--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many people misjudge the permanent effect…" description: "\"Many people misjudge the permanent effect of sorrow, and their capacity to live in the past.\" — Ivy Compton-Burnett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_capacity_many-people-misjudge-the-permanent-effec_785614.jpg" --- # Many people misjudge the permanent effect of sorrow, and… ![“Many people misjudge the permanent effect of sorrow, and their capacity to live in the past.” quote by Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_capacity_many-people-misjudge-the-permanent-effec_785614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_capacity_many-people-misjudge-the-permanent-effec_785614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b0/ivy-compton-burnett-10491_capacity_many-people-misjudge-the-permanent-effec_785614.jpg) > “Many people misjudge the permanent effect of sorrow, and their capacity to live in the past.” [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) ## 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 overestimate how lasting sorrow is and stay stuck in past grief. **In simple terms:** Sorrow isn’t forever; don’t dwell. Key Takeaway Recognize grief’s temporary nature. Themes memory grief time Mood reflective somber Type philosophical emotional When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal reflection - writing Key Concepts psychology of loss temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance remembering and moving on? - What helps you release past sorrow? A Different Perspective Some may minimize genuine pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capacity/) [Effect Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effect-sorrow-794035/) [Effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects/) [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Misjudge Permanent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misjudge-permanent-6044486/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Misjudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-misjudge-1118237/) [Permanent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanent/) [Sorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow/) [Sorrow Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorrow-capacity-6044485/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [The natural effect of sorrow over the dead is to refine and elevate the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/the-natural-effect-of-sorrow-over-the-dead-is-to-refine-and-elevate/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [I think people always misjudge me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riddick-bowe/i-think-people-always-misjudge-me/) [Riddick Bowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riddick-bowe/) > [I think people misjudge the use of the term constructive criticism to project their own negative opinions about something subjective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-people-misjudge-the-use-of-the-term-constructive-criticism-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People misjudge it sometimes and think I'm selfish or I'm quiet or I'm rude because I don't talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/people-misjudge-it-sometimes-and-think-i-m-selfish-or-i-m-quiet-or-i/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) > [People always misjudge me off things they hear. I tell them, just sit aside and listen to my side of the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordarrelle-patterson/people-always-misjudge-me-off-things-they-hear-i-tell-them-just-sit/) [Cordarrelle Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordarrelle-patterson/) > [There is nothing of permanent value (putting aside a few human affections) nothing that satisfies quiet reflection--except the sense of having worked according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/there-is-nothing-of-permanent-value-putting-aside-a-few-human/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [When have handouts ever worked? 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First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [No greater victory can be won by citizens or soldiers than to transform temporary foes into permanent friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/no-greater-victory-can-be-won-by-citizens-or-soldiers-than-to/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) ## More by Ivy Compton-Burnett > [Our desires have a way of getting bigger with our incomes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/our-desires-have-a-way-of-getting-bigger-with-our-incomes/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [I never know why self-sacrifice is noble. Why is it better to sacrifice oneself than someone else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/i-never-know-why-self-sacrifice-is-noble-why-is-it-better-to/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [My youth is escaping without giving me anything it owes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/my-youth-is-escaping-without-giving-me-anything-it-owes-me/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [It will be a beautiful family talk, mean and worried and full of sorrow and spite and excitement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/it-will-be-a-beautiful-family-talk-mean-and-worried-and-full-of/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [“People do not like to lose their lives. That is the reason why they should not take other people's.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/people-do-not-like-to-lose-their-lives-that-is-the-reason-why-they/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Never is a long word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/never-is-a-long-word/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [A person who can really be called an unselfish person, has no place in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/a-person-who-can-really-be-called-an-unselfish-person-has-no-place-in/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [We do not discuss the members of our family to their faces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/we-do-not-discuss-the-members-of-our-family-to-their-faces/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [The plot is not very important to me, though a novel must have one, of course. It's just a line to hang the washing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/the-plot-is-not-very-important-to-me-though-a-novel-must-have-one-of/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Time is not a great healer. It is an indifferent and perfunctory one. Sometimes it does not heal at all. And sometimes when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/time-is-not-a-great-healer-it-is-an-indifferent-and-perfunctory-one/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [There are different kinds of wrong. The people sinned against are not always the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/there-are-different-kinds-of-wrong-the-people-sinned-against-are-not/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Pushing forty? She's hanging on for dear life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/pushing-forty-she-s-hanging-on-for-dear-life/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Well, Buttermere, this is a day that is good to live and breathe in, that makes a man feel in his prime. Standing here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/well-buttermere-this-is-a-day-that-is-good-to-live-and-breathe-in/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [Civilized life exacts its toll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/civilized-life-exacts-its-toll/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) > [We none of us talk to people as we do behind their backs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivy-compton-burnett/we-none-of-us-talk-to-people-as-we-do-behind-their-backs/) [Ivy Compton-Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) [Explore all 65 Ivy Compton-Burnett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivy-compton-burnett/) ## More Capacity quotes > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [And you can't complain about kissing Emma Watson. 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Contrary to popular belief, it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/to-preserve-an-unclouded-capacity-for-the-enjoyment-of-life-is-an/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [For years mental health professionals taught people that they could be psychologically healthy without social support, that “unless you love yourself, no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/for-years-mental-health-professionals-taught-people-that-they-could/) [Bruce D. 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