I'm finally able to get to the classics I never read: Emily Bronte, Dylan Thomas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-wright/now-that-my-kids-are-out-of-the-house-i-m-finally-able-to-get-to-the/) [Robin Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-wright/) Browse all 150 Emily quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The ghosts of things that never happened are worse than the ghosts of things that did.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened-are-worse-than-the-ghosts-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emily" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened-are-worse-than-the-ghosts-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/anonymous-1_emily_the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened_1521582.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/anonymous-1_emily_the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened_1521582.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/anonymous-1_emily_the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened_1521582.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The ghosts of things that never happened are worse than the ghosts of things that did.” — 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": "The ghosts of things that never...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened-are-worse-than-the-ghosts-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ghosts-of-things-that-never-happened-are-worse-than-the-ghosts-of/#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 } } ] } ```