--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have discovered in my long life that…" description: "\"I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a03/david-gemmell-1821_anguish_i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-t_77269.png" --- # I have discovered in my long life that there are many… ![“I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is, of course, I love you. But by far the most deadly is, if only. For these two words can strip a man's strength, his courage and his confidence…” quote by David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a03/david-gemmell-1821_anguish_i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-t_77269.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a03/david-gemmell-1821_anguish_i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-t_77269.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a03/david-gemmell-1821_anguish_i-have-discovered-in-my-long-life-that-t_77269.png) > “I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is, of course, I love you. But by far the most deadly is, if only. For these two words can strip a man's strength, his courage and his confidence. They become the father of regret and anguish and pain.” [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author suggests that simple phrases like “if only” can erode a person's confidence, becoming a source of regret and suffering more potent than any magical spell. **In simple terms:** Regretful words can cripple confidence and cause deep pain. Key Takeaway Power of language over self‑esteem. Themes psychology self‑talk emotional impact language Mood reflective cautionary Type philosophical observation psychological insight When to use this quote - therapy sessions addressing negative self‑talk - coaching athletes after a loss - students confronting perfectionism Key Concepts cognitive self‑sabotage inner narrative Practical Applications - Replace “if only” with constructive reflections to preserve confidence. Questions to Reflect On - How does habitual regret language affect long‑term resilience? - What strategies can reframe “if only” into productive insight? A Different Perspective Some argue that reflecting on past mistakes can motivate growth, though it risks reinforcing regret. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anguish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) [Deadly Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadly-words-995151/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-life/) [Love you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-you/) [Magick Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magick-known-995149/) [Man's Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mans-strength/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Phrases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases/) [Phrases Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phrases-power-995155/) [Power Spell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-spell-995158/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Spell Magick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spell-magick-995147/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Two Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-words/) [Well known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well-known/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [“Sex was this primal connection like no magick she had ever known, even separated by a millimeter of latex. 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I rebel against this question, though so many of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/what-is-a-woman-s-place-in-this-modern-world-jasnah-kholin-s-words/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [As each man's strength gives out, as it no longer responds to his will, the inertia of the whole gradually comes to rest on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/as-each-man-s-strength-gives-out-as-it-no-longer-responds-to-his-will/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Many a man's strength is in opposition, and when he faileth, he grows out of use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/many-a-man-s-strength-is-in-opposition-and-when-he-faileth-he-grows/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Knowledge is one of our direst needs. But it is insufficient on its own. If knowledge was stripped from true up-bringing, it would increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ameen-rihani/knowledge-is-one-of-our-direst-needs-but-it-is-insufficient-on-its/) [Ameen Rihani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ameen-rihani/) > [“Being held by him, kissed and mastered, taken under and swept away, enthralled her in a way she—an independent woman if nothing else in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-sumner/being-held-by-him-kissed-and-mastered-taken-under-and-swept-away/) [Tracy Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-sumner/) ## More by David Gemmell > [Do not complain of life's unfairness. It is never fair - at best it is impartial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/do-not-complain-of-life-s-unfairness-it-is-never-fair-at-best-it-is/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“It seems to me, that you people spend a great deal of time talking about honour, but strip away the high sounding words and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/it-seems-to-me-that-you-people-spend-a-great-deal-of-time-talking/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [Makes no sense to me,' said Huntsekker. 'You don't know who is at your door, but you know the thoughts of a man twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/makes-no-sense-to-me-said-huntsekker-you-don-t-know-who-is-at-your/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [I may be stupid, as you say, to believe in honour and friendship and loyalty without price. 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They love to inflict pain, create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/listen-you-could-spend-a-lifetime-trying-to-understand-the-works-of/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [ We are full of dreams \[...\] We long for the unattainable. We believe in the nonsense of fables. There is no pure love; there… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/we-are-full-of-dreams-we-long-for-the-unattainable-we-believe-in-the/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [It is easier with strangers, for they touch your life but for an instant. You will not disappoint them, for you owe them nothing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/it-is-easier-with-strangers-for-they-touch-your-life-but-for-an/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [I don't know yet whether I fully believe in fate, but certain things do happen in a man's life that he cannot explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/i-don-t-know-yet-whether-i-fully-believe-in-fate-but-certain-things/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [If you look at any ancient civilization, they've all used fantasy stories to train the young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/if-you-look-at-any-ancient-civilization-they-ve-all-used-fantasy/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [All men have talents. Some build, some paint, some write, some fight. For me it is different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/all-men-have-talents-some-build-some-paint-some-write-some-fight-for/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/never-violate-a-woman-nor-harm-a-child-do-not-lie-cheat-or-steal/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [“The truth? What the Hell is the truth? We're born, we live and we die. Everything else is just shades of opinion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/the-truth-what-the-hell-is-the-truth-we-re-born-we-live-and-we-die/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) > [Most wars are fought for greed, but we are luckier here we fight for our lives and the lives of the people we love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-gemmell/most-wars-are-fought-for-greed-but-we-are-luckier-here-we-fight-for/) [David Gemmell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) [Explore all 201 David Gemmell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-gemmell/) ## More Anguish quotes > [“He put his forehead against hers. “Alannah, my heart is yours.” He said softly. “And yet, I must hand it over to someone else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-morin/he-put-his-forehead-against-hers-alannah-my-heart-is-yours-he-said/) [B.C. Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-morin/) > [Knowledge gives a wider choice and more anguish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-florman/knowledge-gives-a-wider-choice-and-more-anguish/) [Samuel Florman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-florman/) > [pg.9 "In my heart there's a peaceful anguish, and my calm is made of resignation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/pg-9-in-my-heart-there-s-a-peaceful-anguish-and-my-calm-is-made-of/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/) [Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/) > [Our religion is itself profoundly sad - a religion of universal anguish, and one which, because of its very catholicity, grants full liberty to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/our-religion-is-itself-profoundly-sad-a-religion-of-universal-anguish/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Being human, we would expel from our lives physical pain and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort, but if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/being-human-we-would-expel-from-our-lives-physical-pain-and-mental/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works. Jacques Barzun, 1959 all ignorance toboggans into know and trudges up to ignorance again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/the-intellectuals-chief-cause-of-anguish-are-one-another-s-works/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [I saw my parents as gods whose every wish must be obeyed or I would suffer the penalty of anguish and guilt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-wood/i-saw-my-parents-as-gods-whose-every-wish-must-be-obeyed-or-i-would/) [Natalie Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-wood/) > [Every last cast is actually a first cast. The first cast and first chance to catch the next fish. The next time you anguish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/every-last-cast-is-actually-a-first-cast-the-first-cast-and-first/) [Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/) > [Journalism is an extraordinary and terrible privilege. Not by chance, if you are aware of it, does it consume you with a hundred feelings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oriana-fallaci/journalism-is-an-extraordinary-and-terrible-privilege-not-by-chance/) [Oriana Fallaci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oriana-fallaci/) > [One realizes that human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life; that they can never be wholly satisfactory, that every ego is half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/one-realizes-that-human-relationships-are-the-tragic-necessity-of/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [So silently, peacefully, without hurry, without any tension, without any anguish, move into yourself instantly. It is urgent. Unless meditation becomes urgent to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/so-silently-peacefully-without-hurry-without-any-tension-without-any/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-p-bush/it-breaks-my-heart-to-think-about-a-family-weeping-over-the-loss-of-a/) [George P. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-p-bush/) > [I was deeply interested in conveying what is a deeply felt conviction of my own. This is simply to suggest that human beings must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/i-was-deeply-interested-in-conveying-what-is-a-deeply-felt-conviction/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) [Browse all 570 Anguish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anguish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have discovered in my long life that there are many words and phrases which have more power than any spell of magick. The most well-known of these is, of course, I love you. But by far the most deadly is, if only. For these two words can strip a man's strength, his courage and his confidence. 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