proverb · Words worth keeping
Don’t interfere with something that ain’t bothering you.
Don’t interfere with something that ain’t bothering you.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Leaving alone what is not bothering oneself advises restraint in interference. The saying questions involvement without an identified reason.
What the words are saying
A critical interpretation does not make personal inconvenience the only basis for responsibility. An issue may harm others or involve a legitimate obligation even when it does not trouble the observer. A useful application asks what reason, authority and consent justify intervention rather than demanding universal noninvolvement.
Everyday example
Someone checks whether an intervention serves a real need and whether those affected want it.
When to use it
Use it to discuss justified involvement with responsibilities to others retained.
What it does not mean
Lack of personal inconvenience does not excuse ignoring harm or necessary accountability.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 59; PDF page 14; collection label: Old American West
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Old American West