---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Or I can choose to force myself to…"
description: "\"Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e3/david-foster-wallace-161_bored_or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consi_758656.jpg"
---

#  Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood…

![“Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I am, and that some of these people probably have much harder, more tedious or painful lives than I do, overall.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e3/david-foster-wallace-161_bored_or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consi_758656.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e3/david-foster-wallace-161_bored_or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consi_758656.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e3/david-foster-wallace-161_bored_or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consi_758656.jpg)

> “Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I am, and that some of these people probably have much harder, more tedious or painful lives than I do, overall.”

[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.

Recognizing that others may share your boredom and have harder struggles can foster empathy and reduce self‑centered frustration.

**In simple terms:** Seeing others' pain can lessen your own annoyance.

Key Takeaway

Practice empathy in daily irritations.

Themes

empathy self‑awareness perspective frustration humanity

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- grocery shopping
- commuting
- waiting rooms
- customer service
- online forums

Key Concepts

existentialism social comparison compassion

Questions to Reflect On

- How might assuming others are worse affect your mood?
- What can you do to genuinely connect despite brief encounters?

A Different Perspective

It may be hard to truly know others' inner lives, risking projection.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Checkouts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/checkouts/) [Consider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consider/) [Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/force/) [Frustrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustrated/) [Frustrated People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frustrated-people-333432/) [Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder/) [Harder Tedious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harder-tedious-5887623/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Likelihood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likelihood/) [Likelihood Supermarket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likelihood-supermarket-5887624/) [Lines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lines/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Painful life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful-life/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Probably Harder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-harder-1458971/) [Supermarkets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supermarkets/) [Tedious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tedious/)

## Related quotes

> [If you feel like it's difficult to change, you will probably have a harder time succeeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-jung/if-you-feel-like-it-s-difficult-to-change-you-will-probably-have-a/)

[Andrea Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-jung/)

> [As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-grow-up-we-learn-that-even-the-one-person-that-wasn-t-supposed-3/)

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

> [It probably is harder to fool people when they know they're going to be fooled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-jay/it-probably-is-harder-to-fool-people-when-they-know-they-re-going-to/)

[Ricky Jay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-jay/)

> [The point is that petty, frustrating crap like this is exactly where the work of choosing comes in. Because the traffic jams and crowded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-point-is-that-petty-frustrating-crap-like-this-is-exactly-where/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [When you're frustrated with people, when they've made you angry, it just may be because you haven't given them enough time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/when-you-re-frustrated-with-people-when-they-ve-made-you-angry-it/)

[Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/)

> [I'm still hibernating so I get really frustrated with other people's goals and just stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-kirkman/i-m-still-hibernating-so-i-get-really-frustrated-with-other-people-s/)

[Jen Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-kirkman/)

> [I guess I get a little impatient and frustrated when people ask what 'Manic Depression' is about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-jane-grace/i-guess-i-get-a-little-impatient-and-frustrated-when-people-ask-what/)

[Laura Jane Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-jane-grace/)

> [“So he was frustrated with her. Most people rolled their eyes when they got frustrated. Alaric made dolphins do ballet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-day/so-he-was-frustrated-with-her-most-people-rolled-their-eyes-when-they/)

[Alyssa Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-day/)

> [I get really frustrated with people who turn their noses up at talent shows like 'The Voice' and 'X-Factor.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricki-lee-coulter/i-get-really-frustrated-with-people-who-turn-their-noses-up-at-talent/)

[Ricki-Lee Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricki-lee-coulter/)

> [I get really frustrated if people don't smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-get-really-frustrated-if-people-don-t-smile/)

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

> [The thing that frustrated me is that some people think success is all measured by money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rea/the-thing-that-frustrated-me-is-that-some-people-think-success-is-all/)

[Chris Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rea/)

> [Went to the grocery store, got everything on my list and went up to the checkout. I put a bag of pet food for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-engvall/went-to-the-grocery-store-got-everything-on-my-list-and-went-up-to/)

[Bill Engvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-engvall/)

> [Waiting rooms were made for books-of course! But so are theater lobbies before the show, long and boring checkout lines, and everyone's favorite, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/waiting-rooms-were-made-for-books-of-course-but-so-are-theater/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [As part of our ongoing series of reports on the environment, 'America Goes Green,' we take on the question that can make otherwise competent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-williams/as-part-of-our-ongoing-series-of-reports-on-the-environment-america/)

[Brian Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-williams/)

> [I remember being a kid and seeing the 'National Inquirer' at the grocery store checkout line. When somebody actually picked up a copy, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-jones/i-remember-being-a-kid-and-seeing-the-national-inquirer-at-the/)

[Rashida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-jones/)

## 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 Bored quotes

> [Normal is so Boring!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normal-is-so-boring/)

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

> [“If you're focused, you can't get bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/if-you-re-focused-you-can-t-get-bored/)

[Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/)

> [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/)

[Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/)

> [Being blonde, for me, means never having to say: 'I'll have the honey-striped half-head of highlights for £200,' to a bored colourist in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-johnson/being-blonde-for-me-means-never-having-to-say-i-ll-have-the-honey/)

[Rachel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-johnson/)

> [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/)

[Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/)

> [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/)

[Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/)

> [When I get bored I say fck the police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-get-bored-i-say-fck-the-police/)

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

> [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/)

[Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/)

> [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/)

[Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/)

> [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/)

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

> [I was taking all prints and I brought them to the Magnum meetings, trying the old Josef Koudelka trick: Give them to photographers, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-van-agtmael/i-was-taking-all-prints-and-i-brought-them-to-the-magnum-meetings/)

[Peter van Agtmael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-van-agtmael/)

> [“She wouldn't pick up a fight him just because she was bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/she-wouldn-t-pick-up-a-fight-him-just-because-she-was-bored/)

[Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/)

> [...sometimes I get tired. Sometimes I get bored. And sometimes all I want, more than anything else in the world, is to go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/sometimes-i-get-tired-sometimes-i-get-bored-and-sometimes-all-i-want/)

[Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/)

> [I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-sheen/i-was-sober-for-five-years-a-long-time-ago-and-was-just-bored-out-of/)

[Charlie Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-sheen/)

[Browse all 2,067 Bored quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I am, and that some of these people probably have much harder, more tedious or painful lives than I do, overall.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Foster Wallace"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consider-the-likelihood-that/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bored"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consider-the-likelihood-that/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e3/david-foster-wallace-161_bored_or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consi_758656.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e3/david-foster-wallace-161_bored_or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consi_758656.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e3/david-foster-wallace-161_bored_or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consi_758656.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Or I can choose to force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket's checkout…” — 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": "Or I can choose to force...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consider-the-likelihood-that/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/or-i-can-choose-to-force-myself-to-consider-the-likelihood-that/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```