--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human life, I realized, got progressively…" description: "\"“Human life, I realized, got progressively worse as you got older, by the sound of things. You arrived, with baby feet and hands and infinite happiness..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/matt-haig-1036_happiness_human-life-i-realized-got-progressively_2337135.jpg" --- # Human life, I realized, got progressively worse as you got… ![“Human life, I realized, got progressively worse as you got older, by the sound of things. You arrived, with baby feet and hands and infinite happiness, and then the happiness slowly evaporated as your feet and hands grew bigger. And then, from the teenage years onward, happiness was something you…” quote by Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/matt-haig-1036_happiness_human-life-i-realized-got-progressively_2337135.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/matt-haig-1036_happiness_human-life-i-realized-got-progressively_2337135.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93c/matt-haig-1036_happiness_human-life-i-realized-got-progressively_2337135.jpg) > ““Human life, I realized, got progressively worse as you got older, by the sound of things. You arrived, with baby feet and hands and infinite happiness, and then the happiness slowly evaporated as your feet and hands grew bigger. And then, from the teenage years onward, happiness was something you could lose your grip of, and once it started to slip, it gained mass. It was as if the knowledge that it could slip was the thing that made it more difficult to hold, no matter how big your feet and hands were.”” [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Happiness often feels more fragile as we age, because awareness of its impermanence makes it harder to grasp despite our growing capacity. **In simple terms:** Happiness seems harder to hold as we grow older. Key Takeaway Accept change and practice gratitude daily. Themes growth impermanence psychology aging mindfulness Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type personal philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - parenthood - teenage - midlife crisis - career transitions Key Concepts Existentialism emotional resilience developmental psychology Questions to Reflect On - What habits can help maintain joy through life stages? - How does awareness of loss affect our experience of happiness? A Different Perspective Happiness can be cultivated through intentional habits despite perceived fragility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feet Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet-hands-552373/) [Got Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-older/) [Grew Bigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-bigger-290972/) [Hands Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-grew-5643992/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lose Grip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-grip-867806/) [Teenage years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teenage-years/) ## Related quotes > [Once my family grew bigger I loved Portland more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rasheed-wallace/once-my-family-grew-bigger-i-loved-portland-more/) [Rasheed Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rasheed-wallace/) > [“When we were together before, the world was small to us, but as you grew bigger to life and the world became desirous to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/when-we-were-together-before-the-world-was-small-to-us-but-as-you/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [I always grew up the bigger girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordyn-woods/i-always-grew-up-the-bigger-girl/) [Jordyn Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordyn-woods/) > [There is as much expression in the feet as in the hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/there-is-as-much-expression-in-the-feet-as-in-the-hands/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [“I held her feet in my hands.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-nicholson/i-held-her-feet-in-my-hands/) [Geoff Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-nicholson/) > [Move with your feet, the hands will follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaaki-hatsumi/move-with-your-feet-the-hands-will-follow/) [Masaaki Hatsumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaaki-hatsumi/) > [It's normal to feel pain in your hands and feet, if you're using your feet as feet and your hands as hands. And for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/it-s-normal-to-feel-pain-in-your-hands-and-feet-if-you-re-using-your/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“With your two feet and your two hands and the big fucking brain on your shoulders you can do anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-callaghan/with-your-two-feet-and-your-two-hands-and-the-big-fucking-brain-on/) [John O'Callaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-callaghan/) > [By all means must we fly; not with our feet, however, but with our hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-junius-brutus-the-younger/by-all-means-must-we-fly-not-with-our-feet-however-but-with-our-hands/) [Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-junius-brutus-the-younger/) > [We are born for cooperation, as are the feet, the hands, the eyelids, and the upper and lower jaws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-are-born-for-cooperation-as-are-the-feet-the-hands-the-eyelids-and/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Am I going home to idleness? 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Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) > [Trying to be happy is like climbing a steep hill and when you get near the top, you lose your grip, fall and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/trying-to-be-happy-is-like-climbing-a-steep-hill-and-when-you-get/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [When I see you I admit I start to lose my grip and all of my cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mhine29/when-i-see-you-i-admit-i-start-to-lose-my-grip-and-all-of-my-cool/) [Mhine29](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mhine29/) > [How would you feel if everybody acted like you didn't exist? You'd lose your grip, probably eventually flip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linkin-park/how-would-you-feel-if-everybody-acted-like-you-didn-t-exist-you-d/) [Linkin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linkin-park/) ## More by Matt Haig > [“Maybe that is what growing up was all about. It was about changing your mind. Opening it right up. Admitting to yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/maybe-that-is-what-growing-up-was-all-about-it-was-about-changing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It felt civilised and modern. It felt refined and tantalising, all at once, like a polite collective pre-orgasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-felt-civilised-and-modern-it-felt-refined-and-tantalising-all-at/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [If you can't give children optimism, then what are you doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/if-you-can-t-give-children-optimism-then-what-are-you-doing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“He just wanted to live inside a moment of that life with her forever, to pluck it like a flower and press it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/he-just-wanted-to-live-inside-a-moment-of-that-life-with-her-forever/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [British culture is very cynical sometimes of overt displays of sentimentality, and I think that becomes almost a suspicion of emotion, or a suspicion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/british-culture-is-very-cynical-sometimes-of-overt-displays-of/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“That is one of the patterns: when nothing is happening, nothing continues to happen, but after a while the lull becomes too much and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/that-is-one-of-the-patterns-when-nothing-is-happening-nothing/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [The single biggest act of bravery or madness anyone can do is the act of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/the-single-biggest-act-of-bravery-or-madness-anyone-can-do-is-the-act/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [For me, as a writer, I desperately want to be read. I'm very conscious of readers as I'm writing. I think, 'If you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/for-me-as-a-writer-i-desperately-want-to-be-read-i-m-very-conscious/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It’s not you. It’s them. (No, really. It is.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/it-s-not-you-it-s-them-no-really-it-is/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“We are all so weird that, really, none of us are. There are seven billion versions of strange on this freak wonder of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/we-are-all-so-weird-that-really-none-of-us-are-there-are-seven/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Sa asculti muzica, mi-am dat eu seama, nu era altceva decat placerea de a numara fara sa iti dai seama ca numeri.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/sa-asculti-muzica-mi-am-dat-eu-seama-nu-era-altceva-decat-placerea-de/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“Beauty--be not caused," said Emily Dickinson. "It is." In one way she was wrong. The scattering of light over a long distance creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/beauty-be-not-caused-said-emily-dickinson-it-is-in-one-way-she-was/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [I'm a firm believer in the connection between the body and the mind: feed one, feed both. 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That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [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/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. 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He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [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've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) [Pancho Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Human life, I realized, got progressively worse as you got older, by the sound of things. 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