--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was the thing about the world: it…" description: "\"That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/lev-grossman-747_expectations_that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wa_2580066.png" --- # That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things… ![“That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that you didn't expect.” quote by Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/lev-grossman-747_expectations_that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wa_2580066.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/lev-grossman-747_expectations_that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wa_2580066.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/lev-grossman-747_expectations_that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wa_2580066.png) > “That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that you didn't expect.” [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s challenges often arise from unexpected complexities, not just difficulty, demanding adaptability. **In simple terms:** Hardships come from unexpected twists. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility. Themes growth uncertainty adaptation Mood determined hopeful Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - career changes - personal crises - creative projects Key Concepts resilience problem solving Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare for unforeseen obstacles? - What strategies help you adapt? A Different Perspective Predictability is rare. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things wereharder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wasn-t-that-things-wereharder/) Hemantsmarty > [“Both their attention and their neglect were equally intolerable. His world had become complicated and interesting and magical. Theirs was mundane and domestic. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/both-their-attention-and-their-neglect-were-equally-intolerable-his/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He'd spent too long being disappointed by the world - he'd spent so many years pining for something like this, some proof that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-d-spent-too-long-being-disappointed-by-the-world-he-d-spent-so/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Poetry is the arithmetic of the easiest way and the primrose path, matched up with foam-flanked horses, bloody knuckles, and bones, on the hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/poetry-is-the-arithmetic-of-the-easiest-way-and-the-primrose-path/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [Hard are the ways of truth, and rough to walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/hard-are-the-ways-of-truth-and-rough-to-walk/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Being sick and young is hard in all the ways you might imagine and more, but mostly it can be incredibly boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suleika-jaouad/being-sick-and-young-is-hard-in-all-the-ways-you-might-imagine-and/) [Suleika Jaouad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suleika-jaouad/) > [Look hard for ways to make little moves against destructiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-trocm/look-hard-for-ways-to-make-little-moves-against-destructiveness/) Andre Trocme > [Walker's Law: There are few things made harder in this world by having money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-walker/walker-s-law-there-are-few-things-made-harder-in-this-world-by-having/) Charlie Walker > [Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/procrastination-makes-easy-things-hard-hard-things-harder/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Ballet is hard enough when you go with it; when you have to force your body to do things, it is so much harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvie-guillem/ballet-is-hard-enough-when-you-go-with-it-when-you-have-to-force-your/) [Sylvie Guillem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvie-guillem/) > [When you wake up and learn to love yourself and want to take care of yourself, things are harder because people don't like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-j-blige/when-you-wake-up-and-learn-to-love-yourself-and-want-to-take-care-of/) [Mary J. Blige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-j-blige/) > [In this life, things are much harder than in the afterworld. In this life, you're on your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince/in-this-life-things-are-much-harder-than-in-the-afterworld-in-this/) [Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince/) > [We all go through things, and some things harder than others. But it's my job to make sure that people feel like they're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lainey-wilson/we-all-go-through-things-and-some-things-harder-than-others-but-it-s/) [Lainey Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lainey-wilson/) > [There are many things that were harder to discuss back in the 80's and early 90's than they are now, and this also works…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-gumbel/there-are-many-things-that-were-harder-to-discuss-back-in-the-80-s/) [Nicky Gumbel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-gumbel/) > [“There are days when I would love to pull the cover over my head and say to hell with it. “But I don’t do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-neill/there-are-days-when-i-would-love-to-pull-the-cover-over-my-head-and/) [Chloe Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-neill/) ## More by Lev Grossman > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He was going to sign the papers and he was going to be a motherfucking magician.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-was-going-to-sign-the-papers-and-he-was-going-to-be-a/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Being brave was easy when you would rather die than give up. Fatigue meant nothing when you actually wanted to suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/being-brave-was-easy-when-you-would-rather-die-than-give-up-fatigue/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [As a writer I'm more drawn to villains who are just slightly mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/as-a-writer-i-m-more-drawn-to-villains-who-are-just-slightly-mad/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He wasn't in a safe little story where wrongs were automatically righted; he was still in the real world, where bad bitter things happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-wasn-t-in-a-safe-little-story-where-wrongs-were-automatically/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I love rare books. Not that I own a lot of them, mind you. You couldn't quite call me a rare-book collector. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-love-rare-books-not-that-i-own-a-lot-of-them-mind-you-you-couldn-t/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [By now he had learned enough to know that when he was getting annoyed at somebody else, it was usually because there was something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/by-now-he-had-learned-enough-to-know-that-when-he-was-getting-annoyed/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [About as close you can get to the perfect cerebral thriller: searingly smart, ridiculously funny, and fast as hell... I defy anybody to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/about-as-close-you-can-get-to-the-perfect-cerebral-thriller-searingly/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“It's true," Eliot said. "Statistically, historically, and however else you want to look at it, you are almost never right. A monkey making life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-s-true-eliot-said-statistically-historically-and-however-else-you/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“God, I hope we don’t have to use that,” was all he said out loud. “Oh, come on, Quentina. We’re not looking for trouble.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/god-i-hope-we-don-t-have-to-use-that-was-all-he-said-out-loud-oh-come/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I mean, when you're tired of book reviews, you're tired of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-mean-when-you-re-tired-of-book-reviews-you-re-tired-of-life/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [My specialty as a collector is books that almost have value. When I love a book, I don't buy the first edition, because those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/my-specialty-as-a-collector-is-books-that-almost-have-value-when-i/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I used to write in a local coffee shop, but there was another guy, another writer, who kept sitting in my favorite seat. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-used-to-write-in-a-local-coffee-shop-but-there-was-another-guy/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I don't know if I've ever derived such an immediate sense of calm and well-being from any book as I did from 'Right Ho,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-ever-derived-such-an-immediate-sense-of-calm-and/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) [Explore all 379 Lev Grossman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## More Expectations quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/my-mom-had-very-low-expectations-for-me-and-she-really-had-a-point-i/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [I say this all the time: I've always been really good at managing my expectations so that I'm not let down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-young/i-say-this-all-the-time-i-ve-always-been-really-good-at-managing-my/) [Brett Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-young/) > [When Allah puts barakah (His blessings) in something, it will come beyond your expectations- never underestimate the power of one good deed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouman-ali-khan/when-allah-puts-barakah-his-blessings-in-something-it-will-come/) [Nouman Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouman-ali-khan/) > [Keeping up with everybody's expectation is soooo hard!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi/keeping-up-with-everybody-s-expectation-is-soooo-hard/) [Naomi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Does your reality match your expectations? If not it's time to change either your expectations or your reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/does-your-reality-match-your-expectations-if-not-it-s-time-to-change/) [Steven Redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) > [Jesus' kingdom was not like the popular expectation. He used the phrase 'kingdom of God' with a different meaning. His kingdom was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-harpur/jesus-kingdom-was-not-like-the-popular-expectation-he-used-the-phrase/) [Tom Harpur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-harpur/) > [Disappointment contains an appointment for doing much better. High expectations mean your higher capacity and belief in abilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasneem-hameed/disappointment-contains-an-appointment-for-doing-much-better-high/) [Tasneem Hameed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasneem-hameed/) > [It's a good place when all you have is hope and not expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/it-s-a-good-place-when-all-you-have-is-hope-and-not-expectations/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [When we give from a place of love, rather than from a place of expectation, more usually comes back to us than we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/when-we-give-from-a-place-of-love-rather-than-from-a-place-of/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol', but we're going to teach them how much hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/everybody-out-there-watches-the-show-and-has-expectations-of-wanting/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) [Browse all 4,210 Expectations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that you didn't expect.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lev Grossman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wasn-t-that-things-were-harder/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expectations" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wasn-t-that-things-were-harder/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/lev-grossman-747_expectations_that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wa_2580066.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/lev-grossman-747_expectations_that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wa_2580066.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/lev-grossman-747_expectations_that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wa_2580066.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That was the thing about the world: it wasn't that things were harder than you thought they were going to…” — Lev Grossman", "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": "Lev Grossman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That was the thing about the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wasn-t-that-things-were-harder/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/that-was-the-thing-about-the-world-it-wasn-t-that-things-were-harder/#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 } } ] } ```