--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I sometimes think it's a mistake to have…" description: "\"I sometimes think it's a mistake to have been happy when one was a child. One should always want to go on, not back.\" — Mary Stewart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/mary-stewart-5317_childhood_i-sometimes-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-have_583054.png" --- # I sometimes think it's a mistake to have been happy when… ![“I sometimes think it's a mistake to have been happy when one was a child. One should always want to go on, not back.” quote by Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/mary-stewart-5317_childhood_i-sometimes-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-have_583054.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/mary-stewart-5317_childhood_i-sometimes-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-have_583054.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40e/mary-stewart-5317_childhood_i-sometimes-think-it-s-a-mistake-to-have_583054.png) > “I sometimes think it's a mistake to have been happy when one was a child. One should always want to go on, not back.” [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childhood happiness may hinder adult progress; keep moving forward. **In simple terms:** Childhood joy can be a trap. Key Takeaway Keep advancing beyond past joy. Themes growth nostalgia progress Mood thoughtful hopeful Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - career advancement - personal healing Key Concepts psychology life stages Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance nostalgia and forward motion? - What steps push you beyond past contentment? A Different Perspective Clinging to past joy can stall growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [In this country, people just want their child to be happy. But to be happy as a child, means that you have to invest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-mae/in-this-country-people-just-want-their-child-to-be-happy-but-to-be/) [Vanessa Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-mae/) > [“No one ever forgets a toy that made him or her supremely happy as a child, even if that toy is replaced by one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/no-one-ever-forgets-a-toy-that-made-him-or-her-supremely-happy-as-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I was happy as an only child, but I've always wanted to be part of a bigger family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/i-was-happy-as-an-only-child-but-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be-part-of-a/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [I was a very happy child, so to speak. But, since we didn't have video games or television, and very little radio, in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mako/i-was-a-very-happy-child-so-to-speak-but-since-we-didn-t-have-video/) [Mako](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mako/) > [I grew up in Northumberland, a happy child in a loving, hard-working family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robson-green/i-grew-up-in-northumberland-a-happy-child-in-a-loving-hard-working/) [Robson Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robson-green/) > [In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/in-all-this-world-there-is-nothing-so-beautiful-as-a-happy-child/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > ["In all this world there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child," says good old Santa Claus; and if he had his way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/in-all-this-world-there-is-nothing-so-beautiful-as-a-happy-child-says/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [You're only as happy as your least happy child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-paterno/you-re-only-as-happy-as-your-least-happy-child/) [Joe Paterno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-paterno/) > [Happy is the child who happens in upon his parents from time to time to see him on his knees, or going aside regularly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-christenson/happy-is-the-child-who-happens-in-upon-his-parents-from-time-to-time/) Larry Christenson > [I'm a single child. I wanted a little brother or a little sister growing up, but when I think about it, I'm happy I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-whitman/i-m-a-single-child-i-wanted-a-little-brother-or-a-little-sister/) [Mae Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-whitman/) > [You know, you're only as happy as your least happy child. So if your kids aren't okay, you're not good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/you-know-you-re-only-as-happy-as-your-least-happy-child-so-if-your/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [I am just indulging in watching our daughter grow, seeing her walk around the house, get up and sometimes fall on her bum, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-am-just-indulging-in-watching-our-daughter-grow-seeing-her-walk/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [“I was happy as a child that's why I'm luckier than you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mj-jabican/i-was-happy-as-a-child-that-s-why-i-m-luckier-than-you/) MJ Jabican > [“I was a happy child. I felt loved. I never would've imagined that things would turn out the way that they did".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-forrest/i-was-a-happy-child-i-felt-loved-i-never-would-ve-imagined-that/) [Bella Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-forrest/) > [I think it's possible to have been a happy child, as I was, and still question and push back with regard to societal conventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-think-it-s-possible-to-have-been-a-happy-child-as-i-was-and-still/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) ## More by Mary Stewart > [I knew that I had turned my world back to cinders, sunk my lovely ship with my own stupid, wicked hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/i-knew-that-i-had-turned-my-world-back-to-cinders-sunk-my-lovely-ship/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“Sometimes, when you're deep in the countryside, you meet three girls, walking along the hill tracks in the dusk, spinning. They each have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/sometimes-when-you-re-deep-in-the-countryside-you-meet-three-girls/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [The essence of wisdom is to know when to be doing, and when it's useless even to try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/the-essence-of-wisdom-is-to-know-when-to-be-doing-and-when-it-s/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“some man of power must have existed, with gifts that seemed miraculous to his own times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/some-man-of-power-must-have-existed-with-gifts-that-seemed-miraculous/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [It does not do to neglect the gods of a place, whoever they may be. In the end, they are all one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/it-does-not-do-to-neglect-the-gods-of-a-place-whoever-they-may-be-in/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“I'd settle for what you had to give”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/i-d-settle-for-what-you-had-to-give/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“this might be a beauty to send men mad. Her body was slight with a child’s slenderness, but her breasts were full and pointed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/this-might-be-a-beauty-to-send-men-mad-her-body-was-slight-with-a/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“Literature and fiction are full of femmes fatales, but there is also an homme fatal, an altogether rarer bird, and pity help the lonely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/literature-and-fiction-are-full-of-femmes-fatales-but-there-is-also/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“The village is perched on a precipitous hillside, and the houses are built in tiers, one up behind the other, the floor of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/the-village-is-perched-on-a-precipitous-hillside-and-the-houses-are/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“It is for you to choose. Choice is man's right, and for that I leave you free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/it-is-for-you-to-choose-choice-is-man-s-right-and-for-that-i-leave/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“I had been so used to God's voice in the fire and stars that I had forgotten to listen for it in the counsels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/i-had-been-so-used-to-god-s-voice-in-the-fire-and-stars-that-i-had/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“It was over, the awkward moment, the dreaded moment, sliding past in a ripple of commonplaces, the easy mechanical politenesses that are so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/it-was-over-the-awkward-moment-the-dreaded-moment-sliding-past-in-a/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [The gods only go with you if you put yourself in their path. And that takes courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/the-gods-only-go-with-you-if-you-put-yourself-in-their-path-and-that/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [“Every time your work is read, you die several deaths for every word, and poetry is like being flayed alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/every-time-your-work-is-read-you-die-several-deaths-for-every-word/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) > [Where two Greeks are gathered together, there will be at least three political parties represented, and possibly more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/where-two-greeks-are-gathered-together-there-will-be-at-least-three/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) [Explore all 101 Mary Stewart quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) ## More Childhood quotes > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [“From childhood’s hour I have not been As others were—I have not seen As others saw—I could not bring My passions from a common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/from-childhood-s-hour-i-have-not-been-as-others-were-i-have-not-seen/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [I had a rough upbringing. Group homes. Foster homes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-shamrock/i-had-a-rough-upbringing-group-homes-foster-homes/) [Frank Shamrock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-shamrock/) > [When I talk about my childhood I used to say it as if it was scripted and I'd make jokes because it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-katona/when-i-talk-about-my-childhood-i-used-to-say-it-as-if-it-was-scripted/) [Kerry Katona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-katona/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [It's a very familiar type of place where people either go to their house on the lake or they get together in different places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-carell/it-s-a-very-familiar-type-of-place-where-people-either-go-to-their/) [Steve Carell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-carell/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [Downstairs in my house, I have a museum room. I keep all of my awards down there, and childhood photos, and even all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-kelly/downstairs-in-my-house-i-have-a-museum-room-i-keep-all-of-my-awards/) [R. Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-kelly/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [On paper, it looks rough, but I had a great childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-morton/on-paper-it-looks-rough-but-i-had-a-great-childhood/) [Samantha Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-morton/) > [Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts enter into your brains from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening and paralysing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/let-positive-strong-helpful-thoughts-enter-into-your-brains-from-very/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I always knew that I was kind of bored; the regular life of a child didn't fit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/i-always-knew-that-i-was-kind-of-bored-the-regular-life-of-a-child/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not sure I would have ever started to draw, let alone write, if my childhood hadn't been so happy. It was a mixture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tove-jansson/i-m-not-sure-i-would-have-ever-started-to-draw-let-alone-write-if-my/) [Tove Jansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tove-jansson/) [Browse all 5,837 Childhood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I sometimes think it's a mistake to have been happy when one was a child. 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