--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that the worst unpleasantness of…" description: "\"I think that the worst unpleasantness of age is not its final fact ... but the tediousness of preparation, the accumulating number of defeats.\" — Freya..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6c/freya-stark-3403_age_i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of_3228501.png" --- # I think that the worst unpleasantness of age is not its… ![“I think that the worst unpleasantness of age is not its final fact ... but the tediousness of preparation, the accumulating number of defeats.” quote by Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6c/freya-stark-3403_age_i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of_3228501.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6c/freya-stark-3403_age_i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of_3228501.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6c/freya-stark-3403_age_i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of_3228501.png) > “I think that the worst unpleasantness of age is not its final fact ... but the tediousness of preparation, the accumulating number of defeats.” [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging's hardest part is not death but the endless, tedious preparations and repeated setbacks that accumulate over time. **In simple terms:** Aging feels tedious because of constant setbacks. Key Takeaway Accept setbacks and focus on present moments. Themes aging resilience preparation defeat patience Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - career planning - health management - personal growth - learning from failure Key Concepts existential psychology time perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you find meaning in the process rather than the outcome? - What small changes can break the cycle of defeat? A Different Perspective Even with preparation, outcomes remain uncertain and can be discouraging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Fact Tediousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-tediousness-6097904/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Finals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finals/) [Number Defeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/number-defeats-6097906/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Tediousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tediousness-1996459/) [Tediousness Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tediousness-preparation-6097905/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Unpleasantness Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unpleasantness-age-6097903/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [Tediousness is the most fatal of all faults.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/tediousness-is-the-most-fatal-of-all-faults/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The man who suspects his own tediousness is yet to be born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-bailey-aldrich/the-man-who-suspects-his-own-tediousness-is-yet-to-be-born/) [Thomas Bailey Aldrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-bailey-aldrich/) > [I hate dream sequences in movies and T.V. shows generally for their heavy-handed symbolism and storytelling tediousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-hate-dream-sequences-in-movies-and-t-v-shows-generally-for-their/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [Bad things happen when problems are protected by a force field of tediousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-goldacre/bad-things-happen-when-problems-are-protected-by-a-force-field-of/) [Ben Goldacre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-goldacre/) > [I had two sisters, and we would love to get dressed up and pretend that we were chic, sophisticated ladies. And I think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-farrell/i-had-two-sisters-and-we-would-love-to-get-dressed-up-and-pretend/) [Suzanne Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-farrell/) > [Every peasant cuisine has incredible ingenious tricks for getting a lot of nutrition out of a small amount of ingredients. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/every-peasant-cuisine-has-incredible-ingenious-tricks-for-getting-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [How could a readiness for war in time of peace be safely prohibited, unless we could prohibit, in like manner, the preparations and establishments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/how-could-a-readiness-for-war-in-time-of-peace-be-safely-prohibited/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/change-is-inevitable-growth-is-optional/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [Creating a top team and being in a position to win the Tour de France will give me a nice feeling. But I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-alonso/creating-a-top-team-and-being-in-a-position-to-win-the-tour-de-france/) [Fernando Alonso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-alonso/) > [Unless we are prepared to search our souls to discover what to say, and then how to say it effectively, we cannot expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/everett-case/unless-we-are-prepared-to-search-our-souls-to-discover-what-to-say/) [Everett Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/everett-case/) > [Girls spend hours deciding what to wear, and all guys do is try to picture us naked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/girls-spend-hours-deciding-what-to-wear-and-all-guys-do-is-try-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not one to dwell on rehearsal or preparation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrice-leconte/i-m-not-one-to-dwell-on-rehearsal-or-preparation/) [Patrice Leconte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrice-leconte/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-bryant/little-things-make-the-difference-everyone-is-well-prepared-in-the/) [Bear Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-bryant/) > [Erase from your mind that your preparation must be perfect. Hard work + dedication = a shot at your dreams. Keep believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kara-goucher/erase-from-your-mind-that-your-preparation-must-be-perfect-hard-work/) [Kara Goucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kara-goucher/) ## More by Freya Stark > [I do think we should be provided with a new body about the age of thirty or so when we have learnt to attend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-do-think-we-should-be-provided-with-a-new-body-about-the-age-of/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The world has become too full of many things, an over furnished room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-world-has-become-too-full-of-many-things-an-over-furnished-room/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [From love one can only escape at the price of life itself; and no lessening of sorrow is worth exile from that stream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/from-love-one-can-only-escape-at-the-price-of-life-itself-and-no/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The unexpectedness of life, waiting round every corner, catches even wise women unawares (...) To avoid corners altogether is, after all, to refuse to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-unexpectedness-of-life-waiting-round-every-corner-catches-even/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Words are the only arteries of thought our poor human body possesses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/words-are-the-only-arteries-of-thought-our-poor-human-body-possesses/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The past is our treasure. Its works, whether we know them or not, flourish in our lives with whatever strength they had. From it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-past-is-our-treasure-its-works-whether-we-know-them-or-not/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [On the other hand, there is a certain advantage in traveling with someone who has a reputation for shooting rather than being shot: as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/on-the-other-hand-there-is-a-certain-advantage-in-traveling-with/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [If one were given a single window from which to look upon the changing Eastern world, it should face, I think, the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/if-one-were-given-a-single-window-from-which-to-look-upon-the/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [advertisement ... has brought our disregard for truth into the open without even a figleaf to cover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/advertisement-has-brought-our-disregard-for-truth-into-the-open/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Who dares to be intellectual in the presence of death?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/who-dares-to-be-intellectual-in-the-presence-of-death/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [The Persian's mind, like his illuminated manuscripts, does not deal in perspective: two thousand years, if he happens to know anything about them, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/the-persian-s-mind-like-his-illuminated-manuscripts-does-not-deal-in/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/curiosity-is-the-one-thing-invincible-in-nature/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [There are, I sometimes think, only two sorts of people in this world - the settled and the nomad - and there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/there-are-i-sometimes-think-only-two-sorts-of-people-in-this-world/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [Nearly all trouble comes from mis-timing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/nearly-all-trouble-comes-from-mis-timing/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) > [“I have no reason to go, except that I have never been, and knowledge is better than ignorance. What better reason could there be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-have-no-reason-to-go-except-that-i-have-never-been-and-knowledge-is/) [Freya Stark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) [Explore all 131 Freya Stark quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that the worst unpleasantness of age is not its final fact ... but the tediousness of preparation, the accumulating number of defeats.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Freya Stark" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of-age-is-not-its-final-fact/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of-age-is-not-its-final-fact/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6c/freya-stark-3403_age_i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of_3228501.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6c/freya-stark-3403_age_i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of_3228501.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6c/freya-stark-3403_age_i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of_3228501.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think that the worst unpleasantness of age is not its final fact ... but the tediousness of preparation…” — Freya Stark", "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": "Freya Stark", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freya-stark/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think that the worst unpleasantness...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of-age-is-not-its-final-fact/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freya-stark/i-think-that-the-worst-unpleasantness-of-age-is-not-its-final-fact/#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 } } ] } ```