Who really said it

You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they do

Q: Did Eleanor Roosevelt say "You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they do"?

No. There is no record of Eleanor Roosevelt writing or saying this. Quote Investigator found the earliest strong match in December 1936, credited to the humorist Olin Miller, and concludes he is the most likely originator; the wording popularly pinned on Roosevelt is a later, smoothed variant of Miller's line. QI calls the Roosevelt attribution "spurious."

Not Eleanor Roosevelt — traced to humorist Olin Miller Olin Miller American humorist & newspaper columnist · active 1930s–1950s

Disputed Rights unconfirmed

There is no record of Eleanor Roosevelt writing or saying this. Quote Investigator ↗ found the earliest strong match in December 1936, credited to the humorist Olin Miller, and concludes he is the most likely originator; the wording popularly pinned on Roosevelt is a later, smoothed variant of Miller’s line. QI calls the Roosevelt attribution “spurious.”

Last verified 8 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed credit — copy with the correction

“You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they do” Often credited to Eleanor Roosevelt, but she never said it. The earliest documented version (December 1936) is credited to humorist Olin Miller, per Quote Investigator.

The slide-ready mistake: crediting this to Eleanor Roosevelt. Use the credit shown above instead.

Can you use it?

We couldn’t verify where this wording comes from, so there’s no rights status to give. Safe to present as an unverified or anonymous line — just don’t assert a specific author or source.

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In context

Evoking the world of Olin Miller — active 1930s–1950s. Theme: "You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they do". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Minimalist

Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they do". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

Where the line actually comes from

Popularly credited to: Eleanor Roosevelt (no supporting source)
Earliest documented: December 1936, Reno Evening Gazette, crediting Olin Miller
Likely originator: Olin Miller, per Quote Investigator
Original wording (1936): “You probably wouldn’t worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do.”

“You probably wouldn’t worry about what people think of you if you could know how seldom they do.”

The 1936 version credited to Olin Miller. The familiar “You wouldn’t worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they do” is a later paraphrase, only much later attached to Eleanor Roosevelt.

Quote Investigator: tracing the saying to Olin Miller (1936)

How we verified this

Earliest match: December 1936 — a version credited to humorist Olin Miller, per Quote Investigator ↗.
Spread of the misattribution: QI notes the line was being pinned on Eleanor Roosevelt only by the 2000s, with no original source — it labels the Roosevelt connection “spurious.”
Not in her sourced record: the quote appears in no sourced section of Wikiquote’s Eleanor Roosevelt page ↗.

The thought is traceable to a 1936 newspaper aphorism credited to Olin Miller, but the exact Roosevelt-attributed wording is an unsourced later paraphrase with no identifiable published origin, so no clean copyright status can be asserted. Because we cannot tie this precise wording to a specific work or edition, we mark rights “uncertain.”

Fact-check

How it landed on Eleanor Roosevelt

This is a classic case of a homeless aphorism drifting onto a magnet name. The line is older than its famous credits, and Eleanor Roosevelt is one of several people who acquired it decades after it first appeared.

Eleanor Roosevelt Spurious

Widely shared as Roosevelt’s, but Quote Investigator ↗ found no original source and calls the connection “spurious”; it is absent from her sourced record on Wikiquote ↗.

Mark Twain Spurious

Sometimes attached to Twain as well — another default magnet for orphaned witticisms — with no supporting source, per Quote Investigator ↗.

David Foster Wallace Paraphrase

A reworded version (“you’ll stop worrying what others think about you when you realize how seldom they do”) circulates under Wallace, who used the idea long after 1936 rather than coining it.

The earliest documented form dates to December 1936 and is credited to humorist Olin Miller, per Quote Investigator ↗ — not Eleanor Roosevelt.

Context

Why the attribution sticks

The saying is emotionally useful — a tidy reassurance for social anxiety — and that is exactly the kind of line that gets reassigned to a beloved authority figure. Eleanor Roosevelt, remembered for warmth and moral steadiness, is a natural host, so the quote reads as “something she would say” even though the paper trail runs to an obscure humorist.

Quote Investigator’s trail — Olin Miller in 1936, Walter Winchell in 1937, Reader’s Digest in 1939 — predates any Roosevelt credit by decades, which is the tell: the words were already in wide circulation before her name was attached.

Older than its famous credits — the mark of a drifting aphorism.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Wisdom Humility

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Quote Investigator — full origin tracequoteinvestigator.com

The anchor investigation: earliest 1936 citation, Olin Miller as likely originator, and why the Roosevelt credit is spurious.

Wikiquote — Eleanor Roosevelten.wikiquote.org

Roosevelt's sourced and disputed quotations; this line is absent from her documented record.

QuotePark — the quote pinned on Rooseveltquotepark.com

A representative example of the widespread, unsourced Eleanor Roosevelt attribution online.

Goodreads — the David Foster Wallace variantgoodreads.com

Shows the same idea also circulates under David Foster Wallace, another later populariser.

The likely originator

About Olin Miller

Olin Miller

American humorist & newspaper columnist · active 1930s–1950s

Olin Miller was an American humorist and syndicated newspaper columnist active from the 1930s. Quote Investigator identifies him as the most likely originator of this saying, citing a December 1936 newspaper item and follow-on appearances crediting him in Walter Winchell’s column (1937) and Reader’s Digest (1939). He is little remembered today, which is part of why the aphorism drifted onto more famous names.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Quote Investigator

Earliest documented in the Reno Evening Gazette (December 1936), crediting humorist Olin Miller; see Garson O’Toole, “Quote Origin: You’ll Worry Less About What People Think of You When You Realize How Seldom They Do,” Quote Investigator, September 9, 2014.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘You wouldn't worry so much about what other people think of you if you realized how seldom they do’?” Last verified 8 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/you-wouldnt-worry-so-much-about-what-other-people-think-of