--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: i'm learning that life frequently does…" description: "\"“i'm learning that life frequently does this to me. first it offers you an impossible challenge. which you can't refuse. then it breaks your spirit by ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/john-van-de-ruit-61834_bad-luck_i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-t_2016310.jpg" --- # i'm learning that life frequently does this to me. first… ![“i'm learning that life frequently does this to me. first it offers you an impossible challenge. which you can't refuse. then it breaks your spirit by messing with your ballpoint pen. these may seem like isolated events that can be explained away as coincidences, but i fear not. it's happened far…” quote by John van de Ruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/john-van-de-ruit-61834_bad-luck_i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-t_2016310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/john-van-de-ruit-61834_bad-luck_i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-t_2016310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/john-van-de-ruit-61834_bad-luck_i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-t_2016310.jpg) > ““i'm learning that life frequently does this to me. first it offers you an impossible challenge. which you can't refuse. then it breaks your spirit by messing with your ballpoint pen. these may seem like isolated events that can be explained away as coincidences, but i fear not. it's happened far too often to me to be a coincidence. it's this kind of thing that convinces me that i'm not going to make forty and my death will most probably be humiliating and painful - a death that people will still laugh about in three hundred years' time. one day i'm going to sift through every single entry of all my diaries and mark down how many times a stroke of 'bad luck' has followed the issuing of severe test in my life . . .”” [John van de Ruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life presents relentless challenges that seem orchestrated to thwart personal progress, fostering fatalistic despair. **In simple terms:** Life feels like repeated bad luck. Key Takeaway Seek resilience and reframe setbacks as learning. Themes adversity fate despair resilience mental health Mood melancholic reflective Type narrative philosophical When to use this quote - examining personal failures - mental health counseling - journaling - stress management Key Concepts existentialism determinism self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports your belief in a pattern? - How can you break the cycle of negative expectation? A Different Perspective Seeing patterns may amplify anxiety; not all events are connected. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-luck/) [Coincidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coincidence/) [Coincidences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coincidences/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) ## Related quotes > [“Coincidence is the exception, not the rule.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/coincidence-is-the-exception-not-the-rule/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) > [In a world that operates largely at random, coincidences are to be expected, but any one of them must always be mistrusted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/in-a-world-that-operates-largely-at-random-coincidences-are-to-be/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Sometimes life coughs up coincidences no writer of fiction would dare copy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sometimes-life-coughs-up-coincidences-no-writer-of-fiction-would-dare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Don’t dismiss the synchronicity of what is happening right now finding its way to your life at just this moment. There are no coincidences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/don-t-dismiss-the-synchronicity-of-what-is-happening-right-now/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [“There are no coincidences in life. What person that wandered in and out of your life was there for some purpose, even if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-alder/there-are-no-coincidences-in-life-what-person-that-wandered-in-and/) [Shannon Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-alder/) > [“To believe in coincidences, to believe in fate— it ties into the spiritual realm, to the idea that there is something universal out there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-mildon/to-believe-in-coincidences-to-believe-in-fate-it-ties-into-the/) [Emma Mildon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-mildon/) > [“Pure coincidence, of course, but a sensible man makes coincidences work for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/pure-coincidence-of-course-but-a-sensible-man-makes-coincidences-work/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“They say numbers are just ordinary figures. It is, but not so when it gets to the point where they begin to synchronize and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/they-say-numbers-are-just-ordinary-figures-it-is-but-not-so-when-it/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Everything in this life has a purpose, there are no mistakes, no coincidences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/everything-in-this-life-has-a-purpose-there-are-no-mistakes-no/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [A scientist ought to have a healthy disregard for coincidences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritz-leiber/a-scientist-ought-to-have-a-healthy-disregard-for-coincidences/) [Fritz Leiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritz-leiber/) > [“There are no coincidences in God's providence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-woodsmall/there-are-no-coincidences-in-god-s-providence/) [Cindy Woodsmall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-woodsmall/) > [“Premonitions are coincidences waiting to happen,” he said, without looking up. “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/premonitions-are-coincidences-waiting-to-happen-he-said-without/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [It’s amazing how many coincidences occur when one begins to pray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hybels/it-s-amazing-how-many-coincidences-occur-when-one-begins-to-pray/) [Bill Hybels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hybels/) > [When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-live-your-life-with-an-appreciation-of-coincidences-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just think of all the billions of coincidences that don't happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/just-think-of-all-the-billions-of-coincidences-that-don-t-happen/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) ## More by John van de Ruit > [“When in doubt keep reading. A book will never die on you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/when-in-doubt-keep-reading-a-book-will-never-die-on-you/) [John van de Ruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/) > [“(I can't believe this beautiful woman who looks like a forest fairy could have married Sparerib.) Boggs rates her breasts as incredible. I must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/i-can-t-believe-this-beautiful-woman-who-looks-like-a-forest-fairy/) [John van de Ruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/) > [“When I leave school I will drive around looking for prostitutes like Julia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/when-i-leave-school-i-will-drive-around-looking-for-prostitutes-like/) [John van de Ruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/) > [“I thought about my friend and wondered if his ghost was here with Macarthur. Or maybe they were in heaven somewhere watching me sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/i-thought-about-my-friend-and-wondered-if-his-ghost-was-here-with/) [John van de Ruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/) [Explore all 5 John van de Ruit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/) ## More Bad luck quotes > [“You never talk to the pitcher when…” He shook his head. “You just never talk to the pitcher when--” “I just wanted to congratulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/you-never-talk-to-the-pitcher-when-he-shook-his-head-you-just-never/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) > [Bad luck isn't brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/bad-luck-isn-t-brought-by-broken-mirrors-but-by-broken-minds/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/i-never-knew-an-early-rising-hard-working-prudent-man-careful-of-his/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“I didn't do any of what they told me,' she said, 'because the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-didn-t-do-any-of-what-they-told-me-she-said-because-the-more-i/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Everyone knows it is bad luck to step on a toad or on the shadow of a tree, to walk under a ladder,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-knows-it-is-bad-luck-to-step-on-a-toad-or-on-the-shadow-of-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Because the core of my personal philosophy is that everything that happens to us benefits us, I was also spared the futility of cursing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/because-the-core-of-my-personal-philosophy-is-that-everything-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There is no bad luck in the world but whitefolks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/there-is-no-bad-luck-in-the-world-but-whitefolks/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [The biggest trap, the biggest dungeon in life isn't laziness or bad luck, it's comfort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-biggest-trap-the-biggest-dungeon-in-life-isn-t-laziness-or-bad/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck - who keeps right on going -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/all-of-us-have-bad-luck-and-good-luck-the-man-who-persists-through/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [“I was just beginning to wonder how long I would have to wait when finally a guard sauntered up and said, “Galloway, get your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-galloway/i-was-just-beginning-to-wonder-how-long-i-would-have-to-wait-when/) [Noah Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-galloway/) > [“Oh, I don’t buy lottery tickets... because if I won, and I was capable of that kind of odd luck, then I would also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissi-sepe/oh-i-don-t-buy-lottery-tickets-because-if-i-won-and-i-was-capable-of/) Chrissi Sepe > [“Before Tessa could answer, there was a knock at the door, and a familiar voice. "It's Jem. Tessa, are you there?" Charlotte sat bolt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/before-tessa-could-answer-there-was-a-knock-at-the-door-and-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“If you were crossing the road and saw a black cat passing, you may possibly get hit by a car, or a mail boy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basma-salem/if-you-were-crossing-the-road-and-saw-a-black-cat-passing-you-may/) [Basma Salem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basma-salem/) > [I'm very superstitious, and I think it's bad luck. You don't have to show your love by tattooing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priya-sachdev/i-m-very-superstitious-and-i-think-it-s-bad-luck-you-don-t-have-to/) [Priya Sachdev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priya-sachdev/) > [To my bad luck, my first schedule for 'Natasaarvabhowma' was in Kolkata and I was not really introduced to the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anupama-parameswaran/to-my-bad-luck-my-first-schedule-for-natasaarvabhowma-was-in-kolkata/) [Anupama Parameswaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anupama-parameswaran/) [Browse all 529 Bad luck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-luck/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“i'm learning that life frequently does this to me. first it offers you an impossible challenge. which you can't refuse. then it breaks your spirit by messing with your ballpoint pen. these may seem like isolated events that can be explained away as coincidences, but i fear not. it's happened far too often to me to be a coincidence. it's this kind of thing that convinces me that i'm not going to make forty and my death will most probably be humiliating and painful - a death that people will still laugh about in three hundred years' time. one day i'm going to sift through every single entry of all my diaries and mark down how many times a stroke of 'bad luck' has followed the issuing of severe test in my life . . .”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John van de Ruit" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-this-to-me-first-it-offers-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad luck" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-this-to-me-first-it-offers-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/john-van-de-ruit-61834_bad-luck_i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-t_2016310.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/john-van-de-ruit-61834_bad-luck_i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-t_2016310.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee8/john-van-de-ruit-61834_bad-luck_i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-t_2016310.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“i'm learning that life frequently does this to me. first it offers you an impossible challenge. which you…” — John van de Ruit", "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": "John van de Ruit", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“i'm learning that life frequently does...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-this-to-me-first-it-offers-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/i-m-learning-that-life-frequently-does-this-to-me-first-it-offers-you/#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 } } ] } ```