--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Work. Like pain, I sensed that this was…" description: "\"“Work. Like pain, I sensed that this was an experience I would want to avoid as often as possible.”\" — Joanne Harris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/joanne-harris-1428_pain_work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an_30887.png" --- # Work. Like pain, I sensed that this was an experience I… ![“Work. Like pain, I sensed that this was an experience I would want to avoid as often as possible.” quote by Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/joanne-harris-1428_pain_work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an_30887.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/joanne-harris-1428_pain_work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an_30887.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/joanne-harris-1428_pain_work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an_30887.png) > ““Work. Like pain, I sensed that this was an experience I would want to avoid as often as possible.”” [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Work is portrayed as an unavoidable source of discomfort that people instinctively try to minimize. **In simple terms:** Work as pain Key Takeaway Avoid work when possible Themes discomfort avoidance psychology motivation culture Mood reflective cynical melancholic Type aphorism observation critique When to use this quote - career counseling - employee burnout - time management - life coaching - organizational design Key Concepts pain perception work ethic stress self-preservation Practical Applications - designing flexible work policies - creating stress‑reduction programs Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of work make it feel painful? - How can one transform work into a source of fulfillment? A Different Perspective Some find meaning and growth through challenging work, contrary to avoidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have sugar and try to avoid it as much as possible. At home, I don't have it at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manisha-koirala/i-don-t-have-sugar-and-try-to-avoid-it-as-much-as-possible-at-home-i/) [Manisha Koirala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manisha-koirala/) > [“avoid, as much as possible, telling clients what they would do if they were to be hired; instead, they just start serving them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/avoid-as-much-as-possible-telling-clients-what-they-would-do-if-they/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [I know it's a film and all of that, and it's a Hollywood film, but it kind of feels like this sometimes, when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-marber/i-know-it-s-a-film-and-all-of-that-and-it-s-a-hollywood-film-but-it/) [Patrick Marber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-marber/) > [Seems like PAIN and REGRET are best FRIENDS.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-qoutes/seems-like-pain-and-regret-are-best-friends/) \#AaroN QouTes > [“You know personally, I think nothing instills discipline like pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hajime-isayama/you-know-personally-i-think-nothing-instills-discipline-like-pain/) [Hajime Isayama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hajime-isayama/) > [“...most people were motivated not by what they want but what they want to avoid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-kacvinsky/most-people-were-motivated-not-by-what-they-want-but-what-they-want/) [Katie Kacvinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-kacvinsky/) > [I think I hate cynicism more than anything else. It's the curse of our age, and I want to avoid it at all costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-think-i-hate-cynicism-more-than-anything-else-it-s-the-curse-of-our/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Grief is the price we pay for being close to one another. If we want to avoid our grief, we simply avoid each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lynch/grief-is-the-price-we-pay-for-being-close-to-one-another-if-we-want/) [Thomas Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lynch/) > [I want to avoid people, because there’s only one thing worse than being homeless, and that’s people who are not, knowing that you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-stone/i-want-to-avoid-people-because-there-s-only-one-thing-worse-than/) [Craig Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-stone/) > [If you want to avoid weddings then attend funerals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/if-you-want-to-avoid-weddings-then-attend-funerals/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [A lot of success in life and business comes from knowing what you want to avoid: early death, a bad marriage, etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/a-lot-of-success-in-life-and-business-comes-from-knowing-what-you/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Full, saturated colours have an emotional significance I want to avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucian-freud/full-saturated-colours-have-an-emotional-significance-i-want-to-avoid/) [Lucian Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucian-freud/) > [“What you'll find, I think, is that the things you most want to avoid are the things that make you feel the greatest when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-wilson/what-you-ll-find-i-think-is-that-the-things-you-most-want-to-avoid/) [Kevin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-wilson/) > [Pretending that you're very busy talking over phone when you see someone you want to avoid or don't want to talk to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghav-singh/pretending-that-you-re-very-busy-talking-over-phone-when-you-see/) [Raghav Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghav-singh/) > [“It makes you want to avoid, and then it makes you terribly needy. It reduces you to about five years old. It also makes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-wendell/it-makes-you-want-to-avoid-and-then-it-makes-you-terribly-needy-it/) Julia Wendell ## More by Joanne Harris > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“For a moment something almost as rare as the sight that they had just witnessed occurred: Loki was totally lost for words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/for-a-moment-something-almost-as-rare-as-the-sight-that-they-had-just/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“There's no such thing as a trivial thing. Everything costs; it all adds up until finally the balance shifts and we're gone again, back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-trivial-thing-everything-costs-it-all-adds/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [And so Nat stood up and joined the group, and followed, and watched, and awaited his chance as the light of Chaos lit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/and-so-nat-stood-up-and-joined-the-group-and-followed-and-watched-and/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I could do with a bit more excess. From now on I'm going to be immoderate--and volatile--I shall enjoy loud music and lurid poetry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-could-do-with-a-bit-more-excess-from-now-on-i-m-going-to-be/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“Better a king in the gutter,' he said, 'than a slave in an emperor's place”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/better-a-king-in-the-gutter-he-said-than-a-slave-in-an-emperor-s-place/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I was convinced I'd hate Twitter - but I've come to like it very much. I use it mostly to keep in touch with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-was-convinced-i-d-hate-twitter-but-i-ve-come-to-like-it-very-much-i/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“Sometimes walking away is best. I should know. It's my specialty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/sometimes-walking-away-is-best-i-should-know-it-s-my-specialty/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I let it go. It's like swimming against the current. It exhausts you. After a while, whoever you are, you just have to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-let-it-go-it-s-like-swimming-against-the-current-it-exhausts-you/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“Knowledge is currency here…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/knowledge-is-currency-here/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I carried recipes in my head like maps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/i-carried-recipes-in-my-head-like-maps/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [One of the things that writing has taught me is that fiction has a life of its own. Fictional places are sometimes more real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/one-of-the-things-that-writing-has-taught-me-is-that-fiction-has-a/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“«Cominci a scappare e sarai in fuga per sempre»”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/cominci-a-scappare-e-sarai-in-fuga-per-sempre/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“No one looks at us. We might as well be invisible; or clothing marks us as strangers, transients. They are polite, so polite; no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/no-one-looks-at-us-we-might-as-well-be-invisible-or-clothing-marks-us/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [From a very young age my mother persuaded me that I could write for fun, but I had to have a proper job -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/from-a-very-young-age-my-mother-persuaded-me-that-i-could-write-for/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) [Explore all 221 Joanne Harris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) ## More Pain quotes > [Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/pain-is-meant-to-wake-us-up-people-try-to-hide-their-pain-but-they-re/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want people to hear my lyrics and my melodies and say, 'That dude's in pain.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-moody/i-want-people-to-hear-my-lyrics-and-my-melodies-and-say-that-dude-s/) [Ivan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-moody/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [It hurts wanting the best for someone you love, even if they feel the best isn't you. That's real love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-hurts-wanting-the-best-for-someone-you-love-even-if-they-feel-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tryna hide this pain with these pain killers, she said the storms only will last a little while but shit it got me feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/tryna-hide-this-pain-with-these-pain-killers-she-said-the-storms-only/) Myself > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [“What is there, in the mention of Time To Come, that is so quick to wrench at the heart, to inflict a pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/what-is-there-in-the-mention-of-time-to-come-that-is-so-quick-to/) [Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/) > [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [Stop trying to give me hope ... I have no room left for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenn-f/stop-trying-to-give-me-hope-i-have-no-room-left-for-it/) [Jenn F](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenn-f/) > [There's only so much for a man to take...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsten-gilchrist/there-s-only-so-much-for-a-man-to-take/) Kirsten Gilchrist > [Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/your-pain-is-the-breaking-of-the-shell-that-encloses-your/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) [Browse all 17,919 Pain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Work. Like pain, I sensed that this was an experience I would want to avoid as often as possible.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joanne Harris" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an-experience-i-would-want-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an-experience-i-would-want-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/joanne-harris-1428_pain_work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an_30887.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/joanne-harris-1428_pain_work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an_30887.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/joanne-harris-1428_pain_work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an_30887.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Work. Like pain, I sensed that this was an experience I would want to avoid as often as possible.” — Joanne Harris", "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": "Joanne Harris", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Work. Like pain, I sensed that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an-experience-i-would-want-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/work-like-pain-i-sensed-that-this-was-an-experience-i-would-want-to/#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 } } ] } ```