--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fear of repeating oneself, of repeating…" description: "\"Fear of repeating oneself, of repeating oneself may be the greatest bugaboo of late capitalist society. The fear has been marketed so effectively that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/jan-peacock-50392_attention_fear-of-repeating-oneself-of-repeating-o_454480.jpg" --- # Fear of repeating oneself, of repeating oneself may be the… ![“Fear of repeating oneself, of repeating oneself may be the greatest bugaboo of late capitalist society. The fear has been marketed so effectively that a will to sustain attention on any one thing can be cancelled out easily in favour of the latest distraction.” quote by Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/jan-peacock-50392_attention_fear-of-repeating-oneself-of-repeating-o_454480.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/jan-peacock-50392_attention_fear-of-repeating-oneself-of-repeating-o_454480.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad5/jan-peacock-50392_attention_fear-of-repeating-oneself-of-repeating-o_454480.jpg) > “Fear of repeating oneself, of repeating oneself may be the greatest bugaboo of late capitalist society. The fear has been marketed so effectively that a will to sustain attention on any one thing can be cancelled out easily in favour of the latest distraction.” [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern capitalism fuels distraction; fear of repetition drives endless novelty seeking, undermining deep focus. **In simple terms:** Distraction is a product of fear of repetition. Key Takeaway Resist constant novelty. Themes consumerism attention distraction Mood critical reflective Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - social media use - creative work - learning environments Key Concepts Capitalism psychology of habit Questions to Reflect On - What distractions dominate your day? - How can you break the cycle of novelty seeking? A Different Perspective Deep focus is still possible with intentional habits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Distraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distraction/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) ## Related quotes > [Writing is the art of repeating oneself without anyone noticing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/writing-is-the-art-of-repeating-oneself-without-anyone-noticing/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [There is no possibility of remembering what has been found and understood, and later repeating it to oneself. It disappears as a dream disappears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-ouspensky/there-is-no-possibility-of-remembering-what-has-been-found-and/) [P.D. Ouspensky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-ouspensky/) > [Can someone within that society walk into the town square and say what they want without fear of being punished for his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/can-someone-within-that-society-walk-into-the-town-square-and-say/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [The blackest despair that can take hold of any society is the fear that living honestly is futile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrado-alvaro/the-blackest-despair-that-can-take-hold-of-any-society-is-the-fear/) Corrado Alvaro > [Imagine how wicked society would be if the fear of God and the fear of civil law were both completely removed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/imagine-how-wicked-society-would-be-if-the-fear-of-god-and-the-fear/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [There is a lot of censorship about writing that's exerted from all directions, from families or governments and society, even the fear of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/there-is-a-lot-of-censorship-about-writing-that-s-exerted-from-all/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [A simple way to determine whether the right to dissent in a particular society is being upheld is to apply the town square test:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/a-simple-way-to-determine-whether-the-right-to-dissent-in-a/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [Though it is very important for man as an individual that his religion should be true, that is not the case for society. Society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/though-it-is-very-important-for-man-as-an-individual-that-his/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [in modern society, fear of unemployment remains the darkest of the shadows thrown by the past. In an industrial order, a man out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/in-modern-society-fear-of-unemployment-remains-the-darkest-of-the/) [Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/) > [The wise person often shuns society for fear of being bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/the-wise-person-often-shuns-society-for-fear-of-being-bored/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Will dissent be permitted? The answer to that question will determine whether the society is a free society or a fear society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natan-sharansky/will-dissent-be-permitted-the-answer-to-that-question-will-determine/) [Natan Sharansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natan-sharansky/) > [He knew that conscience was chiefly fear of society or fear of oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-knew-that-conscience-was-chiefly-fear-of-society-or-fear-of-oneself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People are kept in line in society because they fear punishment. The assumption that underlies this mentality is that a human being will follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/people-are-kept-in-line-in-society-because-they-fear-punishment-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I don't like repeating things and look out for work that could challenge me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-massey/i-don-t-like-repeating-things-and-look-out-for-work-that-could/) [Vikrant Massey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-massey/) > [I'm trying to be very aware of not repeating myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/i-m-trying-to-be-very-aware-of-not-repeating-myself/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) ## More by Jan Peacock > [What can be sustained and repeated without emptying out?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peacock/what-can-be-sustained-and-repeated-without-emptying-out/) [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) > [Naturally, patterns emerge through repetition, and repetition yields up a type of discovery that reveals everything about itself, especially its sorry limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peacock/naturally-patterns-emerge-through-repetition-and-repetition-yields-up/) [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) > [The imagination is a spiritual apparatus. Unable to invent the world, it does the next best thing, and that is to assemble it piecemeal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peacock/the-imagination-is-a-spiritual-apparatus-unable-to-invent-the-world/) [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) > [An artist may sustain a body of work as an ecosystem, in which every part is used to every advantage, not consuming any part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peacock/an-artist-may-sustain-a-body-of-work-as-an-ecosystem-in-which-every/) [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) > [It was an epiphany when I realized you don't have to call yourself a linguist, a translator, a poet. You can call yourself an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peacock/it-was-an-epiphany-when-i-realized-you-don-t-have-to-call-yourself-a/) [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) > [In Banff, the mountains are really close to your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peacock/in-banff-the-mountains-are-really-close-to-your-head/) [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) [Explore all 7 Jan Peacock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [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/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fear of repeating oneself, of repeating oneself may be the greatest bugaboo of late capitalist society. 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