--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I realize that is a bold claim, but…" description: "\"“I realize that is a bold claim, but emotional suffering is just the negative emotion caused by a meaning we attach to things with our thoughts. And ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62f/ebookit-com-41944_emotional-suffering_i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emoti_2914937.jpg" --- # I realize that is a bold claim, but emotional suffering is… ![“I realize that is a bold claim, but emotional suffering is just the negative emotion caused by a meaning we attach to things with our thoughts. And that is definitely within each of our control.” quote by eBookIt.com](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62f/ebookit-com-41944_emotional-suffering_i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emoti_2914937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62f/ebookit-com-41944_emotional-suffering_i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emoti_2914937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62f/ebookit-com-41944_emotional-suffering_i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emoti_2914937.jpg) > ““I realize that is a bold claim, but emotional suffering is just the negative emotion caused by a meaning we attach to things with our thoughts.   And that is definitely within each of our control.”” eBookIt.com ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emotional suffering stems from the meanings we assign, which we can control. **In simple terms:** Suffering is meaning‑based. Key Takeaway Reframe thoughts to reduce pain. Themes psychology mindfulness control Mood calm insightful Type self‑help philosophical When to use this quote - therapy sessions - self‑help books - mindfulness practice - education Key Concepts cognitive therapy philosophy Questions to Reflect On - What meanings cause you distress? - How can you shift perspective? A Different Perspective Changing meaning isn’t always easy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emotional suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-suffering/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/this-tendency-to-avoid-problems-and-the-emotional-suffering-inherent/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [Life is not suffering; it's just that you will suffer it, rather than enjoy it, until you let go of your mind's attachments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-millman/life-is-not-suffering-it-s-just-that-you-will-suffer-it-rather-than/) [Dan Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-millman/) > [“The quicker you can let go of your emotional suffering, the sooner you can be done with your physical pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-carrigan/the-quicker-you-can-let-go-of-your-emotional-suffering-the-sooner-you/) [Catherine Carrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-carrigan/) > [“The noise of the town some floors below was greatly muted. In a state of complete mental detachment, he went over the events, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/the-noise-of-the-town-some-floors-below-was-greatly-muted-in-a-state/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [“When we psychologize human suffering, we narrow our focus to the individual—perhaps in order to be less overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-greenspan/when-we-psychologize-human-suffering-we-narrow-our-focus-to-the/) Miriam Greenspan > [Poverty is clearly one source of emotional suffering, but there are others, like loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/poverty-is-clearly-one-source-of-emotional-suffering-but-there-are-2/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [If you have high self-esteem, you might still know times of emotional suffering, but less often and with faster recovery-your resilience is greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/if-you-have-high-self-esteem-you-might-still-know-times-of-emotional/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/character-cannot-be-developed-in-ease-and-quiet/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Poverty is clearly one source of emotional suffering, but there are others, like loneliness. A policy to reduce the loneliness of the elderly would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/poverty-is-clearly-one-source-of-emotional-suffering-but-there-are/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/as-i-began-to-love-myself-i-found-that-anguish-and-emotional-2/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [If we could read the secret history of our enemies,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/if-we-could-read-the-secret-history-of-our-enemies/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/as-i-began-to-love-myself-i-found-that-anguish-and-emotional/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Like art, love is an act of creation, but love far surpasses art as a cure for emotional suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-e-valliant/like-art-love-is-an-act-of-creation-but-love-far-surpasses-art-as-a/) George E. Valliant > [“If you’ve been in physical pain or emotional suffering for a long period of time, you have to ask yourself if you are either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-carrigan/if-you-ve-been-in-physical-pain-or-emotional-suffering-for-a-long/) [Catherine Carrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-carrigan/) ## More by eBookIt.com > [“my circumstances do not dictate my happiness or joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/my-circumstances-do-not-dictate-my-happiness-or-joy/) eBookIt.com > [“Joy is our purpose of existence.   Yet pain in life is inevitable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/joy-is-our-purpose-of-existence-yet-pain-in-life-is-inevitable/) eBookIt.com > [“Joy is our purpose of existence.   Yet pain in life is inevitable.   Doesn’t that make our purpose impossible at times then?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/joy-is-our-purpose-of-existence-yet-pain-in-life-is-inevitable-doesn/) eBookIt.com > [“To live in a constant state of gratitude is to live in joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/to-live-in-a-constant-state-of-gratitude-is-to-live-in-joy/) eBookIt.com > [“things are great, but living a truly amazing life has little to do with material possessions and everything to do with your heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/things-are-great-but-living-a-truly-amazing-life-has-little-to-do/) eBookIt.com > [“even though they may beat you down into submission, and you may become discouraged and even depressed by the lack of ability to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/even-though-they-may-beat-you-down-into-submission-and-you-may-become/) eBookIt.com > [“We don’t need a new job or anything else to experience a full, passionate, amazing life.   We simply need to change the way we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/we-don-t-need-a-new-job-or-anything-else-to-experience-a-full/) eBookIt.com > [“Celebrate Life, Smile, Enjoy and find meaning in this moment, Choose your thoughts and Create your life experience, Succeed, Remember who you are, Empower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/celebrate-life-smile-enjoy-and-find-meaning-in-this-moment-choose/) eBookIt.com > [“We don’t need a new job or anything else to experience a full, passionate, amazing life.   We simply need to change the way we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/we-don-t-need-a-new-job-or-anything-else-to-experience-a-full-2/) eBookIt.com Explore all 10 eBookIt.com quotes ## More Emotional suffering quotes > [This tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all human mental illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-r-swindoll/this-tendency-to-avoid-problems-and-the-emotional-suffering-inherent/) [Charles R. Swindoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-r-swindoll/) > [“Like art, love is an act of creation, but love far surpasses art as a cure for emotional suffering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-e-valliant/like-art-love-is-an-act-of-creation-but-love-far-surpasses-art-as-a/) George E. Valliant > [Once we're willing to confront our emotional suffering, we begin making choices based on attraction instead of aversion, love instead of fear. Where we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/once-we-re-willing-to-confront-our-emotional-suffering-we-begin/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/as-i-began-to-love-myself-i-found-that-anguish-and-emotional/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [If we could read the secret history of our enemies,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/if-we-could-read-the-secret-history-of-our-enemies/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/as-i-began-to-love-myself-i-found-that-anguish-and-emotional-2/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [Poverty is clearly one source of emotional suffering, but there are others, like loneliness. A policy to reduce the loneliness of the elderly would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/poverty-is-clearly-one-source-of-emotional-suffering-but-there-are/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/character-cannot-be-developed-in-ease-and-quiet/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [If you have high self-esteem, you might still know times of emotional suffering, but less often and with faster recovery-your resilience is greater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/if-you-have-high-self-esteem-you-might-still-know-times-of-emotional/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Poverty is clearly one source of emotional suffering, but there are others, like loneliness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/poverty-is-clearly-one-source-of-emotional-suffering-but-there-are-2/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“When we psychologize human suffering, we narrow our focus to the individual—perhaps in order to be less overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-greenspan/when-we-psychologize-human-suffering-we-narrow-our-focus-to-the/) Miriam Greenspan > [“The noise of the town some floors below was greatly muted. In a state of complete mental detachment, he went over the events, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-houellebecq/the-noise-of-the-town-some-floors-below-was-greatly-muted-in-a-state/) [Michel Houellebecq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-houellebecq/) > [“The quicker you can let go of your emotional suffering, the sooner you can be done with your physical pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-carrigan/the-quicker-you-can-let-go-of-your-emotional-suffering-the-sooner-you/) [Catherine Carrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-carrigan/) > [“If you’ve been in physical pain or emotional suffering for a long period of time, you have to ask yourself if you are either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-carrigan/if-you-ve-been-in-physical-pain-or-emotional-suffering-for-a-long/) [Catherine Carrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-carrigan/) [Browse all 15 Emotional suffering quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-suffering/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I realize that is a bold claim, but emotional suffering is just the negative emotion caused by a meaning we attach to things with our thoughts.   And that is definitely within each of our control.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "eBookIt.com" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emotional-suffering-is-just-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emotional suffering" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emotional-suffering-is-just-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62f/ebookit-com-41944_emotional-suffering_i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emoti_2914937.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62f/ebookit-com-41944_emotional-suffering_i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emoti_2914937.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62f/ebookit-com-41944_emotional-suffering_i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emoti_2914937.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I realize that is a bold claim, but emotional suffering is just the negative emotion caused by a meaning we…” — eBookIt.com", "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": "eBookIt.com", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ebookit-com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I realize that is a bold...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emotional-suffering-is-just-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebookit-com/i-realize-that-is-a-bold-claim-but-emotional-suffering-is-just-the/#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 } } ] } ```