--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do I really smother my own joy because I…" description: "\"“Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?”\" — Ann Voskamp" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/ann-voskamp-729_anger_do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i_2722192.png" --- # Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that… ![“Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?” quote by Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/ann-voskamp-729_anger_do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i_2722192.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/ann-voskamp-729_anger_do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i_2722192.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/ann-voskamp-729_anger_do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i_2722192.png) > ““Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?”” [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questions whether suppressing joy for anger is justified, urging love over resentment. **In simple terms:** Choosing love over anger preserves joy. Key Takeaway Prioritize love in conflict. Themes emotion joy anger Mood reflective hopeful Type spiritual ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - conflict resolution - inner peace - faith practice Key Concepts spirituality ethics Questions to Reflect On - When is anger a necessary response? - How can we transform anger into constructive action? A Different Perspective Anger can sometimes protect boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love? That Satan's way is more powerful, more practical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i-believe-that-anger-achieves-2/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [It is a great joy to believe that Jesus has been tempted in all points just as we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/it-is-a-great-joy-to-believe-that-jesus-has-been-tempted-in-all/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [When men have killed joy, I do not believe they still live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/when-men-have-killed-joy-i-do-not-believe-they-still-live/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“To be alone, but to be pierced through with a kingly joy, now and then, as I believe I am, is a great possession…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-barry/to-be-alone-but-to-be-pierced-through-with-a-kingly-joy-now-and-then/) [Sebastian Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-barry/) > [I believe in joy, but I believe in the flip-side, agony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-mccambridge/i-believe-in-joy-but-i-believe-in-the-flip-side-agony/) [Mercedes McCambridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-mccambridge/) > [Now I've come to a place where I believe that anger doesn't really make me a better actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahira-khan/now-i-ve-come-to-a-place-where-i-believe-that-anger-doesn-t-really/) [Mahira Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahira-khan/) > [“There was one story that anger certainly lit the fuse of. In the 1960's, in my home town of Jackson, the civil rights leader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/there-was-one-story-that-anger-certainly-lit-the-fuse-of-in-the-1960/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [I believe anger is a wasted emotion, and I don't like to waste emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/i-believe-anger-is-a-wasted-emotion-and-i-don-t-like-to-waste-emotions/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [I have come to believe that anger and grudges are burning embers in the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-have-come-to-believe-that-anger-and-grudges-are-burning-embers-in/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) ## More by Ann Voskamp > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-answer-to-deep-anxiety-is-the-deep-adoration-of-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Trauma's storm can mask the Christ and feelings can lie. I draw all the hurting voices close and I tough their scars with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/trauma-s-storm-can-mask-the-christ-and-feelings-can-lie-i-draw-all/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“How long does it take for your soul to recognize that your life is full? The slower the living, the greater the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/how-long-does-it-take-for-your-soul-to-recognize-that-your-life-is/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“For forty long years, God's people daily eat manna - a substance whose name literally mans 'What is it?' Hungry, they choose to gather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/for-forty-long-years-god-s-people-daily-eat-manna-a-substance-whose/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [The real romantics imagine greying and sagging and wrinkling as the deepening of something sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/the-real-romantics-imagine-greying-and-sagging-and-wrinkling-as-the/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Scales always lie. They don't make a scale that ever told the truth about value, about worth, about significance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/scales-always-lie-they-don-t-make-a-scale-that-ever-told-the-truth/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Darkness transfigures into light, bad transfigures into good, grief transfigures into grace, empty transfigures into full. God wastes nothing – ‘makes everything work out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/darkness-transfigures-into-light-bad-transfigures-into-good-grief/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“And the saddest of all may be when we give away our lives to insignificant things, things we didn’t realize we subconsciously loved. Turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/and-the-saddest-of-all-may-be-when-we-give-away-our-lives-to/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“Satan's sin becomes the first sin of all humanity: the sin of ingratitude .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/satan-s-sin-becomes-the-first-sin-of-all-humanity-the-sin-of/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Simplicity is never a matter of circumstances; simplicity is a matter of focus. So in the midst of educating and parenting our children, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/simplicity-is-never-a-matter-of-circumstances-simplicity-is-a-matter/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Every day, with every word, we get to decide: Do we mar the world, or mark the world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/every-day-with-every-word-we-get-to-decide-do-we-mar-the-world-or/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Thanksgiving-giving thanks in everything-prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/thanksgiving-giving-thanks-in-everything-prepares-the-way-that-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/practice-is-the-hardest-part-of-learning-and-training-is-the-essence/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Every moment I live, I live bowed to something. And if I don't see God, I'll bow down before something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/every-moment-i-live-i-live-bowed-to-something-and-if-i-don-t-see-god/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) [Explore all 390 Ann Voskamp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) ## More Anger quotes > [“If I let myself think of it the pain and anger were still fresh, adrenalin racing down my limbs to pool, hot and itchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-ladd/if-i-let-myself-think-of-it-the-pain-and-anger-were-still-fresh/) [Kylie Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-ladd/) > [I receive something we might euphemistically call an 'inappropriately hostile' response - that is to say, more than fair criticism or even fair anger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/i-receive-something-we-might-euphemistically-call-an-inappropriately/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“When you feel terribly angry, you're possessed by anger ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toba-beta/when-you-feel-terribly-angry-you-re-possessed-by-anger-ghost/) [Toba Beta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toba-beta/) > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [My care will be in the heart n not in words My anger will be in Words n not in the Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/my-care-will-be-in-the-heart-n-not-in-words-my-anger-will-be-in-words/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect was already in the cause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-bergson/the-present-contains-nothing-more-than-the-past-and-what-is-found-in/) [Henri Bergson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-bergson/) > [Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/depression-is-merely-anger-without-enthusiasm/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [I always fight better when my opponent's angry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-haye/i-always-fight-better-when-my-opponent-s-angry/) [David Haye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-haye/) > [ “Where there are kashays (anger-pride-deceit-greed), there is worldly life. As long as anger-pride-deceit-greed exist; one is a sansaari \[living a worldly life\] regardless of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/where-there-are-kashays-anger-pride-deceit-greed-there-is-worldly/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) [Browse all 7,469 Anger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anger/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Voskamp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i-believe-that-anger-achieves/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anger" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i-believe-that-anger-achieves/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/ann-voskamp-729_anger_do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i_2722192.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/ann-voskamp-729_anger_do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i_2722192.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f64/ann-voskamp-729_anger_do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i_2722192.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Do I really smother my own joy because I believe that anger achieves more than love?” — Ann Voskamp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ann Voskamp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Do I really smother my own...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i-believe-that-anger-achieves/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/do-i-really-smother-my-own-joy-because-i-believe-that-anger-achieves/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```