He who seeketh trouble never misseth it.
Meaning: Persistent negativity and conflict-seeking behavior inevitably attract the very problems one fears or pursues.
Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.
More proverbs about Perseverance
- Trust in God, and keep your powder dry. — Maintain faith while preparing pragmatically for conflict; spiritual confidence shouldn't…
- Try your friend before you trust him. — Test a person's character through small, low-stakes interactions before depending on them…
- If things were to be done twice, all would be wise. — Hindsight reveals mistakes, but life allows no rehearsals—act carefully the first time.
- Never carry two faces under one hat. — Duplicity and hypocrisy inevitably expose themselves; maintaining contradictory personas…
- When two Sundays come in one week--that is, never. — Impossible events cannot be awaited; stop postponing difficult tasks with false hope of p…
- He who stays in the valley will never get over the hill. — Comfort in familiar circumstances prevents growth and progress beyond current limitations.
From our idioms
- pay the piper — To pay for one's mistakes; to live with the consequences of one's (wrong) actions.
- pencil pusher — An office worker; a bureaucrat who routinely does his or her paperwork job without any de…
- penny pincher — A person that doesn't like to spend money.