--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Think of it like this. If you are sad…" description: "\"“Think of it like this. If you are sad because you can't have something you want - maybe a book or a toy - you can do one of two things: you can do you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/anonymous-1_books_think-of-it-like-this-if-you-are-sad-bec_1447451.jpg" --- # Think of it like this. If you are sad because you can't… ![“Think of it like this. If you are sad because you can't have something you want - maybe a book or a toy - you can do one of two things: you can do your best to get it, or you can stop wanting it. Either way, if you succeed, you won't be sad any more.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/anonymous-1_books_think-of-it-like-this-if-you-are-sad-bec_1447451.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/anonymous-1_books_think-of-it-like-this-if-you-are-sad-bec_1447451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b2/anonymous-1_books_think-of-it-like-this-if-you-are-sad-bec_1447451.jpg) > ““Think of it like this. If you are sad because you can't have something you want - maybe a book or a toy - you can do one of two things: you can do your best to get it, or you can stop wanting it. Either way, if you succeed, you won't be sad any more.”” [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. When desires cause sadness, either pursue them earnestly or release the longing to find peace. **In simple terms:** Choose to act or let go to end sadness. Key Takeaway Actively pursue goals or release attachment. Themes desire sadness choice goal setting mindfulness Mood thoughtful encouraging Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - personal setbacks - goal planning - emotional regulation - mindful living Key Concepts motivation acceptance psychology Questions to Reflect On - What desire are you clinging to? - Can acceptance bring more peace than effort? A Different Perspective Letting go may be harder than trying. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ## Related quotes > [Stress is wanting something to be the way it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/stress-is-wanting-something-to-be-the-way-it-isn-t/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Nobody knows what you want except you. And nobody will be as sorry as you if you don't get it. Wanting some other way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/nobody-knows-what-you-want-except-you-and-nobody-will-be-as-sorry-as/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [About half your trouble comes from wanting it your way. The rest is from getting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/about-half-your-trouble-comes-from-wanting-it-your-way-the-rest-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be honest I still cant believe youre even gone I always have these flashbacks about us when I was happy and not always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-honest-i-still-cant-believe-youre-even-gone-i-always-have-these/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sad and I want something to say they love me and make me feel ok again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sad-and-i-want-something-to-say-they-love-me-and-make-me-feel-ok/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just want to see Your face when You smile,I just want to listen to Your words when You speak,I just want to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-want-to-see-your-face-when-you-smile-i-just-want-to-listen-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Is sad that sometimes we want to keep someone that has hurt us in many ways and still we love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/is-sad-that-sometimes-we-want-to-keep-someone-that-has-hurt-us-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If less is more, why do we always want more? Maybe it only applies to sequins, glitter, and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-less-is-more-why-do-we-always-want-more-maybe-it-only-applies-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just hope that one day things will work out the way I want them to, maybe not now but some day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-just-hope-that-one-day-things-will-work-out-the-way-i-want-them-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-holy-bible-1-john-2-15-msg/don-t-love-the-world-s-ways-don-t-love-the-world-s-goods-love-of-the/) The Holy Bible 1 John 2 15 MSG > [“Wanting you this way is the last thing I should be doing, Brynne. But I’m not going to stand here and lie to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-adrian/wanting-you-this-way-is-the-last-thing-i-should-be-doing-brynne-but-i/) [Lara Adrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-adrian/) > [Does it ever stop? The wanting you?" "Even when I've just left ye. I want you so much my chest feels tight and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/does-it-ever-stop-the-wanting-you-even-when-i-ve-just-left-ye-i-want/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [I'll never stop wanting to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-mclaughlin/i-ll-never-stop-wanting-to-learn/) [Caleb McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-mclaughlin/) > [Stop wanting someone who doesn't want you. You're just wasting your time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushan/stop-wanting-someone-who-doesn-t-want-you-you-re-just-wasting-your/) [Sushan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushan/) > [I consider kissing her right there on the dirty couch, but self-preservation stops me. Once someone hurts you, it’s harder to relax around them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/i-consider-kissing-her-right-there-on-the-dirty-couch-but-self/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) ## 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 Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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