The formula for achieving a successful relationship is simple: you should treat all disasters as if they were trivialities but never treat a triviality as if it were a disaster.

Crisp frames relationship success as a matter of proportion and emotional discipline. The counsel to treat “disasters” like “trivialities” urges steadiness under real strain—meeting crises without melodrama, blame, or panic. The second half reverses the error that often corrodes intimacy: inflating small irritations into moral indictments or existential threats. Together, the lines advocate a temperament that preserves goodwill by reserving intensity for what truly matters, while letting minor frictions pass without escalation. The aphorism also reflects Crisp’s characteristic wit: it sounds paradoxical, but it points to a practical ethic of calm, selective seriousness, and generosity in interpretation—habits that keep conflict from becoming the relationship’s main narrative.