--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The secret of contentment lay in ignoring…" description: "\"The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things completely.\" — Mark Haddon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/mark-haddon-1056_contentment_the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignorin_2086148.png" --- # The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things… ![“The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things completely.” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/mark-haddon-1056_contentment_the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignorin_2086148.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/mark-haddon-1056_contentment_the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignorin_2086148.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/mark-haddon-1056_contentment_the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignorin_2086148.png) > “The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things completely.” [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contentment comes from deliberately ignoring unnecessary distractions and focusing on what truly matters. **In simple terms:** Ignore distractions to find peace. Key Takeaway Focus on essentials, let go of excess. Themes contentment focus minimalism Mood calm reflective Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - workplace - personal relationships - digital media consumption - stress reduction Key Concepts mindfulness psychology prioritization Questions to Reflect On - What can you let go of today? - How does selective attention improve wellbeing? A Different Perspective Ignoring everything can lead to missing important signals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) ## Related quotes > [“The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely. How anyone could work in the same office for ten years or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/the-secret-of-contentment-george-felt-lay-in-ignoring-many-things/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Ignoring things didn’t make them go away. It only made it harder to face them when they finally came around to beat the shit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-meredith-walters/ignoring-things-didn-t-make-them-go-away-it-only-made-it-harder-to/) [A. Meredith Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-meredith-walters/) > [Intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/intelligence-consists-in-ignoring-things-that-are-irrelevant/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [I have a weakness for treating people's economic interests as their only interest, ignoring things like belonging and pride and the desire to send…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s-economic-interests-as-their/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [“Going small” is ignoring all the things you could do and doing what you should do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-one-things/going-small-is-ignoring-all-the-things-you-could-do-and-doing-what/) the one things > [“The way I see it, ignoring things is important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/the-way-i-see-it-ignoring-things-is-important/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [Somethings Stress comes from ignoring things that you shouldnt be ignoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stankyrich/somethings-stress-comes-from-ignoring-things-that-you-shouldnt-be/) Stankyrich > [The secret of contentment is never to allow yourself to want anything which reason tells you you haven't a chance of getting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-secret-of-contentment-is-never-to-allow-yourself-to-want-anything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyn-yutang/the-secret-of-contentment-is-knowing-how-to-enjoy-what-you-have-and/) Lyn Yutang > [“you want most of all (see Psalm 84:11). Paul admitted that he had to “learn” the secret of contentment in every situation. So with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-t-kendall/you-want-most-of-all-see-psalm-84-11-paul-admitted-that-he-had-to/) [R. T. Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-t-kendall/) > [“This book is not the memoir of a contented man. It's not the poignant reflections of a white-haired guru who has finally figured out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-altrogge/this-book-is-not-the-memoir-of-a-contented-man-it-s-not-the-poignant/) [Stephen Altrogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-altrogge/) > [The secret of contentment is the realization that life is a gift, not a right. Next to faith this is the highest art -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-secret-of-contentment-is-the-realization-that-life-is-a-gift-not/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [They think that intelligence is about noticing things are relevant (detecting patterns); in a complex world, intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/they-think-that-intelligence-is-about-noticing-things-are-relevant/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [People often make two mistakes in their search of inner peace... focusing on things they cannot change, and ignoring things they can change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/people-often-make-two-mistakes-in-their-search-of-inner-peace/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [The chief secret of comfort lies in not suffering trifles to vex us, and in prudently cultivating our undergrowth of small pleasures, since very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-sharp/the-chief-secret-of-comfort-lies-in-not-suffering-trifles-to-vex-us/) Richard Sharp ## More by Mark Haddon > [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-lot-of-roles-for-people-with-disabilities-are-quite-patronising-it/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-do-not-like-strangers-because-i-do-not-like-people-i-have-never-met/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) [Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) ## More Contentment quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/) [Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/) > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/) [Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/) > [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/) Jennie Rooney > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/) [Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/) > [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/) Hemantsmarty > [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) [Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things completely.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Haddon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignoring-many-things-completely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contentment" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignoring-many-things-completely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/mark-haddon-1056_contentment_the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignorin_2086148.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/mark-haddon-1056_contentment_the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignorin_2086148.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/mark-haddon-1056_contentment_the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignorin_2086148.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things completely.” — Mark Haddon", "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": "Mark Haddon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The secret of contentment lay in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignoring-many-things-completely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignoring-many-things-completely/#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 } } ] } ```