--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing more difficult to…" description: "\"There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties that have become useful to us, whether as explanations for a life that never quite finds its ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/christian-wiman-10211_ambition_there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgr_598076.jpg" --- # There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties… ![“There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties that have become useful to us, whether as explanations for a life that never quite finds its true force or direction, or as fuel for ambition, or as a kind of reflexive secular religion that, paradoxically, unites us with others in a shared…” quote by Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/christian-wiman-10211_ambition_there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgr_598076.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/christian-wiman-10211_ambition_there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgr_598076.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/christian-wiman-10211_ambition_there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgr_598076.jpg) > “There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties that have become useful to us, whether as explanations for a life that never quite finds its true force or direction, or as fuel for ambition, or as a kind of reflexive secular religion that, paradoxically, unites us with others in a shared sense of complete isolation: you feel at home in the world only by never feeling at home in the world.” [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anxieties become useful when they explain life’s lack of direction, fuel ambition, or form a shared isolation, paradoxically connecting us. **In simple terms:** Anxieties can both hinder and motivate, creating shared isolation. Key Takeaway Recognize and reframe useful anxieties. Themes anxiety purpose isolation Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - support groups Key Concepts existentialism motivation social connection Questions to Reflect On - How do your anxieties serve you? - Can you transform them into constructive energy? A Different Perspective Anxieties may also limit growth if not examined. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Anxieties Useful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxieties-useful-4881428/) [Anxiety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxiety/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Feel Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-home/) [Feeling Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-home-763473/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Fuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fuel/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Isolation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isolation/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Never quit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-quit/) [Outgrow Anxieties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outgrow-anxieties-4881427/) [Reflexive Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflexive-secular-4881429/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“We look for the sense of being Home in a physical home, in a family, in a lover. But unless we can experience it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-lake/we-look-for-the-sense-of-being-home-in-a-physical-home-in-a-family-in/) [Gina Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-lake/) > [Home is not fixed - the feeling of home changes as you change. There are places that used to feel like home that don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mauro-remiddi/home-is-not-fixed-the-feeling-of-home-changes-as-you-change-there-are/) [Mauro Remiddi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mauro-remiddi/) > [“Hygge is about an atmosphere and an experience, rather than about things. It is about being with the people we love. A feeling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meik-wiking/hygge-is-about-an-atmosphere-and-an-experience-rather-than-about/) [Meik Wiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meik-wiking/) > [It was the most pleasurable thing I've ever done, playing this character, and I just remember feeling so at home and so - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-elfman/it-was-the-most-pleasurable-thing-i-ve-ever-done-playing-this/) [Jenna Elfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-elfman/) > [“BEING ABLE to lighten up is the key to feeling at home with your body, mind, and emotions, to feeling worthy to live on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/being-able-to-lighten-up-is-the-key-to-feeling-at-home-with-your-body/) [Pema Chödrön](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [I briefly flirted with the idea of more stable career choices but they never excited me. 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I like talking about ideas and being friendly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-childish/i-like-feeling-at-home-and-knowing-people-i-like-talking-about-ideas/) [Billy Childish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-childish/) > [I think when people have the freedom to tell their own story rather than trying to be specific to a certain design or style,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-gaines/i-think-when-people-have-the-freedom-to-tell-their-own-story-rather/) [Joanna Gaines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-gaines/) > [I'm feeling at home at Schalke and that shows in the amount of goals I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaas-jan-huntelaar/i-m-feeling-at-home-at-schalke-and-that-shows-in-the-amount-of-goals/) [Klaas-Jan Huntelaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaas-jan-huntelaar/) > [That's why I always question this sense. The feeling of home really requires a lot of trust. It requires you to identify with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/that-s-why-i-always-question-this-sense-the-feeling-of-home-really/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It was ironic that there I was finally painting the pictures I'd always wanted to paint and feeling very much at home in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-froud/it-was-ironic-that-there-i-was-finally-painting-the-pictures-i-d/) [Brian Froud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-froud/) > [“…I have a feeling of being at home when I am with Sien, a feeling that she gives me my own hearth, that our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/i-have-a-feeling-of-being-at-home-when-i-am-with-sien-a-feeling-that/) [Vincent van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“This feeling of being "home at last" corresponds to my idea about the city, and idea shaped by books, movies, and plays, an idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/this-feeling-of-being-home-at-last-corresponds-to-my-idea-about-the/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [The privilege of feeling at home everywhere belongs only to kings, wolves and robbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/the-privilege-of-feeling-at-home-everywhere-belongs-only-to-kings/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) ## More by Christian Wiman > [I find myself continually falling back into wounds, wishes, terrors I thought I had risen beyond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/i-find-myself-continually-falling-back-into-wounds-wishes-terrors-i/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“Intellectuals and artists concerned with faith tend to underestimate the radical, inviolable innocence it requires. We read and read, write long, elaborate essays and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/intellectuals-and-artists-concerned-with-faith-tend-to-underestimate/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [Wonder is the precondition for all wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/wonder-is-the-precondition-for-all-wisdom/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [We should be suspicious when God's call conforms so neatly to our own inclinations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/we-should-be-suspicious-when-god-s-call-conforms-so-neatly-to-our-own/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [God is with us, not beyond us, in suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/god-is-with-us-not-beyond-us-in-suffering/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“Let us remember...that in the end we go to poetry for one reason, so that we might more fully inhabit our lives and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/let-us-remember-that-in-the-end-we-go-to-poetry-for-one-reason-so/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [To be truly alive is to feel one's ultimate existence within one's daily existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/to-be-truly-alive-is-to-feel-one-s-ultimate-existence-within-one-s/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [I am a Christian because of that moment on the cross when Jesus, drinking the very dregs of human bitterness, cries out, My God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/i-am-a-christian-because-of-that-moment-on-the-cross-when-jesus/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [Mandelstam is the sort of poet who comes along very, very rarely. Even the two Russian poets whose work is often linked with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/mandelstam-is-the-sort-of-poet-who-comes-along-very-very-rarely-even/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“How many loves fail because, in an unconscious effort to make our weaknesses more strong, we link with others precisely at those points? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/how-many-loves-fail-because-in-an-unconscious-effort-to-make-our/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“It is a strange thing how sometimes merely to talk honestly of God, even if it is only to articulate our feelings of separation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/it-is-a-strange-thing-how-sometimes-merely-to-talk-honestly-of-god/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“Faith cannot save you from the claims of reason, except insofar as it preserves and protects that wonderful, terrible time when reason, if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/faith-cannot-save-you-from-the-claims-of-reason-except-insofar-as-it/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“part of my enjoyment of life had always been an unconscious assumption of its continuity. Not necessarily a continuity of reality itself—the moment does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/part-of-my-enjoyment-of-life-had-always-been-an-unconscious/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [I suppose I do believe that the greatest art consoles a wound that it creates, that art can give you the capacity to endure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/i-suppose-i-do-believe-that-the-greatest-art-consoles-a-wound-that-it/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) > [“It is no blasphemy to say that every man creates the God creating him. We are facets of a work whose finished form we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/it-is-no-blasphemy-to-say-that-every-man-creates-the-god-creating-him/) [Christian Wiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) [Explore all 67 Christian Wiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties that have become useful to us, whether as explanations for a life that never quite finds its true force or direction, or as fuel for ambition, or as a kind of reflexive secular religion that, paradoxically, unites us with others in a shared sense of complete isolation: you feel at home in the world only by never feeling at home in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christian Wiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgrow-than-anxieties-that-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgrow-than-anxieties-that-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/christian-wiman-10211_ambition_there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgr_598076.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/christian-wiman-10211_ambition_there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgr_598076.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/christian-wiman-10211_ambition_there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgr_598076.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is nothing more difficult to outgrow than anxieties that have become useful to us, whether as…” — Christian Wiman", "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": "Christian Wiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-wiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There is nothing more difficult to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgrow-than-anxieties-that-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-wiman/there-is-nothing-more-difficult-to-outgrow-than-anxieties-that-have/#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 } } ] } ```