---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is almost impossible for anyone, even…"
description: "\"It is almost impossible for anyone, even the most ineffective among us, to continue to choose misery after becoming aware that it is a choice.\" — Willi..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/william-glasser-10297_becoming_it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even_2423181.jpg"
---

#  It is almost impossible for anyone, even the most…

![“It is almost impossible for anyone, even the most ineffective among us, to continue to choose misery after becoming aware that it is a choice.” quote by William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/william-glasser-10297_becoming_it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even_2423181.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/william-glasser-10297_becoming_it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even_2423181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/william-glasser-10297_becoming_it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even_2423181.jpg)

> “It is almost impossible for anyone, even the most ineffective among us, to continue to choose misery after becoming aware that it is a choice.”

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Argues that once people recognize misery is a choice, they can stop perpetuating it, even if they feel ineffective.

**In simple terms:** Miserable choices are optional.

Key Takeaway

Choose well‑being over suffering.

Themes

psychology personal responsibility choice mental health

Mood

hopeful reflective

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- counseling
- self‑help
- education
- stress management

Key Concepts

cognitive therapy self‑determination

Questions to Reflect On

- What choices keep you stuck in misery?
- How can you empower others to see alternatives?

A Different Perspective

People may lack resources to change choices, making the insight feel idealistic.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Choose Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-misery-4116102/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Impossible Ineffective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible-ineffective-6139856/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Misery Aware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery-aware-6139857/)

## Related quotes

> [The world we live in is the world we choose to live in, whether consciously or unconsciously. If we choose bliss, that's what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-world-we-live-in-is-the-world-we-choose-to-live-in-whether/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Pity was meant to be a spur that drives joy to help misery. But it can be used the wrong way round. It can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pity-was-meant-to-be-a-spur-that-drives-joy-to-help-misery-but-it-can/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Out of our first century of national life we evolved the ethical principle that it was not right or just that an honest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-perkins/out-of-our-first-century-of-national-life-we-evolved-the-ethical/)

[Frances Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-perkins/)

> [The American system demands success, and in order to succeed we must first believe that we can. Yet our society, with its intolerance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/the-american-system-demands-success-and-in-order-to-succeed-we-must/)

[Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/)

> [It is becoming impossible for those who mix at all with their fellow-men to believe that the grace of God is distributed denominationally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/it-is-becoming-impossible-for-those-who-mix-at-all-with-their-fellow/)

[William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/)

> [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/teamwork-is-so-important-that-it-is-virtually-impossible-for-you-to/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [The vast majority of people are born, grow up, struggle and go through life in misery and failure, not realizing that it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-vast-majority-of-people-are-born-grow-up-struggle-and-go-through/)

[Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Money can't buy happiness. But it sure makes misery easier to live with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-can-t-buy-happiness-but-it-sure-makes-misery-easier-to-live-with/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's never any ebb in human misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/there-s-never-any-ebb-in-human-misery/)

[Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/)

> [“I hereby propose the term “miserize”, as a verb for misery – referring to “to cause misery”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/i-hereby-propose-the-term-miserize-as-a-verb-for-misery-referring-to/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“Where there is doubt (shanka), there is misery. The moment one begins to doubt the knowledge that, 'I am Chandubhai,' misery arises. Once one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-is-doubt-shanka-there-is-misery-the-moment-one-begins-to/)

[Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/)

[Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/)

## More by William Glasser

> [The answer lies in preventing these failures, not in looking for better ways to fix the people who are failing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/the-answer-lies-in-preventing-these-failures-not-in-looking-for/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [Too many of us fail to fulfill our needs because we say no rather than yes, or perhaps later in life, yes when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/too-many-of-us-fail-to-fulfill-our-needs-because-we-say-no-rather/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [Education is the process in which we discover that learning adds quality to our lives. Learning must be experienced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/education-is-the-process-in-which-we-discover-that-learning-adds/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [A friend of mine, a dedicated golfer, shot a hole in one playing by himself. Disaster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/a-friend-of-mine-a-dedicated-golfer-shot-a-hole-in-one-playing-by/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [“What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today, but revisiting this painful past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/what-happened-in-the-past-that-was-painful-has-a-great-deal-to-do/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [I think it is totally wrong and terribly harmful if education is defined as acquiring knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/i-think-it-is-totally-wrong-and-terribly-harmful-if-education-is/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [You can acquire a lot of knowledge without ever going to school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/you-can-acquire-a-lot-of-knowledge-without-ever-going-to-school/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [“What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/what-happened-in-the-past-that-was-painful-has-a-great-deal-to-do-2/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [This is at the heart of all good education, where the teacher asks students to think and engages them in encouraging dialogues, constantly checking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/this-is-at-the-heart-of-all-good-education-where-the-teacher-asks/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [Good or bad, everything we do is our best choice at that moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/good-or-bad-everything-we-do-is-our-best-choice-at-that-moment/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [They have this big book called the 'DSM-IV,' you know, that is supposedly written about crazy people, but I think it is a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/they-have-this-big-book-called-the-dsm-iv-you-know-that-is-supposedly/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [To counter the avoidance of intellectual challenge and responsibility, we must reduce the domination of certainty in education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/to-counter-the-avoidance-of-intellectual-challenge-and-responsibility/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [What happened in the past that was painful has a great deal to do with what we are today, but revisiting this painful past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/what-happened-in-the-past-that-was-painful-has-a-great-deal-to-do-3/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [Love. What is love? No word can define it, it's something so great, only God could design it. Yes, love is beyond, what man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/love-what-is-love-no-word-can-define-it-it-s-something-so-great-only/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

> [Unlike the weak, the strong neither give up nor are driven by pain into rash or stupid behavior. They don't like pain any more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/unlike-the-weak-the-strong-neither-give-up-nor-are-driven-by-pain/)

[William Glasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

[Explore all 66 William Glasser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/)

## More Becoming quotes

> [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/)

[Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/)

> [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/)

[Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/)

> [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/)

[M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/)

> [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/)

[Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/)

> [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/)

[Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/)

> [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/)

[Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/)

> [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/)

[Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/)

> [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/)

[Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/)

> [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/)

[John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/)

> [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/)

[Christopher Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wood/)

> [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 reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/)

[Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/)

> [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

[Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is almost impossible for anyone, even the most ineffective among us, to continue to choose misery after becoming aware that it is a choice.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "William Glasser"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even-the-most-ineffective-among-us/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Becoming"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even-the-most-ineffective-among-us/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/william-glasser-10297_becoming_it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even_2423181.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/william-glasser-10297_becoming_it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even_2423181.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63a/william-glasser-10297_becoming_it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even_2423181.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is almost impossible for anyone, even the most ineffective among us, to continue to choose misery after…” — William Glasser",
                "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": "William Glasser",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-glasser/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is almost impossible for anyone,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even-the-most-ineffective-among-us/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-glasser/it-is-almost-impossible-for-anyone-even-the-most-ineffective-among-us/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
