--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It never once occurs to him, though, that…" description: "\"“It never once occurs to him, though, that the reason he's so unhappy is that he's an asshole.”\" — David Foster Wallace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/david-foster-wallace-161_asshole_it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that_2697658.jpg" --- # It never once occurs to him, though, that the reason he's… ![“It never once occurs to him, though, that the reason he's so unhappy is that he's an asshole.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/david-foster-wallace-161_asshole_it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that_2697658.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/david-foster-wallace-161_asshole_it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that_2697658.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/david-foster-wallace-161_asshole_it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that_2697658.jpg) > ““It never once occurs to him, though, that the reason he's so unhappy is that he's an asshole.”” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker points out that the person's unhappiness stems from their own rude behavior, not external factors. **In simple terms:** Unhappiness often comes from being an asshole. Key Takeaway Recognize and change your own behavior. Themes self-awareness behavior unhappiness Mood reflective critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - workplace - social interactions Key Concepts psychology personal responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What behavior of yours might be the root cause of your discontent? - How can you address it? A Different Perspective It ignores external circumstances that may also cause unhappiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asshole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asshole/) [Occurs Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occurs-reason-1453493/) [Reason Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-unhappy-571866/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Unhappy Asshole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-asshole-2709872/) ## Related quotes > [Human life occurs only once, and the reason we cannot determine which of our decisions are good and which bad is that in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/human-life-occurs-only-once-and-the-reason-we-cannot-determine-which/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [One reason there are so many unhappy Christians is they feel God should be doing them favors and heaping upon them material rewards and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-buckingham/one-reason-there-are-so-many-unhappy-christians-is-they-feel-god/) [Jamie Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-buckingham/) > [People were meant to be loved and stuff was meant to be used, The reason why we're so unhappy is because people are being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-were-meant-to-be-loved-and-stuff-was-meant-to-be-used-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Perhaps the reason she was so unhappy was because she thought unhappy thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-e-brunstetter/perhaps-the-reason-she-was-so-unhappy-was-because-she-thought-unhappy/) [Wanda E. Brunstetter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-e-brunstetter/) > [The only reason why you are unhappy is because you are trying to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/the-only-reason-why-you-are-unhappy-is-because-you-are-trying-to-be/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [So you're trying to make her happy despite the fact that the reason she's unhappy in the first place is you," said Simon, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/so-you-re-trying-to-make-her-happy-despite-the-fact-that-the-reason/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“It was official. I was an asshole with a permanently broken heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-sheehan/it-was-official-i-was-an-asshole-with-a-permanently-broken-heart/) [Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-sheehan/) > [“When she had asked him how he was able to kill two men with his bare hands, he had gone into asshole mode, telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-taylor/when-she-had-asked-him-how-he-was-able-to-kill-two-men-with-his-bare/) [Brad Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-taylor/) > [Broken hearts are for assholes, are you an asshole?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/broken-hearts-are-for-assholes-are-you-an-asshole/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Dream big, work hard and don't be an asshole!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-shinoda/dream-big-work-hard-and-don-t-be-an-asshole/) [Mike Shinoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-shinoda/) > [“The asshole slipped Peggy a five-spot to bring him his burger first. Never trust a man with a penis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/the-asshole-slipped-peggy-a-five-spot-to-bring-him-his-burger-first/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [When someone describes themself as a taxpayer, they're about to be an asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/when-someone-describes-themself-as-a-taxpayer-they-re-about-to-be-an/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [Sphincter is a Technical word for asshole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sphincter-is-a-technical-word-for-asshole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hated By many Trash Talked By Many Guess How Many Fucks I Give Its Less Than One Asshole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karal/hated-by-many-trash-talked-by-many-guess-how-many-fucks-i-give-its/) [Karal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karal/) > [“Light it up, bitch.' 'Light it up, asshole,' ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/light-it-up-bitch-light-it-up-asshole/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. The suppressed awareness that the whole reason ordinary people found celebrity fascinating was that they were not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-paradoxical-intercourse-of-audience-and-celebrity-the-suppressed/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“I am coming to see that the sensation of the worst nightmares, a sensation that can be felt asleep or awake, is identical to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-am-coming-to-see-that-the-sensation-of-the-worst-nightmares-a/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Asshole quotes > [“Light it up, bitch.' 'Light it up, asshole,' ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/light-it-up-bitch-light-it-up-asshole/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [Hated By many Trash Talked By Many Guess How Many Fucks I Give Its Less Than One Asshole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karal/hated-by-many-trash-talked-by-many-guess-how-many-fucks-i-give-its/) [Karal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karal/) > [Sphincter is a Technical word for asshole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sphincter-is-a-technical-word-for-asshole/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When someone describes themself as a taxpayer, they're about to be an asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/when-someone-describes-themself-as-a-taxpayer-they-re-about-to-be-an/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [“The asshole slipped Peggy a five-spot to bring him his burger first. Never trust a man with a penis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/the-asshole-slipped-peggy-a-five-spot-to-bring-him-his-burger-first/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [Dream big, work hard and don't be an asshole!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-shinoda/dream-big-work-hard-and-don-t-be-an-asshole/) [Mike Shinoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-shinoda/) > [Broken hearts are for assholes, are you an asshole?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/broken-hearts-are-for-assholes-are-you-an-asshole/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [“When she had asked him how he was able to kill two men with his bare hands, he had gone into asshole mode, telling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-taylor/when-she-had-asked-him-how-he-was-able-to-kill-two-men-with-his-bare/) [Brad Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-taylor/) > [“It was official. I was an asshole with a permanently broken heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-sheehan/it-was-official-i-was-an-asshole-with-a-permanently-broken-heart/) [Madeline Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-sheehan/) > [If you are an asshole, we can be best Friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/if-you-are-an-asshole-we-can-be-best-friends/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“She really liked you, Noah,' 'Yeah, well, maybe I'm just an asshole.' I realize my hand is still in his hair and I retract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-wicks/she-really-liked-you-noah-yeah-well-maybe-i-m-just-an-asshole-i/) [Becky Wicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-wicks/) > [I'm nice until you piss me off...then I'm an asshole until you make me laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerett-parker/i-m-nice-until-you-piss-me-off-then-i-m-an-asshole-until-you-make-me/) [Jerett Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerett-parker/) > [Just because I don't fuck you anymore doesn't make me a lesbian.It just makes you an asshole.!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simi-ngr/just-because-i-don-t-fuck-you-anymore-doesn-t-make-me-a-lesbian-it/) [Simi Ngr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simi-ngr/) > [“Christ, what an asshole!" Babette said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-koch/christ-what-an-asshole-babette-said/) [Herman Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-koch/) [Browse all 489 Asshole quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asshole/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It never once occurs to him, though, that the reason he's so unhappy is that he's an asshole.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that-the-reason-he-s-so-unhappy-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asshole" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that-the-reason-he-s-so-unhappy-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/david-foster-wallace-161_asshole_it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that_2697658.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/david-foster-wallace-161_asshole_it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that_2697658.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/219/david-foster-wallace-161_asshole_it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that_2697658.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It never once occurs to him, though, that the reason he's so unhappy is that he's an asshole.” — David Foster Wallace", "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": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It never once occurs to him,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that-the-reason-he-s-so-unhappy-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-never-once-occurs-to-him-though-that-the-reason-he-s-so-unhappy-is/#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 } } ] } ```