--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trouble with life isn't that there is…" description: "\"“The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but that there are so many answers”\" — Ruth Benedict" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/ruth-benedict-10946_answer_the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-i_2894275.jpg" --- # The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but… ![“The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but that there are so many answers” quote by Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/ruth-benedict-10946_answer_the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-i_2894275.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/ruth-benedict-10946_answer_the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-i_2894275.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/ruth-benedict-10946_answer_the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-i_2894275.jpg) > ““The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but that there are so many answers”” [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life's difficulty lies not in lacking answers, but in having too many choices. **In simple terms:** Too many options cause confusion. Key Takeaway Simplify decisions. Themes choice complexity life Mood thoughtful calm Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - personal goals - decision making Key Concepts philosophy psychology Questions to Reflect On - Which answers truly matter? - How to prioritize options? A Different Perspective Abundance can overwhelm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, it's that there are so many answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-is-no-answer-it-s-that-there/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) > [“The trouble with life (the novelist will feel) is its amorphousness, its ridiculous fluidity. Look at it: thinly plotted, largely themeless, sentimental and ineluctably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-trouble-with-life-the-novelist-will-feel-is-its-amorphousness-its/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“The trouble with life is that, unlike movies, it doesn't have background music. We never know how we're supposed to feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-gardner/the-trouble-with-life-is-that-unlike-movies-it-doesn-t-have/) Lewis Gardner > [Violence isn't the only answer, but it is the final answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-donovan/violence-isn-t-the-only-answer-but-it-is-the-final-answer/) [Jack Donovan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-donovan/) > [Throwing more science at things isn't always the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/throwing-more-science-at-things-isn-t-always-the-answer/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [“Lots of things are mystries. But that doesn't mean there isn't an answer to them. It's just that scientists haven't found the answer yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-things-are-mystries-but-that-doesn-t-mean-there-isn-t-an/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [Sex isn't the answer. Sex is the question, yes is the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sex-isn-t-the-answer-sex-is-the-question-yes-is-the-answer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wisdom isn't an old guy on top of a mountain in a loin cloth. It isn't an answer. It's a question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-connolly/wisdom-isn-t-an-old-guy-on-top-of-a-mountain-in-a-loin-cloth-it-isn-t/) [Billy Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-connolly/) > [Violence isn't the answer. Violence is the question and the answer is yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/violence-isn-t-the-answer-violence-is-the-question-and-the-answer-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) > [No matter what trouble life gives me, I just need to look at you and everything seems alright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul/no-matter-what-trouble-life-gives-me-i-just-need-to-look-at-you-and/) [Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul/) > [When I look back on all the worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-look-back-on-all-the-worries-i-remember-the-story-of-the-old/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The trouble with education is,' said Jimmy cheerfully, 'that we always read everything when we're too young to know what it means. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-ayer-barnes/the-trouble-with-education-is-said-jimmy-cheerfully-that-we-always/) [Margaret Ayer Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-ayer-barnes/) > [Trouble is part of your life if you don't share it, you don't give the person who loves you a chance to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/trouble-is-part-of-your-life-if-you-don-t-share-it-you-don-t-give-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ruth Benedict > [We grow in time to trust the future for our answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/we-grow-in-time-to-trust-the-future-for-our-answers/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [An observer will see the bizarre developments of behavior only in alien cultures, not his own. Nevertheless this is obviously a local and temporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/an-observer-will-see-the-bizarre-developments-of-behavior-only-in/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [In world history, those who have helped to build the same culture are not necessarily of one race, and those of the same race…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/in-world-history-those-who-have-helped-to-build-the-same-culture-are/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [It is strange how long we rebel against a platitude until suddenly in a different lingo it looms up again as the only verity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/it-is-strange-how-long-we-rebel-against-a-platitude-until-suddenly-in/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [“Experience, contrary to common belief, is mostly imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/experience-contrary-to-common-belief-is-mostly-imagination/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [I gambled on having the strength to live two lives, one for myself and one for the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/i-gambled-on-having-the-strength-to-live-two-lives-one-for-myself-and/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Western civilization, because of fortuitous historical circumstances, has spread itself more widely than any other local group that has so far been known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/western-civilization-because-of-fortuitous-historical-circumstances/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The trouble is not that we are never happy - it is that happiness is so episodical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-is-not-that-we-are-never-happy-it-is-that-happiness-is-so/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [It is my necessary breath of life to understand and expression is the only justification of life that I can feel without prodding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/it-is-my-necessary-breath-of-life-to-understand-and-expression-is-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-purpose-of-anthropology-is-to-make-the-world-safe-for-human/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Success and failure in our own national economy will hang upon the degree to which we are able to work with races and nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/success-and-failure-in-our-own-national-economy-will-hang-upon-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [I haven't strength of mind not to need a career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/i-haven-t-strength-of-mind-not-to-need-a-career/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [As a matter of history great developments in art have often been remarkably separate from religious motivation and use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/as-a-matter-of-history-great-developments-in-art-have-often-been/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [The Japanese are, to the highest degree, both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-japanese-are-to-the-highest-degree-both-aggressive-and/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) > [Society in its full sense ... is never an entity separable from the individuals who compose it. No individual can arrive even at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/society-in-its-full-sense-is-never-an-entity-separable-from-the/) [Ruth Benedict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) [Explore all 62 Ruth Benedict quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/) ## More Answer quotes > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [What you are is a question only you can answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-mcmaster-bujold/what-you-are-is-a-question-only-you-can-answer/) [Lois McMaster Bujold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-mcmaster-bujold/) > [Enjoying life isn't about finding the answers, but living the questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-margolis/enjoying-life-isn-t-about-finding-the-answers-but-living-the-questions/) [Sue Margolis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-margolis/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [“And if you can’t say yes, answer anyway. Because I’d rather live with the answer than die with the question.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ellis/and-if-you-can-t-say-yes-answer-anyway-because-i-d-rather-live-with/) Jon Ellis > [“There is a cure and answer to everything, we just haven't found them yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-halimi/there-is-a-cure-and-answer-to-everything-we-just-haven-t-found-them/) [Eve Halimi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-halimi/) > [Whenever I'm asked about Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, I always answer: 'Neymar is the best,' not just because of his goals but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/whenever-i-m-asked-about-cristiano-ronaldo-or-lionel-messi-i-always/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [A wiki works best where you're trying to answer a question that you can't easily pose, where there's not a natural structure that's known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ward-cunningham/a-wiki-works-best-where-you-re-trying-to-answer-a-question-that-you/) [Ward Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ward-cunningham/) > [“Those are good questions. I recognize good questions, because I can come up with them myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-brust/those-are-good-questions-i-recognize-good-questions-because-i-can/) [Steven Brust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-brust/) > [My answer is bring 'em on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-answer-is-bring-em-on/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [I'll answer anything... I'm brutally honest, actually, which gets me in trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-mclachlan/i-ll-answer-anything-i-m-brutally-honest-actually-which-gets-me-in/) [Sarah McLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-mclachlan/) > [“...I guess I can put two and two together." "Sometimes the answer's four," I said, "and sometimes it's twenty-two...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/i-guess-i-can-put-two-and-two-together-sometimes-the-answer-s-four-i/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [Jumping someone is never the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/jumping-someone-is-never-the-answer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I play along myself, even though I can't help the player. So I can't say what I think the answer might be. But I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-mcguinness/i-play-along-myself-even-though-i-can-t-help-the-player-so-i-can-t/) [Paddy McGuinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-mcguinness/) > [Sometimes the question is complicated, but the answers are simple.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-suess/sometimes-the-question-is-complicated-but-the-answers-are-simple/) [Dr Suess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-suess/) Browse all 2,090 Answer quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but that there are so many answers”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ruth Benedict" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-is-no-answer-but-that-there/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Answer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-is-no-answer-but-that-there/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/ruth-benedict-10946_answer_the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-i_2894275.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/ruth-benedict-10946_answer_the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-i_2894275.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/ruth-benedict-10946_answer_the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-i_2894275.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The trouble with life isn't that there is no answer, but that there are so many answers” — Ruth Benedict", "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": "Ruth Benedict", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-benedict/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The trouble with life isn't that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-is-no-answer-but-that-there/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-benedict/the-trouble-with-life-isn-t-that-there-is-no-answer-but-that-there/#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 } } ] } ```