--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We point to our unhappy circumstances to…" description: "\"We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our negative feelings. This is the easy way out. It takes, after all, very little effort to feel v..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/elisabeth-kubler-ross-1892_circumstances_we-point-to-our-unhappy-circumstances-to_1271956.png" --- # We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our… ![“We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our negative feelings. This is the easy way out. It takes, after all, very little effort to feel victimized.” quote by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/elisabeth-kubler-ross-1892_circumstances_we-point-to-our-unhappy-circumstances-to_1271956.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/elisabeth-kubler-ross-1892_circumstances_we-point-to-our-unhappy-circumstances-to_1271956.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49d/elisabeth-kubler-ross-1892_circumstances_we-point-to-our-unhappy-circumstances-to_1271956.png) > “We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our negative feelings. This is the easy way out. It takes, after all, very little effort to feel victimized.” [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often blame external situations to justify negative emotions, avoiding personal responsibility. **In simple terms:** Blaming others lets us avoid feeling responsible. Key Takeaway Own your feelings, seek growth. Themes responsibility emotions self‑awareness Mood reflective serious Type advice psychological When to use this quote - personal relationships - therapy - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How can you reframe setbacks as growth opportunities? - What emotions are you avoiding? A Different Perspective Ignoring internal causes limits personal development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Circumstances Rationalize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances-rationalize-4081053/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Easy way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy-way/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Feel Victimized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-victimized-3154583/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feelings Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-easy-1612134/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Little Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-effort/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative/) [Negative feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-feelings/) [Rationalize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalize/) [Rationalize Negative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rationalize-negative-4081054/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Unhappy Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-circumstances-1127771/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [When you feel victimized or sad, just allow yourself to cry; you'll feel better and have more room to experience joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jude-bijou/when-you-feel-victimized-or-sad-just-allow-yourself-to-cry-you-ll/) [Jude Bijou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jude-bijou/) > [“Neglect of what is genuinely human is the major reason why so many people in American business right now feel more victimized than helped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-morris/neglect-of-what-is-genuinely-human-is-the-major-reason-why-so-many/) [Tom Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-morris/) > [So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not-3/) [Christopher McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mccandless/) > [So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not-5/) [Christopher McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mccandless/) > [Face the fact and the fact is that many unhappy circumstances appear from the fault of our own and not God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/face-the-fact-and-the-fact-is-that-many-unhappy-circumstances-appear/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [Make a promise, take a vow, and trust your feelings it's easy now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-moody-blues/make-a-promise-take-a-vow-and-trust-your-feelings-it-s-easy-now/) [The Moody Blues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-moody-blues/) > [“It's normal for us to become unhappy for a while due to how circumstances in life treat us, but it is ungodly for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/it-s-normal-for-us-to-become-unhappy-for-a-while-due-to-how/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Basically, I want people to feel feelings. It's too easy to go through this world being told to keep our emotions in check, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-fidell/basically-i-want-people-to-feel-feelings-it-s-too-easy-to-go-through/) [Hannah Fidell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-fidell/) > [Hiding your feelings is not the easy way out but sometimes it's the only thing you could do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hiding-your-feelings-is-not-the-easy-way-out-but-sometimes-it-s-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The feelings I have are not easy to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela/the-feelings-i-have-are-not-easy-to-say/) [Pamela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela/) > [If you're unhappy with your circumstances, then change them. Don't blame the government or your boss or the guy down the street who's better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-crowder/if-you-re-unhappy-with-your-circumstances-then-change-them-don-t/) [Steven Crowder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-crowder/) > [Its so easy to play with someone feelings, So easy to fool someone, So easy to make someone cry. But its so hard if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addy/its-so-easy-to-play-with-someone-feelings-so-easy-to-fool-someone-so/) [Addy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addy/) > [So many people live daily with unhappy circumstances, and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation. They somehow believe that conforming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-rai/so-many-people-live-daily-with-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Suman Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-rai/) > [“When a person is miserable, wretched, and unhappy in himself, put him in what circumstances you please, and he is wretched still. If a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heber-c-kimball/when-a-person-is-miserable-wretched-and-unhappy-in-himself-put-him-in/) [Heber C. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heber-c-kimball/) > [A child gets sick with a chronic disease of unhappiness not from unhappy circumstances but from unhappy people around him. Unhappy people cannot raise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-soloveychik/a-child-gets-sick-with-a-chronic-disease-of-unhappiness-not-from/) [Simon Soloveychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-soloveychik/) ## More by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross > [Watching a peaceful death of a human being reminds us of a falling star; one of a million lights in a vast sky that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/watching-a-peaceful-death-of-a-human-being-reminds-us-of-a-falling/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [Death is staring too long into the burning sun and the relief of entering a cool, dark room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/death-is-staring-too-long-into-the-burning-sun-and-the-relief-of/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [There is not much sense in suffering, since drugs can be given for pain, itching, and other discomforts. The belief has long died that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/there-is-not-much-sense-in-suffering-since-drugs-can-be-given-for/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [When I came to this country in 1958, to be a dying patient in a medical hospital was a nightmare. You were put in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/when-i-came-to-this-country-in-1958-to-be-a-dying-patient-in-a/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [“La única finalidad de la vida es crecer. La lección última es aprender a amar y a ser amados incondicionalmente.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/la-nica-finalidad-de-la-vida-es-crecer-la-lecci-n-ltima-es-aprender-a/) [Elisabeth Kübler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [“We need time to move through the pain of loss. We need to step into it, really to get to know it, in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/we-need-time-to-move-through-the-pain-of-loss-we-need-to-step-into-it/) [Elisabeth Kübler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [We have to ask ourselves whether medicine is to remain a humanitarian and respected profession or a new but depersonalized science in the service…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/we-have-to-ask-ourselves-whether-medicine-is-to-remain-a-humanitarian/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [“The reality is people have always died in large numbers in natural disasters such as avalanches, earthquakes, and tornadoes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/the-reality-is-people-have-always-died-in-large-numbers-in-natural/) [Elisabeth Kübler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [Everything in this life has a purpose, there are no mistakes, no coincidences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/everything-in-this-life-has-a-purpose-there-are-no-mistakes-no/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [We run after values that, at death, become zero. At the end of your life, nobody asks you how many degrees you have, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/we-run-after-values-that-at-death-become-zero-at-the-end-of-your-life/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [In the so-called civilized world, children are physically, sexually and/or emotionally abused; they are the leaders of our future. When children are raised in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/in-the-so-called-civilized-world-children-are-physically-sexually-and/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [I look for mystery and try to decipher it while knowing it is an impossible task. I look for memory, where Mystery lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/i-look-for-mystery-and-try-to-decipher-it-while-knowing-it-is-an/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [“Are we all destined to die as failures? Just”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/are-we-all-destined-to-die-as-failures-just/) [Elisabeth Kübler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [“You can become a channel and a source of great inner strength. But you must give up everything in order to gain everything. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/you-can-become-a-channel-and-a-source-of-great-inner-strength-but-you/) [Elisabeth Kübler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [You have to temper the iron. Every hardship is an opportunity that you are given, an opportunity to grow. To grow is the sole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/you-have-to-temper-the-iron-every-hardship-is-an-opportunity-that-you/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) [Explore all 176 Elisabeth Kubler-Ross quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) ## More Circumstances quotes > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Being positive helps you to keep away negative thoughts. And helps you to stand in adverse circumstances with the hope that in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/being-positive-helps-you-to-keep-away-negative-thoughts-and-helps-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-don-t-think-you-would-have-missed-that-putt-but-in-these/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-i-could-shape-the-circumstances-around-me-but-now-i/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [Instead of complaining about your circumstances, get busy creating new ones. You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We point to our unhappy circumstances to rationalize our negative feelings. This is the easy way out. 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