--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Page 357 - \"if the mountain was smooth…" description: "\"“Page 357 - \"if the mountain was smooth, you couldn't climb it.”\" — Susan Vreeland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/susan-vreeland-15670_mountain_page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you_3196967.jpg" --- # Page 357 - "if the mountain was smooth, you couldn't climb… ![“Page 357 - "if the mountain was smooth, you couldn't climb it.” quote by Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/susan-vreeland-15670_mountain_page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you_3196967.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/susan-vreeland-15670_mountain_page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you_3196967.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/susan-vreeland-15670_mountain_page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you_3196967.jpg) > ““Page 357 - "if the mountain was smooth, you couldn't climb it.”” [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The metaphor suggests that challenges (mountains) are necessary for growth; without difficulty, there is no progress. **In simple terms:** Challenges are needed to grow; smooth paths give no growth. Key Takeaway Seek and embrace challenges for personal development. Themes growth adversity motivation Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - education - personal goals Key Concepts resilience self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - What “ are you avoiding? - How can you turn obstacles into opportunities? A Different Perspective May imply that all difficulty is beneficial, ignoring harmful stress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Son, if the mountain were smooth, you couldn't climb it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wintley-phipps/son-if-the-mountain-were-smooth-you-couldn-t-climb-it/) Wintley Phipps > [“Like Daddy always tells me, you can’t climb a mountain if it’s smooth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-gregg-gilmore/like-daddy-always-tells-me-you-can-t-climb-a-mountain-if-it-s-smooth/) [Susan Gregg Gilmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-gregg-gilmore/) > [“If the mountain was smooth then how can we climb it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/delisa-ansah/if-the-mountain-was-smooth-then-how-can-we-climb-it/) Delisa Ansah > [“I don't remember the house so well as the barn, and remember the barn less than the creek, and the creek less than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-don-t-remember-the-house-so-well-as-the-barn-and-remember-the-barn/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [I was downright obnoxious. In second grade, we had some program where we kept a public list of all the books we read. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alafair-burke/i-was-downright-obnoxious-in-second-grade-we-had-some-program-where/) [Alafair Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alafair-burke/) > [“The Ephebians made wine out of anything they could put in a bucket, and ate anything that couldn't climb out of one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-ephebians-made-wine-out-of-anything-they-could-put-in-a-bucket/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Sometimes you climb the mountain, and you fall and fail. Maybe there is a different path that will take you up. Sometimes a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/sometimes-you-climb-the-mountain-and-you-fall-and-fail-maybe-there-is/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [So far as female beauty is concerned, the Circassian women have no superiors. They have preserved in their mountain home the purity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/so-far-as-female-beauty-is-concerned-the-circassian-women-have-no/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [We live in a state with a wonderful climate and plenty of natural beauty, from the shores of Cumberland Island to the Chattahoochee River…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-barnes/we-live-in-a-state-with-a-wonderful-climate-and-plenty-of-natural/) [Roy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-barnes/) > [There is nothing to do, just be. Do nothing. Be. No climbing mountains and sitting in caves. I do not even say "be yourself"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/there-is-nothing-to-do-just-be-do-nothing-be-no-climbing-mountains/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) ## More by Susan Vreeland > [“The winsome lilt of Digna humming in the garden. Her knowing, almost teasing look, not quite a smile, when she knew she had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/the-winsome-lilt-of-digna-humming-in-the-garden-her-knowing-almost/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“At this stage of life, he'd better just lean into love, because if he fell, he feared he might break a hip.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/at-this-stage-of-life-he-d-better-just-lean-into-love-because-if-he/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“Bicyclist's Philosophy of Life..."It's a matter of faith. You can keep upright only by moving forward. You have to have your eyes on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/bicyclist-s-philosophy-of-life-it-s-a-matter-of-faith-you-can-keep/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“How love builds itself unconsciously, he thought, out of the momentous ordinary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/how-love-builds-itself-unconsciously-he-thought-out-of-the-momentous/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“In the end, it's only the moments that we have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/in-the-end-it-s-only-the-moments-that-we-have/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [He and I had a bridge that no one else traveled that made us artistic lovers, passionate without a touch of the flesh. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/he-and-i-had-a-bridge-that-no-one-else-traveled-that-made-us-artistic/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [Look long enough, out or in, and you’ll be glad you are who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/look-long-enough-out-or-in-and-you-ll-be-glad-you-are-who-you-are/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“Now he knew . . . that there was nothing so vital as paying attention, and perfecting the humble offices of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/now-he-knew-that-there-was-nothing-so-vital-as-paying-attention-and/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“Overblown responsibility was a part of my preoccupation with myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/overblown-responsibility-was-a-part-of-my-preoccupation-with-myself/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [That a thing made by hand, the work and thought of a single craftsman, can endure much longer than its maker, through centuries in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/that-a-thing-made-by-hand-the-work-and-thought-of-a-single-craftsman/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“No one but another painter could know the delicacy required to balance the complexities, to keep reality at bay in order to remain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/no-one-but-another-painter-could-know-the-delicacy-required-to/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“A woman can't stay hard when all around her is loveliness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/a-woman-can-t-stay-hard-when-all-around-her-is-loveliness/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“A hard choice. Water or books. Hmm. One could always have wine instead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/a-hard-choice-water-or-books-hmm-one-could-always-have-wine-instead/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“People who would be that close to her, she thought, a matter of a few arms' lengths, looking, looking, and they would never know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/people-who-would-be-that-close-to-her-she-thought-a-matter-of-a-few/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) > [“I came to see that knowing what love isn't might be just as valuable, though infinitely less satisfying, as knowing what it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/i-came-to-see-that-knowing-what-love-isn-t-might-be-just-as-valuable/) [Susan Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) [Explore all 40 Susan Vreeland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/) ## More Mountain quotes > [Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-asher/then-come-to-realize-that-you-re-making-mountains-out-of-molehills/) [Jay Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-asher/) > [Above Coblentz almost every mountain has a ruin and a legend. One feels everywhere the spirit of the past, and its stirring recollections come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/above-coblentz-almost-every-mountain-has-a-ruin-and-a-legend-one/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [There is nothing to do, just be. Do nothing. Be. No climbing mountains and sitting in caves. I do not even say "be yourself"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/there-is-nothing-to-do-just-be-do-nothing-be-no-climbing-mountains/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [We live in a state with a wonderful climate and plenty of natural beauty, from the shores of Cumberland Island to the Chattahoochee River…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-barnes/we-live-in-a-state-with-a-wonderful-climate-and-plenty-of-natural/) [Roy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-barnes/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So far as female beauty is concerned, the Circassian women have no superiors. They have preserved in their mountain home the purity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/so-far-as-female-beauty-is-concerned-the-circassian-women-have-no/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [Sometimes you climb the mountain, and you fall and fail. Maybe there is a different path that will take you up. Sometimes a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-fake/sometimes-you-climb-the-mountain-and-you-fall-and-fail-maybe-there-is/) [Caterina Fake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-fake/) > [The mountain receives our expressions and becomes part of us; we imprint our memories upon it and trust it with out dearest divisions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/the-mountain-receives-our-expressions-and-becomes-part-of-us-we/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [Men and women, empires and cities, thrones, principalities, and powers, mountains, rivers, and unfathomed seas, worlds, spaces, and universes, all have their day, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-rider-haggard/men-and-women-empires-and-cities-thrones-principalities-and-powers/) [H. Rider Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-rider-haggard/) > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Never measure the height of a mountain, until you have reached the top. Then you will see how low it was." Dag Hammarskj’ld”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/change-your-life-publishing/never-measure-the-height-of-a-mountain-until-you-have-reached-the-top/) [Change Your Life Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/change-your-life-publishing/) > [“You are a lawmaker in your own right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-are-a-lawmaker-in-your-own-right/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Everest is how it is right now. We have to fix ropes up there; we have the commercial expeditions. If you don't like that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ueli-steck/everest-is-how-it-is-right-now-we-have-to-fix-ropes-up-there-we-have/) [Ueli Steck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ueli-steck/) Browse all 4,697 Mountain quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Page 357 - \"if the mountain was smooth, you couldn't climb it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Vreeland" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you-couldn-t-climb-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Mountain" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you-couldn-t-climb-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/susan-vreeland-15670_mountain_page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you_3196967.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/susan-vreeland-15670_mountain_page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you_3196967.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab6/susan-vreeland-15670_mountain_page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you_3196967.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Page 357 - \"if the mountain was smooth, you couldn't climb it.” — Susan Vreeland", "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": "Susan Vreeland", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-vreeland/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Page 357 - \"if the mountain...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you-couldn-t-climb-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-vreeland/page-357-if-the-mountain-was-smooth-you-couldn-t-climb-it/#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 } } ] } ```