--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was dimly aware that I might be getting…" description: "\"I was dimly aware that I might be getting in over my head. But that only added to the scheme’s appeal. That it wouldn’t be easy was the whole point.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/jon-krakauer-1557_appeals_i-was-dimly-aware-that-i-might-be-gettin_3231982.png" --- # I was dimly aware that I might be getting in over my head… ![“I was dimly aware that I might be getting in over my head. But that only added to the scheme’s appeal. That it wouldn’t be easy was the whole point.” quote by Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/jon-krakauer-1557_appeals_i-was-dimly-aware-that-i-might-be-gettin_3231982.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/jon-krakauer-1557_appeals_i-was-dimly-aware-that-i-might-be-gettin_3231982.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/587/jon-krakauer-1557_appeals_i-was-dimly-aware-that-i-might-be-gettin_3231982.png) > “I was dimly aware that I might be getting in over my head. But that only added to the scheme’s appeal. That it wouldn’t be easy was the whole point.” [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels out of depth, but the challenge itself is appealing; difficulty is part of the attraction. **In simple terms:** Being outmatched is exciting; difficulty draws me. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges for their allure. Themes adventure risk self‑discovery Mood adventurous thoughtful Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - exploration - career change - creative projects Key Concepts psychology of thrill risk tolerance Questions to Reflect On - What risks feel worthwhile? - How do you manage fear when pursuing a challenge? A Different Perspective Risk can lead to burnout or failure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) ## Related quotes > [“...It wouldn’t fade. It wouldn’t shift to another. It probably wouldn’t always be easy…but it would always be…always.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-c-stephens/it-wouldn-t-fade-it-wouldn-t-shift-to-another-it-probably-wouldn-t/) [S.C. Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-c-stephens/) > [“I knew it wouldn't always be this easy. But it sure as hell would be a good time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-clayton/i-knew-it-wouldn-t-always-be-this-easy-but-it-sure-as-hell-would-be-a/) [Alice Clayton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-clayton/) > [Each individual is more or less dimly aware of his significance, is aware that he's something innately superior, something eternal--and lives, is obligated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-turgenev/each-individual-is-more-or-less-dimly-aware-of-his-significance-is/) [Ivan Turgenev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-turgenev/) > [“...he was dimly aware that if you wish to remain a human being under Fascism, there is an easier option than survival -- death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasily-grossman/he-was-dimly-aware-that-if-you-wish-to-remain-a-human-being-under/) [Vasily Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasily-grossman/) > [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/) > [A good person, striving dimly, Is well aware of the right path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/a-good-person-striving-dimly-is-well-aware-of-the-right-path/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The whole government is a Ponzi scheme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-madoff/the-whole-government-is-a-ponzi-scheme/) [Bernard Madoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-madoff/) > [Sometimes, people forget my record of fiscal conservatism on major issues in the state legislature. The greatest example is my voting against the pension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-lance/sometimes-people-forget-my-record-of-fiscal-conservatism-on-major/) [Leonard Lance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-lance/) > [I'm scared of actors with a scheme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-m-scared-of-actors-with-a-scheme/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [No scheme pays as well as legitimate business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-w-howe/no-scheme-pays-as-well-as-legitimate-business/) [E. W. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-w-howe/) > [A practical scheme, says Oscar Wilde, is either one already in existence, or a scheme that could be carried out under the existing conditions;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/a-practical-scheme-says-oscar-wilde-is-either-one-already-in/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [I have no grand scheme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-attell/i-have-no-grand-scheme/) [Dave Attell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-attell/) > [It’s hard to come up with a scheme to thwart some other scheme you don’t even know about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/it-s-hard-to-come-up-with-a-scheme-to-thwart-some-other-scheme-you/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [Your scheme must be the framework of the universe; all other schemes will soon be ruins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/your-scheme-must-be-the-framework-of-the-universe-all-other-schemes/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [It's been the structure of my life: you scheme and plan and try and fail and try again and accumulate and lose and win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-weintraub/it-s-been-the-structure-of-my-life-you-scheme-and-plan-and-try-and/) [Jerry Weintraub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-weintraub/) ## More by Jon Krakauer > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Climbing mattered. The danger bathed the world in a halogen glow that caused everything—the sweep of the rock, the orange and yellow lichens, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/climbing-mattered-the-danger-bathed-the-world-in-a-halogen-glow-that/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“It is easy, when you are young, to believe that what you desire is no less than what you deserve, to assume that if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/it-is-easy-when-you-are-young-to-believe-that-what-you-desire-is-no/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [He read a lot. He used a lot of big words. I think maybe part of what got him into trouble was that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-read-a-lot-he-used-a-lot-of-big-words-i-think-maybe-part-of-what/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [ But \[Everett\] and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream. That’s what was great about them. They tried. Not many do. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/but-everett-and-mccandless-at-least-they-tried-to-follow-their-dream/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“he was ready, perhaps, to shed a little of the armor he wore around his heart, that upon returning to civilization, he intended to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-was-ready-perhaps-to-shed-a-little-of-the-armor-he-wore-around-his/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [ “Continually question climbing pursuits. Do they draw one back to the climbing community? Or do they lead along the \[inner-directed\] path? This questioning generates… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/continually-question-climbing-pursuits-do-they-draw-one-back-to-the/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The boy unmasked the gaping void in Franz's life even as he helped fill it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/the-boy-unmasked-the-gaping-void-in-franz-s-life-even-as-he-helped/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Unlike Muir and Thoreau, McCandless went into the wilderness not primarily to ponder nature or the world at large but, rather, to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/unlike-muir-and-thoreau-mccandless-went-into-the-wilderness-not/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [I'm intrigued by fanatics - people who are seduced by the promise, or the illusion, of the absolute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-m-intrigued-by-fanatics-people-who-are-seduced-by-the-promise-or/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has placed it all around us. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/you-are-wrong-if-you-think-joy-emanates-only-or-principally-from/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [I mean, how can you not be a feminist if you have a brain in your head? If you’re not a feminist, then you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-mean-how-can-you-not-be-a-feminist-if-you-have-a-brain-in-your-head/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“...I quickly came to understand that climbing Everest was primarily about enduring pain. And in subjecting ourselves to week after week of toil, tedium,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/i-quickly-came-to-understand-that-climbing-everest-was-primarily/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“going to have to be real careful not to accept any gifts from them in the future because they will think they have bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/going-to-have-to-be-real-careful-not-to-accept-any-gifts-from-them-in/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“He must have been very brave and very strong, at the end, not to do himself in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/he-must-have-been-very-brave-and-very-strong-at-the-end-not-to-do/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) [Explore all 221 Jon Krakauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) ## More Appeals quotes > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [If Robert Heinlein is more to your taste than George Lucas: “If you are part of a society that votes, then do so. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-drum/if-robert-heinlein-is-more-to-your-taste-than-george-lucas-if-you-are/) [Kevin Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-drum/) > [All the cliches of glamorous sophistication have little appeal to me. Do I want to live the British version of 'Dynasty?' No thanks!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/all-the-cliches-of-glamorous-sophistication-have-little-appeal-to-me/) [Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/) > [It's an appeal as old as America and its presidency: This is an extraordinary country populated by hard-working, big-dreaming, freedom-loving people graced by God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-fournier/it-s-an-appeal-as-old-as-america-and-its-presidency-this-is-an/) [Ron Fournier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-fournier/) > [I liked wrestling a lot better than boxing. I remember thinking at that time that wrestling was a pure demonstration of strength, which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-carpenter/i-liked-wrestling-a-lot-better-than-boxing-i-remember-thinking-at/) [Scott Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-carpenter/) > [As a social and as a personal force, religion has become a dependent variable. It does not originate; it reacts. It does not denounce;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-wright-mills/as-a-social-and-as-a-personal-force-religion-has-become-a-dependent/) [C. Wright Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-wright-mills/) > [The ascent of any route begins, in dreams at least, the autumn before. Our minds ring, involuntarily, with the alluring names of mountains, aiguilles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-rebuffat/the-ascent-of-any-route-begins-in-dreams-at-least-the-autumn-before/) [Gaston Rebuffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-rebuffat/) > [I sometimes find that my family's emphasis on stories, characters, and art that appeals directly to children rather than over their heads to adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-berenstain/i-sometimes-find-that-my-family-s-emphasis-on-stories-characters-and/) [Mike Berenstain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-berenstain/) > [Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/vice-is-its-own-reward-it-is-virtue-which-if-it-is-to-be-marketed/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [In my early teens, science fiction and fantasy had an almost-total hold over my imagination. Their outcast status was part of their appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kunzru/in-my-early-teens-science-fiction-and-fantasy-had-an-almost-total/) [Hari Kunzru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kunzru/) > [The fact is that there is a profound spiritual hunger in the western world which, for a variety of reasons, its church is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-phillips/the-fact-is-that-there-is-a-profound-spiritual-hunger-in-the-western/) [Melanie Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-phillips/) > [People can talk about punk all they want, but after new wave put that down, metal is the voice of the disenfranchised and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/people-can-talk-about-punk-all-they-want-but-after-new-wave-put-that/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [Appeal to all scholars of stupidity in the world. 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