--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As we grow old we slowly come to believe…" description: "\"As we grow old we slowly come to believe that everything will turn out badly for us, and that failure is in the nature of things; but then we do not mu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/isak-dinesen-3174_believe_as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe_3000634.jpg" --- # As we grow old we slowly come to believe that everything… ![“As we grow old we slowly come to believe that everything will turn out badly for us, and that failure is in the nature of things; but then we do not much mind what happens to us one way or the other.” quote by Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/isak-dinesen-3174_believe_as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe_3000634.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/isak-dinesen-3174_believe_as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe_3000634.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/isak-dinesen-3174_believe_as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe_3000634.jpg) > “As we grow old we slowly come to believe that everything will turn out badly for us, and that failure is in the nature of things; but then we do not much mind what happens to us one way or the other.” [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging can lead to fatalism, yet acceptance of uncertainty can reduce anxiety. **In simple terms:** Old age may breed pessimism, but letting go eases worry. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty, release fear. Themes aging fatalism acceptance Mood reflective calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - retirement - health challenges - life transitions Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does fear of failure shape your daily choices? - What can you let go of to feel calmer? A Different Perspective Optimism may be unrealistic for some; not all accept uncertainty easily. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Grow Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-old/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [When we are young the idea of death or failure is intolerable to us; even the possibility of ridicule we cannot bear. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-we-are-young-the-idea-of-death-or-failure-is-intolerable-to-us/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [I'd like to grow very old as slowly as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/i-d-like-to-grow-very-old-as-slowly-as-possible/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Failure seems to be nature's plan for preparing us for great responsibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/failure-seems-to-be-nature-s-plan-for-preparing-us-for-great/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [A hatred of failure has always been part of my nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-hatred-of-failure-has-always-been-part-of-my-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no success or failure in Nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/there-is-no-success-or-failure-in-nature/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [The kind of industrial wasteland that you see in so much of Europe has a tremendous poignancy to me, especially when it's run down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-johannsson/the-kind-of-industrial-wasteland-that-you-see-in-so-much-of-europe/) [Johann Johannsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-johannsson/) > [Failure is nature's plan to prepare you for great responsibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/failure-is-nature-s-plan-to-prepare-you-for-great-responsibilities/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure, because that is the nature of politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/all-political-lives-unless-they-are-cut-off-in-midstream-at-a-happy/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [“The fallacy was obvious. It presupposed that somewhere or other, outside oneself, there was a “real” world where “real” things happened. But how could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-fallacy-was-obvious-it-presupposed-that-somewhere-or-other/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“You don’t need to know how. You just make up your mind and it happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-don-t-need-to-know-how-you-just-make-up-your-mind-and-it-happens/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [If I put my mind to something, it happens. I do know that's not necessarily psychic. But I always feel like there's something around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/if-i-put-my-mind-to-something-it-happens-i-do-know-that-s-not/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“All happenings are in the mind. Whatever happens in all minds, truly happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/all-happenings-are-in-the-mind-whatever-happens-in-all-minds-truly/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It's a closing of the mind that happens when you want to be lazy and go with the easiest answers, like the media do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-russell/it-s-a-closing-of-the-mind-that-happens-when-you-want-to-be-lazy-and/) [David O. Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-russell/) > [The difference between me and you is... that I don't mind what happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/the-difference-between-me-and-you-is-that-i-don-t-mind-what-happens/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I don't mind what happens. That is the essence of inner freedom. It is a timeless spiritual truth: release attachment to outcomes, deep inside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/i-don-t-mind-what-happens-that-is-the-essence-of-inner-freedom-it-is/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) ## More by Isak Dinesen > [The divine art is the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/the-divine-art-is-the-story/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [Your own self, your personality and existence are reflected within the mind of each of the people whom you meet, ... into a likeness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/your-own-self-your-personality-and-existence-are-reflected-within-the/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [A great artist is never poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/a-great-artist-is-never-poor/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [To be a person is to have a story to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/to-be-a-person-is-to-have-a-story-to-tell/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [One does not travel by plane. One is merely sent, like a parcel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/one-does-not-travel-by-plane-one-is-merely-sent-like-a-parcel/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [When we are young the idea of death or failure is intolerable to us; even the possibility of ridicule we cannot bear. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-we-are-young-the-idea-of-death-or-failure-is-intolerable-to-us/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [Here and there, in some older houses, old faded daguerreotypes still hang on the walls... They seem to us to be very simple... compared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/here-and-there-in-some-older-houses-old-faded-daguerreotypes-still/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“It is more than their land that you take away from the people, whose Native land you take. It is their past as well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/it-is-more-than-their-land-that-you-take-away-from-the-people-whose/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [There was a place in the Hills, on the first ridge in the Game Reserve, that I myself at the time when I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/there-was-a-place-in-the-hills-on-the-first-ridge-in-the-game-reserve/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/if-i-know-a-song-of-africa-of-the-giraffe-and-the-african-new-moon/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [People who dream when they sleep at night know of a special kind of happiness which the world of the day holds not, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/people-who-dream-when-they-sleep-at-night-know-of-a-special-kind-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [All sorrows can be borne if you can put them into a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/all-sorrows-can-be-borne-if-you-can-put-them-into-a-story/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [the true art of the gods is the comic. The comic is a condescension of the divine to the world of man; it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/the-true-art-of-the-gods-is-the-comic-the-comic-is-a-condescension-of/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [“Dr Sass…maintained that in paradise, until the time of the fall, the whole world was flat, the back-curtain of the Lord, and that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/dr-sass-maintained-that-in-paradise-until-the-time-of-the-fall-the/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) > [When you have a great and difficult task, something perhaps almost impossible, if you only work a little at a time, every day a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/when-you-have-a-great-and-difficult-task-something-perhaps-almost/) [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) [Explore all 135 Isak Dinesen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Resist discouragement by speaking His Word over your future. Keep standing. Keep hoping; keep believing because He is working behind the scenes. He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [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/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As we grow old we slowly come to believe that everything will turn out badly for us, and that failure is in the nature of things; but then we do not much mind what happens to us one way or the other.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Isak Dinesen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe-that-everything-will-turn/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Believe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe-that-everything-will-turn/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/isak-dinesen-3174_believe_as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe_3000634.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/isak-dinesen-3174_believe_as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe_3000634.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e7/isak-dinesen-3174_believe_as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe_3000634.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As we grow old we slowly come to believe that everything will turn out badly for us, and that failure is in…” — Isak Dinesen", "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": "Isak Dinesen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isak-dinesen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As we grow old we slowly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe-that-everything-will-turn/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isak-dinesen/as-we-grow-old-we-slowly-come-to-believe-that-everything-will-turn/#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 } } ] } ```