George Washington: Worry Interest
on Sunday, December 23, 2018George Washington Money Quote saying plainly that one should avoid trouble to escape worrying about the outcome. George Washington said:
“Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble” — George Washington
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General Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Army December 23, 1783. Elected first President of the United States February 4, 1789
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In this quote, George Washington is commenting on the concept of worrying or borrowing trouble. His interpretation is that worrying unnecessarily about potential future problems is akin to paying interest on a loan that may never even be taken.
Washington seems to be suggesting that worrying often stems from imagining threats or difficulties that haven’t happened yet and may not come to pass.
The overall message appears to be that excessive worrying is a waste of mental energy, since it amounts to paying a cost (interest) for borrowing anxieties (trouble) that one may never have to face or deal with. Washington conveys the perspective that fretting over hypothetical problems is an unproductive exercise that provides no benefit.
Birthday: February 22, 1732 – Death: December 14, 1799