--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: contemplating the misfortunes of others…" description: "\"contemplating the misfortunes of others does not lighten one's own trouble but instead adds to it.\" — Mignon G. Eberhart" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/mignon-g-eberhart-51904_add_contemplating-the-misfortunes-of-others_55697.png" --- # contemplating the misfortunes of others does not lighten… ![“contemplating the misfortunes of others does not lighten one's own trouble but instead adds to it.” quote by Mignon G. Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/mignon-g-eberhart-51904_add_contemplating-the-misfortunes-of-others_55697.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/mignon-g-eberhart-51904_add_contemplating-the-misfortunes-of-others_55697.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6f9/mignon-g-eberhart-51904_add_contemplating-the-misfortunes-of-others_55697.png) > “contemplating the misfortunes of others does not lighten one's own trouble but instead adds to it.” [Mignon G. Eberhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-g-eberhart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Focusing on others' hardships compounds personal distress rather than alleviating it. **In simple terms:** Empathy can be self‑damaging if excessive. Key Takeaway Compassion must be balanced with self‑care. Themes empathy self‑awareness mental health perspective resilience Mood reflective cautious thoughtful Type proverb advice When to use this quote - reading news about disasters - seeing a friend's crisis - witnessing workplace conflict - social media scrolling Key Concepts emotional contagion boundary setting mindfulness Practical Applications - counseling training - stress‑management workshops Questions to Reflect On - How can you support others without sacrificing your own well‑being? - What practices help you maintain emotional boundaries? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Misfortunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes/) [Misfortunes of others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misfortunes-of-others/) ## Related quotes > [We feel a kind of bittersweet pricking of malicious delight in contemplating the misfortunes of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-feel-a-kind-of-bittersweet-pricking-of-malicious-delight-in/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Even to smile at the misfortunes of others is to do an injury.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/even-to-smile-at-the-misfortunes-of-others-is-to-do-an-injury/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [The misfortune of others is our misfortune. Our happiness is the happiness of others. To see ourselves in others and feel an inner oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/the-misfortune-of-others-is-our-misfortune-our-happiness-is-the/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [A tender-hearted and compassionate disposition, which inclines men to pity and feel the misfortunes of others, and which is, even for its own sake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/a-tender-hearted-and-compassionate-disposition-which-inclines-men-to/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [There are some arts which to those that possess them are painful, but to those that use them are helpful, a common good to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hippocrates/there-are-some-arts-which-to-those-that-possess-them-are-painful-but/) [Hippocrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hippocrates/) > [Consider the misfortunes of others, and you will be the better able to bear your own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/consider-the-misfortunes-of-others-and-you-will-be-the-better-able-to/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [There are two types of compassion. One - is faint-hearted and sentimental. Actually, it is nothing more than impatience of the heart, that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/there-are-two-types-of-compassion-one-is-faint-hearted-and/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [Misfortune is never mournful to the soul that accepts it; for such do always see that every cloud is an angel's face. Every man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/misfortune-is-never-mournful-to-the-soul-that-accepts-it-for-such-do-2/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [Pride thinks it's own happiness shines the brighter by comparing it with the misfortunes of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/pride-thinks-it-s-own-happiness-shines-the-brighter-by-comparing-it/) [Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/) > [The Unhappy may, possibly, by indulging Thought, hit on some lucky Stratagem for the Relief of his Misfortunes, and the Happy may be infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-haywood/the-unhappy-may-possibly-by-indulging-thought-hit-on-some-lucky/) [Eliza Haywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-haywood/) > [To me, being Australian is about looking after your mates, taking care of the less fortunate, supporting the underdog and enhancing the spirit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-waugh/to-me-being-australian-is-about-looking-after-your-mates-taking-care/) [Steve Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-waugh/) > [We bear, all of us, the misfortunes of other people with heroic constancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-bear-all-of-us-the-misfortunes-of-other-people-with-heroic/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [At times like the present, when the evils of unsound finance threaten us, the speculator may anticipate a harvest gathered from the misfortune of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grover-cleveland/at-times-like-the-present-when-the-evils-of-unsound-finance-threaten/) [Grover Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grover-cleveland/) > [Happy will be those who take a lesson and warning from the mistakes and misfortunes of others and seek, nevertheless, to adopt the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/happy-will-be-those-who-take-a-lesson-and-warning-from-the-mistakes/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [I was born with a priceless gift, the ability to laugh at the misfortunes of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-humphries/i-was-born-with-a-priceless-gift-the-ability-to-laugh-at-the/) [Barry Humphries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-humphries/) ## More by Mignon G. 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