---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The great thing is, if one can, to stop…"
description: "\"The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's own or real life. The truth is, of course, that w..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/cs-lewis-10887_change_the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-re_2644220.jpg"
---

#  The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the…

![“The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's own or real life. The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life.” quote by CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/cs-lewis-10887_change_the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-re_2644220.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/cs-lewis-10887_change_the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-re_2644220.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/cs-lewis-10887_change_the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-re_2644220.jpg)

> “The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's own or real life. The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life.”

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Life’s challenges are integral, not external interruptions; they shape our existence.

**In simple terms:** Problems are part of life.

Key Takeaway

Accept difficulties as life’s fabric.

Themes

philosophy spirituality acceptance

Mood

thoughtful calm

Type

philosophical spiritual

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- mindfulness
- stress management

Key Concepts

theology existentialism

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you view obstacles as part of life?
- What practices help integrate challenges?

A Different Perspective

Over‑identifying with problems can cause distress.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Interruptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interruptions/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/)

## Related quotes

> [The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life. The truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-great-thing-if-one-can-is-to-stop-regarding-all-the-unpleasant-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own' or one's 'real' life. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-great-thing-if-one-can-is-to-stop-regarding-all-the-unpleasant/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-truth-is-of-course-that-what-one-regards-as-interruptions-are/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [We must stop regarding unpleasant or unexpected things as interruptions of real life. The truth is that interruptions are real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-must-stop-regarding-unpleasant-or-unexpected-things-as/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [I have a very set routine. I work six days a week, but only half days. I work from 9 in the morning till…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mayle/i-have-a-very-set-routine-i-work-six-days-a-week-but-only-half-days-i/)

[Peter Mayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mayle/)

> [We live in a society created by an empire That's based on terror...welcome to the One World Era, A complete interruption to your lil'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coolio/we-live-in-a-society-created-by-an-empire-that-s-based-on-terror/)

[Coolio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coolio/)

> [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [“First, let me finish. Then interrupt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-spellman/first-let-me-finish-then-interrupt/)

[Brian Spellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-spellman/)

> [My family doesn't do happy endings. We do sad endings or frustrating endings or no endings at all. We are hardwired to expect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-solo/my-family-doesn-t-do-happy-endings-we-do-sad-endings-or-frustrating/)

[Hope Solo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-solo/)

> [If I know somebody is coming 'round, it is incredibly difficult for me to work because I'm waiting for this interruption - even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/if-i-know-somebody-is-coming-round-it-is-incredibly-difficult-for-me/)

[Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/)

> [Have you ever noticed that life consists mostly of interruptions, with occasional spells of rush work in between?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buwei-yang-chao/have-you-ever-noticed-that-life-consists-mostly-of-interruptions-with/)

Buwei Yang Chao

> [Circumstances may cause interruptions and delays, but never lose sight of your goal. Prepare yourself in every way you can by increasing your knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/circumstances-may-cause-interruptions-and-delays-but-never-lose-sight/)

[Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/)

> [... programming requires more concentration than other activities. It's the reason programmers get upset about 'quick interruptions' - such interruptions are tantamount to asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mcconnell/programming-requires-more-concentration-than-other-activities-it-s/)

[Steve McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mcconnell/)

> [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/)

[Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/)

> [I relish the time I have when there are no interruptions. Most often the best time for writing is late at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-armstrong/i-relish-the-time-i-have-when-there-are-no-interruptions-most-often/)

[Franny Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-armstrong/)

## More by CS Lewis

> [For whatever else the religious life may be, it is the fountain of self-knowledge and disillusion, the safest form of psychoanalysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/for-whatever-else-the-religious-life-may-be-it-is-the-fountain-of/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [“Truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/truth-is-always-about-something-but-reality-is-that-about-which-truth/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/most-people-if-they-had-really-learned-to-look-into-their-own-hearts/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/love-anything-and-your-heart-will-be-wrung-and-possibly-broken-if-you/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [“The vocabulary of flattery and insult is continually enlarged at the expense of the vocabulary of definition. As old horses go to the knacker's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/the-vocabulary-of-flattery-and-insult-is-continually-enlarged-at-the/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [When once a man is launched on such an adventure as this, he must bid farewell to hopes and fears, otherwise death or deliverance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/when-once-a-man-is-launched-on-such-an-adventure-as-this-he-must-bid/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/to-love-at-all-is-to-be-vulnerable-love-anything-and-your-heart-will/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [I could well believe that it is God's intention, since we have refused milder remedies, to compel us into unity, by persecution even and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/i-could-well-believe-that-it-is-god-s-intention-since-we-have-refused/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [When you meet anything that's going to be human and isn't yet, or used to be human once and isn't now, or ought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/when-you-meet-anything-that-s-going-to-be-human-and-isn-t-yet-or-used/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream another dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/you-are-never-too-old-to-set-another-goal-or-to-dream-another-dream/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [Appreciative love gazes and holds its breath and is silent, rejoices that such a wonder should exist even if not for him, will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/appreciative-love-gazes-and-holds-its-breath-and-is-silent-rejoices/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [“if you live you may yet have good fortune but all the dead are dead alike”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/if-you-live-you-may-yet-have-good-fortune-but-all-the-dead-are-dead/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [If I've got correct goals, and if I keep pursuing them the best way I know how, everything else falls into line. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/if-i-ve-got-correct-goals-and-if-i-keep-pursuing-them-the-best-way-i/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [“The stars never lie, but Men and Beasts do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/the-stars-never-lie-but-men-and-beasts-do/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

> [“There is a kind of happiness and wonder the makes you serious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/there-is-a-kind-of-happiness-and-wonder-the-makes-you-serious/)

[CS Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

[Explore all 62 CS Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/)

## More Change quotes

> [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/)

[Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/)

> [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/)

> [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/)

[Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/)

> [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/)

Phil Hogan

> [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/)

[William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/)

> [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/)

[Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/)

> [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/)

[Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/)

> [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/)

[Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/)

[Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/)

> [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/)

[Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/)

[Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's own or real life. The truth is, of course, that what one regards as interruptions are precisely one's life.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "CS Lewis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-regarding-all-the-unpleasant/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Change"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-regarding-all-the-unpleasant/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/cs-lewis-10887_change_the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-re_2644220.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/cs-lewis-10887_change_the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-re_2644220.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/cs-lewis-10887_change_the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-re_2644220.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The great thing is, if one can, to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions in one's own or…” — CS Lewis",
                "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": "CS Lewis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cs-lewis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The great thing is, if one...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-regarding-all-the-unpleasant/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cs-lewis/the-great-thing-is-if-one-can-to-stop-regarding-all-the-unpleasant/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
