--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once one survives the trough that comes…" description: "\"“Once one survives the trough that comes with the understanding that people are going to go on being stupid and cruel to each other no matter what, pro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/iain-m-banks-3729_attitude_once-one-survives-the-trough-that-comes_346506.jpg" --- # Once one survives the trough that comes with the… ![“Once one survives the trough that comes with the understanding that people are going to go on being stupid and cruel to each other no matter what, probably for ever – if one survives; many people choose suicide at this point instead – then one starts to take the attitude, Oh well, never mind.” quote by Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/iain-m-banks-3729_attitude_once-one-survives-the-trough-that-comes_346506.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/iain-m-banks-3729_attitude_once-one-survives-the-trough-that-comes_346506.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63e/iain-m-banks-3729_attitude_once-one-survives-the-trough-that-comes_346506.jpg) > ““Once one survives the trough that comes with the understanding that people are going to go on being stupid and cruel to each other no matter what, probably for ever – if one survives; many people choose suicide at this point instead – then one starts to take the attitude, Oh well, never mind.”” [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Realizing humanity’s perpetual folly can feel overwhelming, yet surviving that despair leads to a resigned, indifferent outlook. **In simple terms:** Accepting human cruelty can bring a detached calm. Key Takeaway Adopt a stoic acceptance. Themes human nature existentialism resilience Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal crisis - mental health coping - philosophical reflection Key Concepts philosophy psychology cultural criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance acceptance with hope? - When is indifference harmful? A Different Perspective This attitude may foster apathy rather than constructive action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suicide/) ## Related quotes > [“There will likely be one important difference between corporeal suicide and digital suicide. Right now, one cannot destroy oneself utterly. We can blow our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/there-will-likely-be-one-important-difference-between-corporeal/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [Life is one of the hardest thing in the world but when life kicks you down get up again and say fuck the world!!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-one-of-the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-but-when-life-kicks-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is never boring, but some people choose to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/life-is-never-boring-but-some-people-choose-to-be-bored/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [To make a difference is not a matter of accident...People CHOOSE to make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/to-make-a-difference-is-not-a-matter-of-accident-people-choose-to/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [N this business you got different types of artists who are trying to get to the level of success; everybody graduates to where they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/n-this-business-you-got-different-types-of-artists-who-are-trying-to/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) > [People will choose unhappiness over uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-will-choose-unhappiness-over-uncertainty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think often times when people choose to be part of a charity; it's usually because something is very personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berkley/i-think-often-times-when-people-choose-to-be-part-of-a-charity-it-s/) [Elizabeth Berkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berkley/) > [It's strange the times people choose to be generous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/it-s-strange-the-times-people-choose-to-be-generous/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [A strong marriage requires two people who choose to love each other even on those days when they struggle to like each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-willis/a-strong-marriage-requires-two-people-who-choose-to-love-each-other/) [Dave Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-willis/) > [There's so many ways to play a bad guy, and usually people choose the obvious one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-statham/there-s-so-many-ways-to-play-a-bad-guy-and-usually-people-choose-the/) [Jason Statham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-statham/) > [Some people choose to stay alone, simply because they are tired of giving everything and ending up with nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherry-forever/some-people-choose-to-stay-alone-simply-because-they-are-tired-of/) Cherry Forever > [“When you’re in love with two people, always choose the second. The fact that you are constantly thinking of the second person makes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/when-you-re-in-love-with-two-people-always-choose-the-second-the-fact/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [The people I choose as models have a quality that seems to contain the past, the present, and the future all at once. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/the-people-i-choose-as-models-have-a-quality-that-seems-to-contain/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [many people choose, early on, their own truths from the large smorgasbord available. And once they've chosen them, for good reason or no reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/many-people-choose-early-on-their-own-truths-from-the-large/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [If I was going to go into an office I wanted it to be with people I would choose to be around even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hsieh/if-i-was-going-to-go-into-an-office-i-wanted-it-to-be-with-people-i/) [Tony Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hsieh/) ## More by Iain M. Banks > [“It never ceased to amaze him how quickly a small child's face could turn from peach to beetroot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/it-never-ceased-to-amaze-him-how-quickly-a-small-child-s-face-could/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“There's something very... I don't know; primitive, perhaps, about you, Gurgeh. You've never changed sex, have you?' He shook his head. 'Or slept with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/there-s-something-very-i-don-t-know-primitive-perhaps-about-you/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [ “\[I\]t was really only in the generation or two before hers that the idea had started to traverse the spectrum of likelihood in the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/i-t-was-really-only-in-the-generation-or-two-before-hers-that-the/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Some problems were generational; you just had to wait for the relevant elders to die off and be replaced with more progressive types.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/some-problems-were-generational-you-just-had-to-wait-for-the-relevant/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“I can understand that people want to feel special and important and so on, but that self-obsession seems a bit pathetic somehow. Not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/i-can-understand-that-people-want-to-feel-special-and-important-and/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“We always want more, he thought, we always take our past successes for granted and assume they point the way to future success. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/we-always-want-more-he-thought-we-always-take-our-past-successes-for/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“just one more species, which would grow and expand and then, finding the plateau phase all non-suicidal species eventually arrived at, settle down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/just-one-more-species-which-would-grow-and-expand-and-then-finding/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Darkness came like a black flag waved over the canyon, drawing back the grayness from the shores of the city, then pushing forward the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/darkness-came-like-a-black-flag-waved-over-the-canyon-drawing-back/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Then the machine started to reel off infant-mortality rates and life-expectancy figures, sex ratios, types of diseases and their prevalence in the various strata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/then-the-machine-started-to-reel-off-infant-mortality-rates-and-life/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“he saw that which cannot be seen; a concept; the adaptive, self-seeking urge to survive, to bend everything that can be reached to that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/he-saw-that-which-cannot-be-seen-a-concept-the-adaptive-self-seeking/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Their history wasn’t so far off the mean track, they were going through what a thousand other civilizations had gone through, and no doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/their-history-wasn-t-so-far-off-the-mean-track-they-were-going/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Tell me, what is happiness?” “Happiness? Happiness... is to wake up, on a bright spring morning, after an exhausting first night spent with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/tell-me-what-is-happiness-happiness-happiness-is-to-wake-up-on-a/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Most people are not prepared to have their minds changed," he said. "And I think they know in their hearts that other people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/most-people-are-not-prepared-to-have-their-minds-changed-he-said-and/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“God, what did any of it matter, in the end? You lived; you died. You were as indistinguishable from a distance as one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/god-what-did-any-of-it-matter-in-the-end-you-lived-you-died-you-were/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“Now, quite apart from the fact that, from the point of view of the Earther, socialism suffers the devastating liability of only exhibiting internal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/now-quite-apart-from-the-fact-that-from-the-point-of-view-of-the/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) [Explore all 122 Iain M. Banks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) Isaiah Harden (Me > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) Sheye Hassan > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Once one survives the trough that comes with the understanding that people are going to go on being stupid and cruel to each other no matter what, probably for ever – if one survives; many people choose suicide at this point instead – then one starts to take the attitude, Oh well, never mind.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iain M. 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