--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Worrying is betting against yourself." description: "\"Worrying is betting against yourself.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74a/terence-mckenna-287_betting_worrying-is-betting-against-yourself-110_1101993.png" --- # Worrying is betting against yourself. ![“Worrying is betting against yourself.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74a/terence-mckenna-287_betting_worrying-is-betting-against-yourself-110_1101993.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74a/terence-mckenna-287_betting_worrying-is-betting-against-yourself-110_1101993.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74a/terence-mckenna-287_betting_worrying-is-betting-against-yourself-110_1101993.png) > “Worrying is betting against yourself.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self-doubt creates self-fulfilling setbacks; confidence fuels success. **In simple terms:** Worry harms you. Key Takeaway Trust yourself, act confidently. Themes confidence self‑belief risk mindset Mood anxious determined Type motivational psychological When to use this quote - public speaking - job interview - investment decisions - personal goals Key Concepts psychology self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - How does fear affect your decisions? - What steps can you take to build confidence? A Different Perspective Worry can also motivate preparation if channeled constructively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Betting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betting/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) [Worrying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worrying/) ## Related quotes > [Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles,it takes away today's peace. If you really enjoy this,please pass to others.It may brighten someone's day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worrying-does-not-take-away-tomorrow-s-troubles-it-takes-away-today-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us are worrying about the future so much that we can't enjoy the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-sherman/most-of-us-are-worrying-about-the-future-so-much-that-we-can-t-enjoy/) [Harold Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-sherman/) > [If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-can-t-sleep-then-get-up-and-do-something-instead-of-lying/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Worrying is the interest paid on a debt you may not owe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/worrying-is-the-interest-paid-on-a-debt-you-may-not-owe/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [As usual, my mind is spinning in circles...is it me? Am I making mountains out of molehills? Being too analytical? Worrying about nothing? Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-pickler/as-usual-my-mind-is-spinning-in-circles-is-it-me-am-i-making/) [Kellie Pickler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-pickler/) > [“It's a waste of time worrying about something that worry won't fix. It's about as useful as trying to feed your pet rock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/it-s-a-waste-of-time-worrying-about-something-that-worry-won-t-fix-it/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [Stop worrying about what others think. At the end of the day, you have to live with you. Trust yourself. No one has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-richardson/stop-worrying-about-what-others-think-at-the-end-of-the-day-you-have/) [Cheryl Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-richardson/) > [“A premature death does not only rob one of the countless instances where one would have experienced pleasure, it also saves one from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-premature-death-does-not-only-rob-one-of-the-countless-instances/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Worrying is a waste of time. It doesnt change anything. It messes with your mind and steals your happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/worrying-is-a-waste-of-time-it-doesnt-change-anything-it-messes-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If everybody spent enough time worrying about their own goddamn selves, no one would have to worry about anyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-de-grazia/if-everybody-spent-enough-time-worrying-about-their-own-goddamn/) Don De Grazia > [I know that sometimes when you are really worried about something, it ends up not being nearly as bad as you think it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-moriarty/i-know-that-sometimes-when-you-are-really-worried-about-something-it/) [Laura Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-moriarty/) > [“Don't lose today by worrying about tomorrow!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-herbert/don-t-lose-today-by-worrying-about-tomorrow/) John F. Herbert > [“Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, focus your energy on what you can create.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-bennett/instead-of-worrying-about-what-you-cannot-control-focus-your-energy/) [Roy Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-bennett/) > [Worrying about the things is only waste of time. As it doesn't change anything instead it occupies our mind n make the things worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/worrying-about-the-things-is-only-waste-of-time-as-it-doesn-t-change/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Betting quotes > [Once the war began, the government could do anything 'necessary' to win it; so it was with the 'final solution of the Jewish problem,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/once-the-war-began-the-government-could-do-anything-necessary-to-win/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [In most betting shops you will see three windows marked 'Bet Here', but only one window with the legend 'Pay Out'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-bernard/in-most-betting-shops-you-will-see-three-windows-marked-bet-here-but/) [Jeffrey Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-bernard/) > [Betting on football had been banned and, if anything, things got worse. I'd bet on horses instead. I knew absolutely nothing about horses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-lafferty/betting-on-football-had-been-banned-and-if-anything-things-got-worse/) [Kyle Lafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-lafferty/) > [“Winning is never about luck alone — it's about timing, patience, and trusting the game.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pkbook99/winning-is-never-about-luck-alone-it-s-about-timing-patience-and/) PKBook99 > [Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is made by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/markets-are-constantly-in-a-state-of-uncertainty-and-flux-and-money/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Can you make fancy patterns of water that actually have some computation power? I'm betting that fluids are complex enough to do this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-tao/can-you-make-fancy-patterns-of-water-that-actually-have-some/) [Terence Tao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-tao/) > [I hope that my 'Jeopardy' run helps destigmatize sports betting because I have certainly dealt with some stigmas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-holzhauer/i-hope-that-my-jeopardy-run-helps-destigmatize-sports-betting-because/) [James Holzhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-holzhauer/) > [The financial crisis of 2008 was not caused by investment banks betting against the housing market in 2007. It was caused by the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/the-financial-crisis-of-2008-was-not-caused-by-investment-banks/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [If you're betting all the time, everything is just another bet. You don't even think about the money after you've made the arrangements. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-riggs/if-you-re-betting-all-the-time-everything-is-just-another-bet-you-don/) [Bobby Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-riggs/) > [When I'm introspective about the last few years I think the biggest mistake that we made, as a company, is betting too much on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/when-i-m-introspective-about-the-last-few-years-i-think-the-biggest/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [When you talk about locker room betting, we bet on everything... It's no different than anyone else's office pool. Money changes hands in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-belle/when-you-talk-about-locker-room-betting-we-bet-on-everything-it-s-no/) [Albert Belle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-belle/) > [In betting on races, there are two elements that are never lacking - hope as hope, and an incomplete recollection of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-v-lucas/in-betting-on-races-there-are-two-elements-that-are-never-lacking/) [E. V. Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-v-lucas/) > [Hold'em - like life itself - has its defining moment. It's the flop. When you see the flop, you're looking at 71 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-krieger/hold-em-like-life-itself-has-its-defining-moment-it-s-the-flop-when/) Lou Krieger > [The trading rules I live by are: 1. Cut losses. 2. Ride winners. 3. Keep bets small. 4. Follow the rules without question. 5.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-seykota/the-trading-rules-i-live-by-are-1-cut-losses-2-ride-winners-3-keep/) [Ed Seykota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-seykota/) > [We are far betting dealing with the big losses-death, divorce, debt, and debilitating illness-than with the daily onslaught of little losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/we-are-far-betting-dealing-with-the-big-losses-death-divorce-debt-and/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) [Browse all 223 Betting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/betting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Worrying is betting against yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/worrying-is-betting-against-yourself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Betting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/worrying-is-betting-against-yourself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74a/terence-mckenna-287_betting_worrying-is-betting-against-yourself-110_1101993.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74a/terence-mckenna-287_betting_worrying-is-betting-against-yourself-110_1101993.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74a/terence-mckenna-287_betting_worrying-is-betting-against-yourself-110_1101993.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Worrying is betting against yourself.” — Terence McKenna", "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": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Worrying is betting against yourself.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/worrying-is-betting-against-yourself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/worrying-is-betting-against-yourself/#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 } } ] } ```