--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He wished he could've explained some of…" description: "\"He wished he could've explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/tim-o-brien-1818_brave_he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of_2010701.jpg" --- # He wished he could've explained some of this. How he had… ![“He wished he could've explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be. The distinction was important.” quote by Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/tim-o-brien-1818_brave_he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of_2010701.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/tim-o-brien-1818_brave_he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of_2010701.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/tim-o-brien-1818_brave_he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of_2010701.jpg) > “He wished he could've explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be. The distinction was important.” [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reflects on bravery, feeling both proud of past courage and wishing he could have been braver, highlighting the gap between self‑assessment and ideal self. **In simple terms:** He wishes he could have been braver and feels a gap between his actions and his ideal. Key Takeaway Recognize and accept your current bravery while striving for growth. Themes courage self‑reflection idealism Mood reflective determined hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - military service - relationships - self‑improvement Key Concepts psychology human experience growth mindset Questions to Reflect On - What does bravery mean to you? - How can you bridge the gap between your actions and your ideals? A Different Perspective Bravery is subjective and can be constrained by circumstances. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Braver Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/braver-thought-2499243/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Distinction Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction-important-3590140/) [Explained Braver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explained-braver-3590139/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Possible Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-brave-3532796/) [Thought Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-possible-512834/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [ “LEIA \[to Han:\] Hast thou come here in that ungainly heap? Thou art, perhaps, then braver than I thought.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-doescher/leia-to-han-hast-thou-come-here-in-that-ungainly-heap-thou-art/) [Ian Doescher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-doescher/) > [Break the rules. Be a fighter. Any dream is possible if you are brave enough to do it YOUR way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aj-lee/break-the-rules-be-a-fighter-any-dream-is-possible-if-you-are-brave/) [AJ Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aj-lee/) > [There's definitely a list of things I'd like to do. But there's been a lot of things I hadn't even thought would have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aj-lee/there-s-definitely-a-list-of-things-i-d-like-to-do-but-there-s-been-a/) [AJ Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aj-lee/) > [“This is a comment on the “science” in this science fiction novel. I’ve always been partial to science fiction that posed a “what if”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-e-dahners/this-is-a-comment-on-the-science-in-this-science-fiction-novel-i-ve/) [Laurence E. Dahners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-e-dahners/) > [I wanted to be a writer since I was in high school, but I never thought it was possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-bass/i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-since-i-was-in-high-school-but-i-never/) [Ellen Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-bass/) > [Things that people thought not possible when they were proposed and blown off become enormously successful. There are a lot of ideas that never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-merlino/things-that-people-thought-not-possible-when-they-were-proposed-and/) [James Merlino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-merlino/) > [I love you with everything I am, and more than anyone ever thought possible...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-you-with-everything-i-am-and-more-than-anyone-ever-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do less than you ever thought it was possible to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-fuller/do-less-than-you-ever-thought-it-was-possible-to-do/) [Kurt Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-fuller/) > [Thought ... is still possible, and no doubt actual, wherever men live under the conditions of political freedom. Unfortunately ... no other human capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/thought-is-still-possible-and-no-doubt-actual-wherever-men-live-under/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [I think I always kind of wanted to be a musician but never dared to say it out loud because I never thought it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigrid/i-think-i-always-kind-of-wanted-to-be-a-musician-but-never-dared-to/) [Sigrid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigrid/) > [“I will have you do things you never thought possible, but I can also bring you a pleasure you never imagined.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-sue-me/i-will-have-you-do-things-you-never-thought-possible-but-i-can-also/) [Tara Sue Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-sue-me/) > [Who would have thought it possible that a tiny flower could preoccupy a person so completely that there simply wasn't room for any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-scholl/who-would-have-thought-it-possible-that-a-tiny-flower-could-preoccupy/) [Sophie Scholl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-scholl/) > [When you become a parent, it blows you open in ways that you never thought possible in terms of a level of love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audra-mcdonald/when-you-become-a-parent-it-blows-you-open-in-ways-that-you-never/) [Audra McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audra-mcdonald/) > [I never thought It was possible to smile for no reason, but when I look at your beautiful face I think I just did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar/i-never-thought-it-was-possible-to-smile-for-no-reason-but-when-i/) [Omar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar/) > [My favourite event was the 200m, so as I won the 100m, I thought it was possible I'd win the 200m](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-cuthbert/my-favourite-event-was-the-200m-so-as-i-won-the-100m-i-thought-it-was/) [Betty Cuthbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-cuthbert/) ## More by Tim O'Brien > [“Yes, the issue was courage. It always had been, even as a kid. Things scared him. He couldn't help it. Noise scared him, dark…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/yes-the-issue-was-courage-it-always-had-been-even-as-a-kid-things/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [It's very hard to articulate the things that are important about writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/it-s-very-hard-to-articulate-the-things-that-are-important-about/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [The thing about a story is that you dream it as you tell it, hoping that others might then dream along with you, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-thing-about-a-story-is-that-you-dream-it-as-you-tell-it-hoping/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“I learned that words make a difference. It's easier to cope with a kicked bucked than a corpse; if it isn't human, it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/i-learned-that-words-make-a-difference-it-s-easier-to-cope-with-a/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/stories-are-for-eternity-when-memory-is-erased-when-there-is-nothing/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“The story' Sanders would say "the whole tone, man, you're wrecking it." Tone?' The sound. You need to get a consitent sound, like slow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/the-story-sanders-would-say-the-whole-tone-man-you-re-wrecking-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“On occasions the war was like a Ping-Pong ball. You could put fancy spin on it, you could make it dance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/on-occasions-the-war-was-like-a-ping-pong-ball-you-could-put-fancy/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“They were afraid of dying, but they were even more afraid to show it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/they-were-afraid-of-dying-but-they-were-even-more-afraid-to-show-it/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Forty-three years old, and the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now. And sometimes remembering will lead to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/forty-three-years-old-and-the-war-occurred-half-a-lifetime-ago-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“He thought about the difference between good times and bad times, and how funny it was that he could not state the difference, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-thought-about-the-difference-between-good-times-and-bad-times-and/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [A lie, sometimes, can be truer than the truth, which is why fiction gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/a-lie-sometimes-can-be-truer-than-the-truth-which-is-why-fiction-gets/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [My life is storytelling. I believe in stories, in their incredible power to keep people alive, to keep the living alive, and the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/my-life-is-storytelling-i-believe-in-stories-in-their-incredible/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/with-a-hangover-and-with-fear-it-is-difficult-to-put-a-helmet-on-your/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [“Peace never bragged. If you didn't look for it, it wasn't there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/peace-never-bragged-if-you-didn-t-look-for-it-it-wasn-t-there/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) [Explore all 201 Tim O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) ## More Brave quotes > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [If You Love Someone, Be Brave Enough To Tell Them., Otherwise Be Brave Enough To Watch Them To Be Loved By Someone Else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-zahoor/if-you-love-someone-be-brave-enough-to-tell-them-otherwise-be-brave/) [Bilal Zahoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilal-zahoor/) > [Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/be-convinced-that-to-be-happy-means-to-be-free-and-that-to-be-free/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [It's always brave to be yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liu-yifei/it-s-always-brave-to-be-yourself/) [Liu Yifei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liu-yifei/) > [“Victory is for the fucking brave, not the timid and excuse-riddled weak.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zakk-wylde/victory-is-for-the-fucking-brave-not-the-timid-and-excuse-riddled-weak/) [Zakk Wylde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zakk-wylde/) > [I'm very proud of 'Every Girl's a Super Girl.' I want all girls to know that no matter what size, color, or shape, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-siwa/i-m-very-proud-of-every-girl-s-a-super-girl-i-want-all-girls-to-know/) [JoJo Siwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-siwa/) > [And I read the moral--A brave endeavour To do thy duty, whate'er its worth, Is better than life with love forever, And love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeffrey-roche/and-i-read-the-moral-a-brave-endeavour-to-do-thy-duty-whate-er-its/) [James Jeffrey Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeffrey-roche/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [You know what really made me sick? I was in Washington, D.C. at another time reading in a paper where the U.S. gives Byron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/you-know-what-really-made-me-sick-i-was-in-washington-d-c-at-another/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [To be able to live and train in Iraq under these circumstances you need to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-able-to-live-and-train-in-iraq-under-these-circumstances-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There's a fallacy with stand up comedy, which is, people come up to comedians, and they go, 'You say what I think but I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jefferies/there-s-a-fallacy-with-stand-up-comedy-which-is-people-come-up-to/) [Jim Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jefferies/) > [Fortune helps the brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence/fortune-helps-the-brave/) [Terence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence/) > [“A ‘good’ father will tenderly cultivate his children. But a ‘good’ father who is also a ‘brave’ father will let the children without cultivate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/a-good-father-will-tenderly-cultivate-his-children-but-a-good-father/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [And is it selfish of me to crave victory, or is it brave?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/and-is-it-selfish-of-me-to-crave-victory-or-is-it-brave/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [THE British are brave people. They can face anything, except reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/the-british-are-brave-people-they-can-face-anything-except-reality/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) [Browse all 3,314 Brave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He wished he could've explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be. The distinction was important.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tim O'Brien" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of-this-how-he-had-been-braver/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brave" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of-this-how-he-had-been-braver/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/tim-o-brien-1818_brave_he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of_2010701.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/tim-o-brien-1818_brave_he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of_2010701.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d8/tim-o-brien-1818_brave_he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of_2010701.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He wished he could've explained some of this. How he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how…” — Tim O'Brien", "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": "Tim O'Brien", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He wished he could've explained some...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of-this-how-he-had-been-braver/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/he-wished-he-could-ve-explained-some-of-this-how-he-had-been-braver/#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 } } ] } ```