--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greater your dreams, the more…" description: "\"The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/edward-abbey-254_dream_the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terribl_527561.png" --- # The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares. ![“The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/edward-abbey-254_dream_the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terribl_527561.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/edward-abbey-254_dream_the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terribl_527561.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/edward-abbey-254_dream_the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terribl_527561.png) > “The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ambitious aspirations often bring intense fears and unsettling dreams. **In simple terms:** Big dreams cause scary nightmares. Key Takeaway Balance ambition with self‑care. Themes dreams fear psychology Mood thoughtful cautious Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - career planning - personal goals - mental health Key Concepts ambition nightmares inner conflict Questions to Reflect On - What dream scares you most? - How can you mitigate anxiety? A Different Perspective Fear can paralyze progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-terrible-1124956/) [Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater/) [Greater Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-dreams-1788087/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Nightmare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmare/) [Nightmares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nightmares/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Nightmares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-nightmares-775162/) [Your dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-dreams/) ## Related quotes > [I have terrible nightmares, you know. 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It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams are something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monty-oum/if-you-endeavor-to-achieve-it-will-happen-given-enough-resolve-it-may/) [Monty Oum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monty-oum/) > [The more time you waste away and dream about how your life could be better, the less time you will have to make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-time-you-waste-away-and-dream-about-how-your-life-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reality is greater than our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-sommer/reality-is-greater-than-our-dreams/) [Frederick Sommer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-sommer/) > [“Greater dreams come from failed chances”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-purcell/greater-dreams-come-from-failed-chances/) [Veronica Purcell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-purcell/) > [May your dreams be sweet and your nightmares be spooky-monster-scary and not grandma-died-scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-glover/may-your-dreams-be-sweet-and-your-nightmares-be-spooky-monster-scary/) [Donald Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-glover/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. 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Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. 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I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terrible-your-nightmares/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terrible-your-nightmares/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/edward-abbey-254_dream_the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terribl_527561.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/edward-abbey-254_dream_the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terribl_527561.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/edward-abbey-254_dream_the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terribl_527561.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares.” — Edward Abbey", "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": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The greater your dreams, the more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terrible-your-nightmares/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-greater-your-dreams-the-more-terrible-your-nightmares/#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 } } ] } ```