--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's difficult because we tend to…" description: "\"It's difficult because we tend to overrate the pain of failure. We fear it too much. That's research that emerges from psychology. We think it's going ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/tim-harford-12481_after_it-s-difficult-because-we-tend-to-overra_3146752.jpg" --- # It's difficult because we tend to overrate the pain of… ![“It's difficult because we tend to overrate the pain of failure. We fear it too much. That's research that emerges from psychology. We think it's going to be worse than it really is. And, I think, as we get a bit older, really after we leave school or college, we quickly stop experimenting.” quote by Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/tim-harford-12481_after_it-s-difficult-because-we-tend-to-overra_3146752.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/tim-harford-12481_after_it-s-difficult-because-we-tend-to-overra_3146752.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/030/tim-harford-12481_after_it-s-difficult-because-we-tend-to-overra_3146752.jpg) > “It's difficult because we tend to overrate the pain of failure. We fear it too much. That's research that emerges from psychology. We think it's going to be worse than it really is. And, I think, as we get a bit older, really after we leave school or college, we quickly stop experimenting.” [Tim Harford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-harford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People overestimate how painful failure will be, leading to excessive fear and avoidance of new experiments. **In simple terms:** We think failure hurts more than it does. Key Takeaway Challenge fear, try new things. Themes psychology risk growth learning Mood anxious reflective Type motivational cautionary When to use this quote - career change - entrepreneurship - academic pursuits - personal development Key Concepts cognitive bias loss aversion Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions about failure hold you back? - How can you test the reality of feared outcomes? A Different Perspective Failure can still be costly; fear may be justified in high‑stakes contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [After](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after/) [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Bit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bit/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Emerges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emerges/) [Experimenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experimenting/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Failure Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure-fear/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-research-3856501/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [I think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-think/) [Leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave/) [Much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/much/) [Older](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Quickly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quickly/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Stop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop/) [Stop Experimenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-experimenting-3110353/) [Tend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tend/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Too](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too/) [Too much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-much/) [Worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worse/) ## Related quotes > [When there's no experimenting there's no progress. 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