--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always find it more difficult to say…" description: "\"I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.\" — W. Somerset Maugham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/w-somerset-maugham-237_difficult_i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-t_2804890.jpg" --- # I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean… ![“I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/w-somerset-maugham-237_difficult_i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-t_2804890.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/w-somerset-maugham-237_difficult_i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-t_2804890.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/w-somerset-maugham-237_difficult_i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-t_2804890.jpg) > “I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expressing true feelings is harder than staying silent, revealing inner conflict. **In simple terms:** Saying what you mean is tough. Key Takeaway Practice honest communication. Themes communication authenticity conflict Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - workplace - personal journaling Key Concepts Self‑expression psychology Questions to Reflect On - What truth are you avoiding? - How does silence affect you? A Different Perspective Fear of rejection may still inhibit honesty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [People are going to say mean things to you. They're going to say things that upset you. They're going to lie to you. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-rubin/people-are-going-to-say-mean-things-to-you-they-re-going-to-say/) [Dave Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-rubin/) > [I've become one of those actors who find it difficult to say 'no' when things are offered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armitage/i-ve-become-one-of-those-actors-who-find-it-difficult-to-say-no-when/) [Richard Armitage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armitage/) > [Don't ever say things you never mean because then you will regret it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-miranda/don-t-ever-say-things-you-never-mean-because-then-you-will-regret-it/) [Alberto Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-miranda/) > [All I'm asking is don't make promises you can't keep and don't say things you don't mean because in the end, those things mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/all-i-m-asking-is-don-t-make-promises-you-can-t-keep-and-don-t-say/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I grew up in England, and people there are pretty difficult. They never say what they mean, and when they do it comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-pickles/i-grew-up-in-england-and-people-there-are-pretty-difficult-they-never/) [Christina Pickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-pickles/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Nobody ever talks about the mean things that girls do to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/nobody-ever-talks-about-the-mean-things-that-girls-do-to-each-other/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [If I remembered when people said mean things about me, I would never speak to the media again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/if-i-remembered-when-people-said-mean-things-about-me-i-would-never/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [I mean, there are things in the book you could never do in a movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-hathaway/i-mean-there-are-things-in-the-book-you-could-never-do-in-a-movie/) [Noah Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-hathaway/) > [“Not because she's a bad person or shallow or mean. But because things change. And friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/not-because-she-s-a-bad-person-or-shallow-or-mean-but-because-things/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [How frightening, that one person could mean so much, so many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/how-frightening-that-one-person-could-mean-so-much-so-many-things/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“What I mean is, things like that happen. They may seem might cruel and unfair, but that's how life is a part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-gipson/what-i-mean-is-things-like-that-happen-they-may-seem-might-cruel-and/) Fred Gipson > [Sometimes a broken dream will make you sad or make you mean. Sometimes things ain't bad as they seem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-lightfoot/sometimes-a-broken-dream-will-make-you-sad-or-make-you-mean-sometimes/) [Gordon Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-lightfoot/) > [If you're going to think mean things about me or not be a true friend, then we don't need to be friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-panabaker/if-you-re-going-to-think-mean-things-about-me-or-not-be-a-true-friend/) [Kay Panabaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-panabaker/) > [You come out into the world after a season of TV and you're just swearing and saying mean things to people and they're looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/you-come-out-into-the-world-after-a-season-of-tv-and-you-re-just/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) ## More by W. Somerset Maugham > [“A man thinks it quite natural that he should fall out of love with a woman, but it never strikes him for a moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-thinks-it-quite-natural-that-he-should-fall-out-of-love-with-a/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A man's work reveals him. In social intercourse he gives you the surface that he wishes the world to accept, but in his book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-man-s-work-reveals-him-in-social-intercourse-he-gives-you-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/love-is-only-a-dirty-trick-played-on-us-to-achieve-continuation-of/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. We must be very humble. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-world-is-hard-and-cruel-we-are-here-none-knows-why-and-we-go-none/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More Difficult quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [Consumers can choose organic cotton grown without pesticides, but it uses more water and requires more land than conventional crops. Organic cotton can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/consumers-can-choose-organic-cotton-grown-without-pesticides-but-it/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [It is extremely difficult to do anything constructive, let alone deep, on daily commercial television, especially on a talk show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/it-is-extremely-difficult-to-do-anything-constructive-let-alone-deep/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [It's only a little difficult to say no. You've got to believe that the work you're doing is ultimately more useful to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-sivers/it-s-only-a-little-difficult-to-say-no-you-ve-got-to-believe-that-the/) [Derek Sivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-sivers/) > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [Someone else who liked what I did might turn around and say, "She's reworking and rethinking everything. She could just be making blankets now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-emin/someone-else-who-liked-what-i-did-might-turn-around-and-say-she-s/) [Tracey Emin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-emin/) Browse all 13,132 Difficult quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. Somerset Maugham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-the-things-i-mean-than-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Difficult" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-the-things-i-mean-than-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/w-somerset-maugham-237_difficult_i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-t_2804890.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/w-somerset-maugham-237_difficult_i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-t_2804890.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/w-somerset-maugham-237_difficult_i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-t_2804890.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don't.” — W. Somerset Maugham", "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": "W. Somerset Maugham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always find it more difficult...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-the-things-i-mean-than-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-always-find-it-more-difficult-to-say-the-things-i-mean-than-the/#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 } } ] } ```