--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The hardest thing in life is to know…" description: "\"The hardest thing in life is to know which bridges to cross and which to burn.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/anonymous-1_bridges_the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-whi_2601918.jpg" --- # The hardest thing in life is to know which bridges to… ![“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridges to cross and which to burn.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/anonymous-1_bridges_the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-whi_2601918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/anonymous-1_bridges_the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-whi_2601918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/anonymous-1_bridges_the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-whi_2601918.jpg) > “The hardest thing in life is to know which bridges to cross and which to burn.” [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 which relationships to maintain or end is a crucial life skill. **In simple terms:** Know which ties to keep or cut. Key Takeaway Assess relationships wisely. Themes decision relationships boundaries Mood thoughtful serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - career moves - friendships - family disputes Key Concepts personal growth risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What criteria guide your choices? - How do you handle regret after cutting ties? A Different Perspective Burning bridges can cause regret. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Burning bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burning-bridges/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [There's a danger in starting a fire, you'll never know how many bridges you'll burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-danger-in-starting-a-fire-you-ll-never-know-how-many/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One if the hardest things in life to learn are which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/one-if-the-hardest-things-in-life-to-learn-are-which-bridges-to-cross/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Burning bridges before you cross them? Hope you can swim...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/burning-bridges-before-you-cross-them-hope-you-can-swim/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Choose carefully the bridges you cross or burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/choose-carefully-the-bridges-you-cross-or-burn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You know the hardest thing to do in Hollywood is burn bridges. There is usually some sucker who still likes me. There is usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-gilliam/you-know-the-hardest-thing-to-do-in-hollywood-is-burn-bridges-there/) [Terry Gilliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-gilliam/) > [great men burn bridges before they come to them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/great-men-burn-bridges-before-they-come-to-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people illuminate their lives with the bridges they burn!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-illuminate-their-lives-with-the-bridges-they-burn/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never burn bridges - You never know who you will need help from in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-burn-bridges-you-never-know-who-you-will-need-help-from-in-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes burning bridges isn't a bad thing. It prevents you from going back to a place you should never have been to begin with...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-burning-bridges-isn-t-a-bad-thing-it-prevents-you-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't let bridges you cross be bridges you burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-cole-2/don-t-let-bridges-you-cross-be-bridges-you-burn/) [J. Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-cole-2/) > [One of the hardest lessons in life to learn is figuring out which bridges to cross and which to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-hardest-lessons-in-life-to-learn-is-figuring-out-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the hardest things in life is having love in your heart that you can't utter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-hardest-things-in-life-is-having-love-in-your-heart-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The hardest things to let go of are the things you never really had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-things-to-let-go-of-are-the-things-you-never-really-had/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The two hardest things to contemplate in life ... are failure and age; those are one and the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-two-hardest-things-to-contemplate-in-life-are-failure-and-age/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The hardest thing ever is to whatch the one you love fall in love with someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-thing-ever-is-to-whatch-the-one-you-love-fall-in-love/) [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 Bridges quotes > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you walk, try to think nothing! You can then obtain the silence of a streetlight or a bridge; stop thinking; after that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-walk-try-to-think-nothing-you-can-then-obtain-the-silence-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges do it for me in a big way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/al-pacino-and-jeff-bridges-do-it-for-me-in-a-big-way/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) [Browse all 1,521 Bridges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The hardest thing in life is to know which bridges to cross and which to burn.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridges-to-cross-and-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bridges" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridges-to-cross-and-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/anonymous-1_bridges_the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-whi_2601918.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/anonymous-1_bridges_the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-whi_2601918.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f90/anonymous-1_bridges_the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-whi_2601918.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridges to cross and which to burn.” — 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 hardest thing in life is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridges-to-cross-and-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-thing-in-life-is-to-know-which-bridges-to-cross-and-which/#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 } } ] } ```