--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Patience had once counseled me that the…" description: "\"“Patience had once counseled me that the best way to stop pitying myself was to do something for someone else.”\" — Robin Hobb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/robin-hobb-489_patience_patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the_2118592.jpg" --- # Patience had once counseled me that the best way to stop… ![“Patience had once counseled me that the best way to stop pitying myself was to do something for someone else.” quote by Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/robin-hobb-489_patience_patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the_2118592.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/robin-hobb-489_patience_patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the_2118592.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/robin-hobb-489_patience_patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the_2118592.jpg) > ““Patience had once counseled me that the best way to stop pitying myself was to do something for someone else.”” [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patience taught that helping others stops self‑pity. **In simple terms:** Helping others eases self‑pity. Key Takeaway Serve others to lift yourself. Themes empathy self‑improvement service Mood encouraging thoughtful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - volunteering - counseling - teamwork - personal growth Key Concepts psychology altruism Questions to Reflect On - Who can you help today? - What prevents you from acting? A Different Perspective Self‑pity may persist despite helping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Counseled Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counseled-best-4310805/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Patience Counseled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience-counseled-4310804/) [Pitying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pitying-648156/) [Stop Pitying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-pitying-2308641/) ## Related quotes > [And maybe you should stop pitying yourself,” he said. “Most people are lucky to have even one great love in their life. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/and-maybe-you-should-stop-pitying-yourself-he-said-most-people-are/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [We often quarrel with the unfortunate to get rid of pitying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-de-clapiers/we-often-quarrel-with-the-unfortunate-to-get-rid-of-pitying-them/) [Luc de Clapiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-de-clapiers/) > [“Great, I couldn’t even have a self-pitying moment without his awesomeness ruining it and making me feel guilty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-carlisle/great-i-couldn-t-even-have-a-self-pitying-moment-without-his/) [Natalie Carlisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-carlisle/) > [“Sometimes I go about pitying myself when all the time I am carried on great wings across the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ojibwa-song/sometimes-i-go-about-pitying-myself-when-all-the-time-i-am-carried-on/) [Ojibwa Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ojibwa-song/) > [“Sometimes I go about pitying myself. And all the while I am being carried on great winds across the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-lakota-sioux/sometimes-i-go-about-pitying-myself-and-all-the-while-i-am-being/) [The Lakota Sioux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-lakota-sioux/) > [American rock has a sort of self-pitying whine to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bailey/american-rock-has-a-sort-of-self-pitying-whine-to-it/) [Bill Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bailey/) > [You are being self-pitying." "I'm nearly done. You don't have much more of this to bear." "I like you better this way." "Crushed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/you-are-being-self-pitying-i-m-nearly-done-you-don-t-have-much-more/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“But those who are incapable of pitying animals are, as a matter of fact, incapable of pitying men. A physician who would cut a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-ingersoll/but-those-who-are-incapable-of-pitying-animals-are-as-a-matter-of/) [Robert Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-ingersoll/) > [If you wish me well, do not stand pitying me, but lend me some succour as fast as you can; for pity is but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/if-you-wish-me-well-do-not-stand-pitying-me-but-lend-me-some-succour/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“He looks in my eyes in a pitying sort of way. “It’s such a shame,” he says, “that we couldn’t have met under different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-edwards/he-looks-in-my-eyes-in-a-pitying-sort-of-way-it-s-such-a-shame-he/) [Scarlett Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-edwards/) > [“Darren gave me a pitying look. “Believe me, Ryiah, a man can carry the sentiment a lot longer than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-e-carter/darren-gave-me-a-pitying-look-believe-me-ryiah-a-man-can-carry-the/) [Rachel E. Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-e-carter/) > [You don't know what is going to come to you in this world; you have to go on living and worrying. Those who die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/you-don-t-know-what-is-going-to-come-to-you-in-this-world-you-have-to/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [It is extremely interesting to me that black males, and other black folk, are viewed as self-pitying, by either other blacks who have failed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/it-is-extremely-interesting-to-me-that-black-males-and-other-black/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [“I can't see the world as a great hospital with us all nursing and pitying each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-harrower/i-can-t-see-the-world-as-a-great-hospital-with-us-all-nursing-and/) [Elizabeth Harrower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-harrower/) > [I believe, in general, that even people that are self-pitying, you can feel for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-white/i-believe-in-general-that-even-people-that-are-self-pitying-you-can/) [Mike White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-white/) ## More by Robin Hobb > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Do you think you're taking Etta out of here?" "Yes," Kennit called over his shoulder up the sairs. "What about all these dead men?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/do-you-think-you-re-taking-etta-out-of-here-yes-kennit-called-over/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A way out is a way in. Then,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-way-out-is-a-way-in-then/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Die in your dreams, wake up insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/die-in-your-dreams-wake-up-insane/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I felt a familiar squeezing in what I thought must be my heart. I had heard of being "heartbroken" or "heavy-hearted" but I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-felt-a-familiar-squeezing-in-what-i-thought-must-be-my-heart-i-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“They spoke of a dream of a child who bore the heart of a wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/they-spoke-of-a-dream-of-a-child-who-bore-the-heart-of-a-wolf/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“There is always power in holding a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/there-is-always-power-in-holding-a-secret/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“... finally realizing that life was to be lived, rather than hoarded against an unseen tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/finally-realizing-that-life-was-to-be-lived-rather-than-hoarded/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Why, I suddenly wondered, had I wasted all those hours I could have spent with her? Why hadn’t I gone with them, to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/why-i-suddenly-wondered-had-i-wasted-all-those-hours-i-could-have/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I think I made a better boy than I do a man, I admitted ruefully to the wolf. Why not wait until you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-think-i-made-a-better-boy-than-i-do-a-man-i-admitted-ruefully-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“So, with all the wide world to choose from, you didn't choose at all. You simply stopped wandering one day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/so-with-all-the-wide-world-to-choose-from-you-didn-t-choose-at-all/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I don't think I can stand it much longer,” he warned her. “Something will have to give way. And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Explore all 500 Robin Hobb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More Patience quotes > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [The faster you go, the shorter you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-faster-you-go-the-shorter-you-are/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We're on the road 300 days a year. There's no recovery time. It's a test of your physical and mental endurance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-phoenix/we-re-on-the-road-300-days-a-year-there-s-no-recovery-time-it-s-a/) [Beth Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-phoenix/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Here is my procedure for a saliva test: Prepare 7 strips of pH paper. Take a baseline pH reading. Have the patient drink 10cc…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ameer-rosic/here-is-my-procedure-for-a-saliva-test-prepare-7-strips-of-ph-paper/) [Ameer Rosic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ameer-rosic/) > [“There is no time for patience - there is no time for diplomacy - there is no time for policies, legislations and meaningless paperwork.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/there-is-no-time-for-patience-there-is-no-time-for-diplomacy-there-is/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Grace is the wonderful spirit that imbues every fiber of our being when we practice the fruits of the spirit: kindness, patience, understanding, forgiveness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-cayce/grace-is-the-wonderful-spirit-that-imbues-every-fiber-of-our-being/) [Edgar Cayce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-cayce/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every patient carries her or his own doctor inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/every-patient-carries-her-or-his-own-doctor-inside/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) > [Character never quits; and with patience and persistence; Dreams do come true!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-maravich/character-never-quits-and-with-patience-and-persistence-dreams-do/) [Pete Maravich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-maravich/) > [I don't know about writing. It's quite lonely. You have to have a lot of patience with yourself. I don't know if I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-wilson/i-don-t-know-about-writing-it-s-quite-lonely-you-have-to-have-a-lot/) [Ruth Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-wilson/) > [There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run, by patience and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/there-are-few-husbands-whom-the-wife-cannot-win-in-the-long-run-by/) [Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/) > [God has perfect timing...Never early...never late...It takes a little patience...It takes a lot of faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-has-perfect-timing-never-early-never-late-it-takes-a-little/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 7,997 Patience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Patience had once counseled me that the best way to stop pitying myself was to do something for someone else.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robin Hobb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the-best-way-to-stop-pitying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Patience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the-best-way-to-stop-pitying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/robin-hobb-489_patience_patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the_2118592.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/robin-hobb-489_patience_patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the_2118592.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf0/robin-hobb-489_patience_patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the_2118592.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Patience had once counseled me that the best way to stop pitying myself was to do something for someone else.” — Robin Hobb", "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": "Robin Hobb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Patience had once counseled me that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the-best-way-to-stop-pitying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/patience-had-once-counseled-me-that-the-best-way-to-stop-pitying/#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 } } ] } ```