--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: (An unhappy childhood was not) an…" description: "\"(An unhappy childhood was not) an unsuitable preparation for my future, in that it demanded a constant wariness, the habit of observation, and the atte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/rudyard-kipling-527_action_an-unhappy-childhood-was-not-an-unsuitab_403994.png" --- # (An unhappy childhood was not) an unsuitable preparation… ![“(An unhappy childhood was not) an unsuitable preparation for my future, in that it demanded a constant wariness, the habit of observation, and the attendance on moods and tempers; the noting of discrepancies between speech and action; a certain reserve of demeanour; and automatic suspicion of…” quote by Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/rudyard-kipling-527_action_an-unhappy-childhood-was-not-an-unsuitab_403994.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/rudyard-kipling-527_action_an-unhappy-childhood-was-not-an-unsuitab_403994.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a9/rudyard-kipling-527_action_an-unhappy-childhood-was-not-an-unsuitab_403994.png) > “(An unhappy childhood was not) an unsuitable preparation for my future, in that it demanded a constant wariness, the habit of observation, and the attendance on moods and tempers; the noting of discrepancies between speech and action; a certain reserve of demeanour; and automatic suspicion of sudden favours.” [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early hardships teach vigilance, observation, and skepticism, shaping a cautious yet resilient character. **In simple terms:** Hardships train careful awareness. Key Takeaway Learn from early challenges. Themes resilience observation skepticism Mood thoughtful cautious Type advice reflective When to use this quote - parenting - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts psychological development defense mechanisms Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance vigilance with openness? - When does skepticism become a barrier? A Different Perspective Overcaution may hinder trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Attendance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attendance/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood/) [Childhood Unsuitable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/childhood-unsuitable-3616661/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Constant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant/) [Constant Wariness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constant-wariness-3616662/) [Discrepancies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrepancies/) [Favour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/favour/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [My future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-future/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Preparation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preparation/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Suspicion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicion/) [Temper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/temper/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Unhappy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy/) [Unhappy childhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-childhood/) [Wariness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wariness/) [Wariness Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wariness-habit-3616663/) ## Related quotes > [I had a very happy childhood, which is unsuitable if you're going to be an Irish writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/i-had-a-very-happy-childhood-which-is-unsuitable-if-you-re-going-to/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-am-convinced-that-except-in-a-few-extraordinary-cases-one-form-or/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Communists are people who fancied that they had an unhappy childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/communists-are-people-who-fancied-that-they-had-an-unhappy-childhood/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [People who've had very unhappy childhoods are pretty good at inventing themselves. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-benford/redwing-had-read-somewhere-that-one-of-his-favourite-writers-ernest/) [Gregory Benford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-benford/) > [They say that to be a writer you must first have an unhappy childhood. I don't know if unhappiness is necessary, but I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-rylant/they-say-that-to-be-a-writer-you-must-first-have-an-unhappy-childhood/) [Cynthia Rylant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-rylant/) > [Mice: What is the best early training for a writer? Y.C.: An unhappy childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/mice-what-is-the-best-early-training-for-a-writer-y-c-an-unhappy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [That is why we dread children, even if we love them. They show us the state of our decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/that-is-why-we-dread-children-even-if-we-love-them-they-show-us-the/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) ## More by Rudyard Kipling > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“I follow the Law—the Most Excellent Law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/i-follow-the-law-the-most-excellent-law/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/brothers-and-sisters-i-bid-you-beware-of-giving-your-heart-to-a-dog/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [O it's Tommy this, and Tommy that, and Tommy 'ow's your soul/But it's thin red line of heroes when the drums begin to roll.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/o-it-s-tommy-this-and-tommy-that-and-tommy-ow-s-your-soul-but-it-s/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Believe the best of everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/believe-the-best-of-everybody/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees That half a proper gardener's work is done upon his knees, So when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/oh-adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-a-proper/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Adam was a gardener, and God, who made him, sees that half of all good gardening is done upon the knees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/adam-was-a-gardener-and-god-who-made-him-sees-that-half-of-all-good/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [Call a truce, then, to our labors - let us feast with friends and neighbors, and be merry as the custom of our caste;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/call-a-truce-then-to-our-labors-let-us-feast-with-friends-and/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [No one accuses the gunner of maudlin affection for anything except his beasts and his weapons. He serves as least three jealous gods-his horse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/no-one-accuses-the-gunner-of-maudlin-affection-for-anything-except/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“One of these days, Strickland is going to write a little book on his experiences. 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He had almost forgotten the days when he won Mother Wolf in fair fight from five other wolves, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/father-wolf-looked-on-amazed-he-had-almost-forgotten-the-days-when-he/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [If you want something and don't get it, there are only two reasons. You either really didn't want it, or you tried to bargain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/if-you-want-something-and-don-t-get-it-there-are-only-two-reasons-you/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) [Explore all 491 Rudyard Kipling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. 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Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. 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