--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You could stop expecting the most awful…" description: "\"“You could stop expecting the most awful thing to happen, because it already had.”\" — Jodi Picoult" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/jodi-picoult-45_expecting_you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful_2826841.jpg" --- # You could stop expecting the most awful thing to happen… ![“You could stop expecting the most awful thing to happen, because it already had.” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/jodi-picoult-45_expecting_you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful_2826841.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/jodi-picoult-45_expecting_you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful_2826841.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/jodi-picoult-45_expecting_you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful_2826841.jpg) > ““You could stop expecting the most awful thing to happen, because it already had.”” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expecting disaster can become self‑fulfilling; acknowledging it may prevent its recurrence. **In simple terms:** Expecting bad things can cause them. Key Takeaway Challenge negative expectations. Themes psychology expectation self‑fulfilling prophecy Mood thoughtful hopeful Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - decision making Key Concepts cognitive bias mindset Questions to Reflect On - What expectations shape your life? - Can you reframe fear into action? A Different Perspective Not all outcomes are controllable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awful Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful-thing-821372/) [Expecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expecting/) [Expecting Awful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expecting-awful-3630226/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Stop Expecting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-expecting-419620/) ## Related quotes > [“It is probably the hardest thing to understand: how even horror can become commonplace. . . You could stop expecting the most awful thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-is-probably-the-hardest-thing-to-understand-how-even-horror-can/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. People know themselves much better than you do. That's why it's important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/when-someone-shows-you-who-they-are-believe-them-the-first-time/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Never put anything past anyone. Stop expecting people to be as genuine as you are, it's never the case & it will almost always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/behdad-sami/never-put-anything-past-anyone-stop-expecting-people-to-be-as-genuine/) [Behdad Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/behdad-sami/) > [When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are. And when you stop expecting material possessions to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/when-you-stop-expecting-people-to-be-perfect-you-can-like-them-for/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“That's the key to having it all: stop expecting it to look like what you thought it was going to look like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-chupack/that-s-the-key-to-having-it-all-stop-expecting-it-to-look-like-what/) [Cindy Chupack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-chupack/) > [I learned a long time ago life just isn't fair, so you better stop expecting it to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-reeve/i-learned-a-long-time-ago-life-just-isn-t-fair-so-you-better-stop/) [Dana Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-reeve/) > [The awful thing is that if i can forget they're people, it will be no different at all](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/the-awful-thing-is-that-if-i-can-forget-they-re-people-it-will-be-no/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [But really death seems the least awful thing that can happen to someone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-horsley/but-really-death-seems-the-least-awful-thing-that-can-happen-to/) [Sebastian Horsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-horsley/) > [That prison," I said with heartfelt sincerity, "Was absolutely the most awful thing that has happened to me in my entire life." I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/that-prison-i-said-with-heartfelt-sincerity-was-absolutely-the-most/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [What an awful thing then, being there in our house together with our daughter gone, trying to be equal to so many sudden orders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/what-an-awful-thing-then-being-there-in-our-house-together-with-our/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“That awful thing, a woman’s memory!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/that-awful-thing-a-woman-s-memory/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Divorce is just the most awful thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/divorce-is-just-the-most-awful-thing-in-the-world/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [The most awful thing about power is not that it corrupts absolutely but that it makes people so utterly boring, so predictable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/the-most-awful-thing-about-power-is-not-that-it-corrupts-absolutely/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Death is an awful thing. I don't believe in it myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-ormandy/death-is-an-awful-thing-i-don-t-believe-in-it-myself/) [Eugene Ormandy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-ormandy/) > [“YOU WERE A MISTAKE!! Oh, crap, I just realized thats an awful thing to say...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-awesome/you-were-a-mistake-oh-crap-i-just-realized-thats-an-awful-thing-to-say/) [Sir Awesome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-awesome/) ## More by Jodi Picoult > [You get through it, you just never get over it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-get-through-it-you-just-never-get-over-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Let me guess," Eric says, "You never meant for it to happen." "Hell, yes, I did. I've wanted her since you two started dating."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/let-me-guess-eric-says-you-never-meant-for-it-to-happen-hell-yes-i/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“It’s the difference between dancing along the eggshell crust of acquaintance and diving into the messy center of a relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-s-the-difference-between-dancing-along-the-eggshell-crust-of/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/because-hate-s-just-the-flip-side-of-love-like-heads-and-tails-on-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [I love feeling loved. I don't love knowing that I will always come in second place. I love the fact that at least sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-love-feeling-loved-i-don-t-love-knowing-that-i-will-always-come-in/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Music is the language of memory”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/music-is-the-language-of-memory/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [But there is a different between mending someone who's broken and finding someone who makes you complete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/but-there-is-a-different-between-mending-someone-who-s-broken-and/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The age wasn't as important as the milestones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-age-wasn-t-as-important-as-the-milestones/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The night is falling down around us. Meteors rain like fireworks, quick rips in the seam of the dark... Every second, another streak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/the-night-is-falling-down-around-us-meteors-rain-like-fireworks-quick/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“When she had packed all the artifacts that made up their personal history into liquor store boxes, the house became strictly a feminine place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-she-had-packed-all-the-artifacts-that-made-up-their-personal/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Maybe who we are isn't so much about what we do, but rather what we're capable of when we least expect it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-who-we-are-isn-t-so-much-about-what-we-do-but-rather-what-we-re/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Here's what I hadn't realized : the mother you haven't seen for almost 36 years isn't your mother. She is a stranger. Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Expecting quotes > [I've always made sure that I tour with bands that people aren't expecting me to tour with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-ve-always-made-sure-that-i-tour-with-bands-that-people-aren-t/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [Ranger fans, they're expecting you to win, so you really want to show up every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hagelin/ranger-fans-they-re-expecting-you-to-win-so-you-really-want-to-show/) [Carl Hagelin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hagelin/) > [I don't concern myself with thinking ahead to the finished product. I focus more specifically on what the character is experiencing. Once you relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-eisenberg/i-don-t-concern-myself-with-thinking-ahead-to-the-finished-product-i/) [Jesse Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-eisenberg/) > [Those of us of a certain age grew up expecting that by now we would have Rosie the Robot from 'The Jetsons' in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-enriquez/those-of-us-of-a-certain-age-grew-up-expecting-that-by-now-we-would/) [Juan Enriquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-enriquez/) > [You cannot keep doing the same thing, the same way, and keep expecting something different to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/you-cannot-keep-doing-the-same-thing-the-same-way-and-keep-expecting/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [At the time when this famous historical battle was fought in Kosovo, the people were looking at the stars, expecting aid from them. Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slobodan-milosevi/at-the-time-when-this-famous-historical-battle-was-fought-in-kosovo/) [Slobodan Milosević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slobodan-milosevi/) > [“Am I … not what you were expecting?” Of course, my immediate instinct is to say no. No, you’re not what I was expecting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-stein/am-i-not-what-you-were-expecting-of-course-my-immediate-instinct-is/) [Charlotte Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-stein/) > [The reward is in doing, but doing without expecting anything...doing unselfishly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reward-is-in-doing-but-doing-without-expecting-anything-doing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some of the best ideas come sort of out of nowhere and when you're not expecting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-gordon/some-of-the-best-ideas-come-sort-of-out-of-nowhere-and-when-you-re/) [Seth Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-gordon/) > [So for a period of time each day, try to sit, without moving, without expecting anything, as if you were in your last moment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-for-a-period-of-time-each-day-try-to-sit-without-moving-without/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That's the key to having it all: stop expecting it to look like what you thought it was going to look like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-chupack/that-s-the-key-to-having-it-all-stop-expecting-it-to-look-like-what/) [Cindy Chupack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-chupack/) > [The definition of insanity is doing the same thing with the same result over and over again, expecting something different. The left just spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-definition-of-insanity-is-doing-the-same-thing-with-the-same/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [I'm a dreamer and continue to dream of what can and will be, "Expecting great things from God, Attempting great things for God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carey/i-m-a-dreamer-and-continue-to-dream-of-what-can-and-will-be-expecting/) [William Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carey/) > [ It was at Harvard not quite forty years ago that I went into an anechoic \[totally silent\] chamber not expecting in that silent room… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/it-was-at-harvard-not-quite-forty-years-ago-that-i-went-into-an/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) [Browse all 899 Expecting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expecting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You could stop expecting the most awful thing to happen, because it already had.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jodi Picoult" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful-thing-to-happen-because-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expecting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful-thing-to-happen-because-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/jodi-picoult-45_expecting_you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful_2826841.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/jodi-picoult-45_expecting_you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful_2826841.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/jodi-picoult-45_expecting_you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful_2826841.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You could stop expecting the most awful thing to happen, because it already had.” — Jodi Picoult", "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": "Jodi Picoult", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You could stop expecting the most...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful-thing-to-happen-because-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-could-stop-expecting-the-most-awful-thing-to-happen-because-it/#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 } } ] } ```