--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a terrible thing to want something…" description: "\"It is a terrible thing to want something you cannot have. It takes you over. I couldn't think straight because of it. There was no one else, I realized..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/maggie-o-farrell-9276_i-realized_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something_1502788.jpg" --- # It is a terrible thing to want something you cannot have… ![“It is a terrible thing to want something you cannot have. It takes you over. I couldn't think straight because of it. There was no one else, I realized, whom I could possibly tell.” quote by Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/maggie-o-farrell-9276_i-realized_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something_1502788.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/maggie-o-farrell-9276_i-realized_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something_1502788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/maggie-o-farrell-9276_i-realized_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something_1502788.jpg) > “It is a terrible thing to want something you cannot have. It takes you over. I couldn't think straight because of it. There was no one else, I realized, whom I could possibly tell.” [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Desiring the unattainable can dominate thoughts, impair judgment, and create isolation. **In simple terms:** Wanting what you can’t have overwhelms you. Key Takeaway Recognize and release impossible desires. Themes desire loneliness mental health self‑control Mood melancholy reflective Type literary emotional When to use this quote - relationship conflict - unrequited love - career ambition - personal grief Key Concepts psychology attachment theory cognitive distortion Questions to Reflect On - What desire is consuming you? - How can you channel that energy constructively? A Different Perspective Unattainable goals may also motivate growth if reframed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The terrible thing about being an actor is that it's not a solo occupation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-coyote/the-terrible-thing-about-being-an-actor-is-that-it-s-not-a-solo/) [Peter Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-coyote/) > [Without publicity a terrible thing happens: nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-t-barnum/without-publicity-a-terrible-thing-happens-nothing/) [P. T. Barnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-t-barnum/) > [The expectation of an unpleasantness is more terrible than the thing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-bashkirtseff/the-expectation-of-an-unpleasantness-is-more-terrible-than-the-thing/) [Marie Bashkirtseff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-bashkirtseff/) > [This is the most terrible thing that can happen in a friendly country if Thai people have to escape from the backdoor of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thaksin-shinawatra/this-is-the-most-terrible-thing-that-can-happen-in-a-friendly-country/) [Thaksin Shinawatra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thaksin-shinawatra/) > [“In fact, after some thought, he couldn’t think of a word that meant female that men hadn’t imbued with some belittling shade of meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-meyer/in-fact-after-some-thought-he-couldn-t-think-of-a-word-that-meant/) [Scott Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-meyer/) > [But she couldn't dismiss easily his light touch with her. No pushing or pressing, none of that herding and corralling bullshit, unlike any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-frazier/but-she-couldn-t-dismiss-easily-his-light-touch-with-her-no-pushing/) [Charles Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-frazier/) > [“I needed paper. I couldn’t think without writing my thoughts down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-needed-paper-i-couldn-t-think-without-writing-my-thoughts-down/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“What about you?" I kept my voice carefully indifferent. He flashed me a cold smile, sharp at the edges. "Worried about me?" Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/what-about-you-i-kept-my-voice-carefully-indifferent-he-flashed-me-a/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [It's not knowing that drives you mad. It's imaging things that you wish you couldn't think up all by yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-valentine/it-s-not-knowing-that-drives-you-mad-it-s-imaging-things-that-you/) [Jenny Valentine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-valentine/) > [She looked at me. "What? Is there something wrong with my idea?" "It's not very heroic," I said dismissively. "I was expecting something with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/she-looked-at-me-what-is-there-something-wrong-with-my-idea-it-s-not/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“I'd run you know. It's like when you're really busy doing something and you don't have time to think about things. Well, I'd run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-d-run-you-know-it-s-like-when-you-re-really-busy-doing-something/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-couldn-t-even-think-about-wanting-to-be-something-else-i-wouldn-t/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [For years, when I was popular, I would face the blank page to write, and I couldn't think of anything that I thought was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-russell/for-years-when-i-was-popular-i-would-face-the-blank-page-to-write-and/) [Leon Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-russell/) > [I couldn't bear to think about it; and yet, somehow, I couldn't think about nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-couldn-t-bear-to-think-about-it-and-yet-somehow-i-couldn-t-think/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Maggie O'Farrell > [She wanted to say, no. She wanted to say, I have a son, there is a child, this cannot happen. Because you know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/she-wanted-to-say-no-she-wanted-to-say-i-have-a-son-there-is-a-child/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [Two and a half thousand left-handed people are killed every year using things made for right-handed people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/two-and-a-half-thousand-left-handed-people-are-killed-every-year/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I don't believe in fate. I don't believe in cushioning your insecurities with a system of belief that tells you 'Don't worry. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-don-t-believe-in-fate-i-don-t-believe-in-cushioning-your/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I met a retired police detective. And he said to me that the interesting thing about heatwaves, from a police perspective, is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-met-a-retired-police-detective-and-he-said-to-me-that-the/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [While I was writing the book, one of my children was diagnosed with dyslexia. Dyslexia is a very tiny word for a wide-ranging neurological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/while-i-was-writing-the-book-one-of-my-children-was-diagnosed-with/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [“Why is it that twenty-four hours in the company of your family is capable of reducing you to a teenager?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/why-is-it-that-twenty-four-hours-in-the-company-of-your-family-is/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I think it's dangerous to have lots of time on your hands as a writer. Time to pursue every little alleyway, to follow every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-think-it-s-dangerous-to-have-lots-of-time-on-your-hands-as-a-writer/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I think all families have these secrets, and it's sometimes the strangest things that bring them out. That was part of my interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-think-all-families-have-these-secrets-and-it-s-sometimes-the/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [My husband, William Sutcliffe, the writer, is my first reader and in many ways my most important. That initial reading of the manuscript is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/my-husband-william-sutcliffe-the-writer-is-my-first-reader-and-in/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [She liked the way his smile took a long time to arrive and just as long to leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/she-liked-the-way-his-smile-took-a-long-time-to-arrive-and-just-as/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [“That's because they're of the past. All photos of the past look melancholy and wistful precisely because they capture something that's gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/that-s-because-they-re-of-the-past-all-photos-of-the-past-look/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [We always planned to move back to the Republic but it never happened, I'm not sure why. My dad is one of those immigrants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/we-always-planned-to-move-back-to-the-republic-but-it-never-happened/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [I was interested in the ripples of feminism passing through Britain and Ireland in the mid-Seventies - how the reverberations of the feminist political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/i-was-interested-in-the-ripples-of-feminism-passing-through-britain/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [Listen. The trees in this story are stirring, trembling, readjusting themselves. A breeze is coming in gusts off the sea, and it is almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/listen-the-trees-in-this-story-are-stirring-trembling-readjusting/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) > [In the first night of the Arvon Foundation course, Elspeth Barker said something about the newspaper along the lines of - and I'm paraphrasing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/in-the-first-night-of-the-arvon-foundation-course-elspeth-barker-said/) [Maggie O'Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) [Explore all 74 Maggie O'Farrell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/) ## More I realized quotes > [Much of what I saw in Geneva really disillusioned me about how my government functions and what its impact is in the world. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/much-of-what-i-saw-in-geneva-really-disillusioned-me-about-how-my/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Many years ago I was fishing, and as I was reeling in the poor fish, I realised, 'I am killing him - all for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/many-years-ago-i-was-fishing-and-as-i-was-reeling-in-the-poor-fish-i/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [I realized my father's sister Joanne, who died at 19 had instilled her spirit in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/i-realized-my-father-s-sister-joanne-who-died-at-19-had-instilled-her/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [I won contest after contest until finally I realized, "Ok, I am the best in the world, but now what?" So I opened my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-hosoi/i-won-contest-after-contest-until-finally-i-realized-ok-i-am-the-best/) [Christian Hosoi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-hosoi/) > [All my life I've been involved with racial politics. I was a Freedom Rider in the South. I was the author of books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/all-my-life-i-ve-been-involved-with-racial-politics-i-was-a-freedom/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I stopped reading music reviews because it's somebody having a knee-jerk reaction to a song. I realized that that's not the definitive interpretation. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-roberts/i-stopped-reading-music-reviews-because-it-s-somebody-having-a-knee/) [Sam Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-roberts/) > [I realized early on that the academy and the literary world alike - and I don't think there really is a distinction between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/i-realized-early-on-that-the-academy-and-the-literary-world-alike-and/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [On 9-11, we discovered that we cannot escape from the world. To me personally, this was a life-changing experience, and I realized, as did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/on-9-11-we-discovered-that-we-cannot-escape-from-the-world-to-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [Memoirs are going to be problematic sells for a while, though, because even if memoir means "based in memory," right now, in the collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-monroe/memoirs-are-going-to-be-problematic-sells-for-a-while-though-because/) [Debra Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-monroe/) > [When I was a girl, I would make up songs for fun. Then I realized, after making them up, that I could remember how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-saw/when-i-was-a-girl-i-would-make-up-songs-for-fun-then-i-realized-after/) [Lady Saw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-saw/) > [I realized that there are just certain things in life that are private. I have things in my past - like everyone - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-osmond/i-realized-that-there-are-just-certain-things-in-life-that-are/) [Ken Osmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-osmond/) > [I realized that what I was looking for was doing collaborations with other people - people who can play a ballad, rock, jazz. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-realized-that-what-i-was-looking-for-was-doing-collaborations-with/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [When I first prepared this particular talk... I realized that my usual approach is usually critical. That is, a lot of the things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/when-i-first-prepared-this-particular-talk-i-realized-that-my-usual/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) Browse all 1,693 I realized quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a terrible thing to want something you cannot have. It takes you over. I couldn't think straight because of it. There was no one else, I realized, whom I could possibly tell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maggie O'Farrell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something-you-cannot-have-it-takes-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "I realized" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something-you-cannot-have-it-takes-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/maggie-o-farrell-9276_i-realized_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something_1502788.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/maggie-o-farrell-9276_i-realized_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something_1502788.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/628/maggie-o-farrell-9276_i-realized_it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something_1502788.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a terrible thing to want something you cannot have. It takes you over. I couldn't think straight…” — Maggie O'Farrell", "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": "Maggie O'Farrell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-o-farrell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is a terrible thing to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something-you-cannot-have-it-takes-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-o-farrell/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-want-something-you-cannot-have-it-takes-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 } } ] } ```