The quotation observes that people can experience real distress in response to events that exist only as possibilities. Fear, worry and anticipation can create suffering before there is evidence that the expected misfortune will occur. The statement therefore draws attention to the difference between an actual hardship and the pain produced by imagining one in advance.

In Jefferson’s letter to Thomas Jefferson Smith, the line appears among practical rules intended to guide everyday conduct. Its emphasis is on maintaining perspective when confronted with uncertainty. The quotation does not suggest that future risks should be ignored, but warns against allowing possibilities to generate disproportionate distress before they become realities. More broadly, it reflects a recurring philosophical idea that human suffering can arise not only from external events but also from expectations, interpretations and imagined outcomes.