--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It isn't the big troubles in life that…" description: "\"It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/jean-webster-7791_bigs_it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-r_1193761.jpg" --- # It isn't the big troubles in life that require character… ![“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh - I really think that requires spirit. It's the kind of character that I am going to develop. I am going to pretend…” quote by Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/jean-webster-7791_bigs_it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-r_1193761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/jean-webster-7791_bigs_it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-r_1193761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a19/jean-webster-7791_bigs_it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-r_1193761.jpg) > “It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh - I really think that requires spirit. It's the kind of character that I am going to develop. I am going to pretend that all life is just a game which I must play as skillfully and fairly as I can. If I lose, I am going to shrug my shoulders and laugh - also if I win.” [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True character shows in handling everyday annoyances with humor, not just in dramatic crises. **In simple terms:** Spirit is shown in daily humor. Key Takeaway Cultivate humor in daily challenges. Themes humor resilience character mindset Mood lighthearted reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - workplace stress - family disputes - traffic jams - minor setbacks - personal setbacks Key Concepts psychology everyday ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice lightheartedness without denial? - When does humor become avoidance? A Different Perspective Humor may mask deeper issues if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Crisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crisis/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy/) [Troubles in life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troubles-in-life/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/it-isn-t-the-big-troubles-in-life-that-require-character-anybody-can/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/anybody-can-rise-to-a-crisis-and-face-a-crushing-tragedy-with-courage/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [“Don't ever let your troubles in life break you. No matter how hard it gets, overcome it. Remember...life goes on”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/don-t-ever-let-your-troubles-in-life-break-you-no-matter-how-hard-it/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“Most of the troubles in life come on all of a sudden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/most-of-the-troubles-in-life-come-on-all-of-a-sudden/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“That there are no troubles in life that can't be sorted through or solved by spending time in the garden”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-white/that-there-are-no-troubles-in-life-that-can-t-be-sorted-through-or/) [Karen White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-white/) > [Troubles in my life, Troubles I am willing to fight & these troubles I'll overcome despite the endless fights. hurdle after hurdle I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tee-cee/troubles-in-my-life-troubles-i-am-willing-to-fight-these-troubles-i/) Tee Cee > [“It will be your deepest tragedy that will give you the courage to fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rowe/it-will-be-your-deepest-tragedy-that-will-give-you-the-courage-to-fly/) [Nikki Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rowe/) > [The loftiness of understanding embraces all. 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Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Every human being on the face of the earth has a steel plate in his head, but if you lie down now and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/every-human-being-on-the-face-of-the-earth-has-a-steel-plate-in-his/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“In a way, though, the boy was right. Every human being on the face of the earth has a steel plate in his head,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-a-way-though-the-boy-was-right-every-human-being-on-the-face-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Courage for the big troubles in life, lad' he'd say, 'and patience for the small. Be of good cheer. God is awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-young/courage-for-the-big-troubles-in-life-lad-he-d-say-and-patience-for/) [Louisa Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-young/) > [Half the trouble in life is caused by pretending there isn't any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/half-the-trouble-in-life-is-caused-by-pretending-there-isn-t-any/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The cabin of a small yacht is truly a wonderful thing; not only will it shelter you from a tempest, but from the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-francis-herreshoff/the-cabin-of-a-small-yacht-is-truly-a-wonderful-thing-not-only-will/) Lewis Francis Herreshoff ## More by Jean Webster > [“It isn't the big troubles in life that require character. 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There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. 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